Recruiting Football Talk VII

[Vols410]

Listening to podcasts…Mertz was clean on 84.8% of his drop backs. 1 sack and 1 qb hit.

Vols really got whipped in the trenches.

His average depth-of-target was also only 3.5 yards. Again, Florida ran a ton of motion to take advantage of Herring at MLB, and the guys responsible for the slot (particularly McDonald) got abused by it. The rush rarely had a chance to get to Mertz.

 

[mrmax86]

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Don't go to the FF

It's SO BAD.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

Idk if it’s a spyre thing or if it’s the coaching staff… we all hear about how great spyre is.
Then some insiders on this board say staff wasn’t willing to outbid so and so for this star player… is it the conservative staff approach or is it spyre? I think it’s the conservative staff approach that probably needs adjusting. You can’t fill your roster with Ollie Lane’s in year 3 just because whoever outbids you on the recruiting trail or transfer portal. Some point you need DUDES. Top flight dudes.

The problem with over bidding, it creates locker room problems.
Bring in a highly paid guy and then someone under him transfers out then you lose depth.
Bring in a highly paid guy and he isn't up to par then whoever is ahead of him on the depth chart starts asking why am I not making that much or more.
The only way you can really afford to over bid is either have an obvious starting spot available with no depth, or it's that one piece you need to make a run at a title.
I'm not sure we've been in either position yet.

 

[butchna]

Your rite there definitely isn't a Hayneworth or John Henderson on roster a the moment...

Those aren’t the NT fireplug types I’m referencing. They’re traditional 4-3 DTs. Nomar-Lott and Thomas are closer to that model.

 

[Smokey123]

His average depth-of-target was also only 3.5 yards. Again, Florida ran a ton of motion to take advantage of Herring at MLB, and the guys responsible for the slot (particularly McDonald) got abused by it. The rush rarely had a chance to get to Mertz.

Most of that is on the style of defense banks runs. Napier pulled a Huepel and used lots of motion to create an advantage bcuz of our style of defense. Got to switch to man and have someone follow the man in motion

 

[mrmax86]

I really hate that we are in the zone where we play like crap AND the refs were horrible, but we can't actually blame them for our loss because we sucked worse. I distinctively remember feeling this way during the Butch Jones years. This needs to change.

 

[KptVFL]

View attachment 580258

The redheads are wild this year.


*I've got 2 living in my house. You better believe I've got my head on a swivel

Lol. Same here!

 

[Jackcrevol]

Banks just doesn't have the players yet. Needs 4-5 more recruiting classes. JMO

Correct. 5-6 years minumum.

 

[mrmax86]

View attachment 580264
Don't go to the FF

We should do our own version of the "What Other Message Boards Are Saying" but for the FF instead of the opponent.

 

[Jackcrevol]

I really hate that we are in the zone where we play like crap AND the refs were horrible, but we can't actually blame them for our loss because we sucked worse. I distinctively remember feeling this way during the Butch Jones years. This needs to change.

Steak tastes better than refried beans

 

[LA Vol]

That waiting list for season tickets could dwindle quickly and the sold out figure could drop 20K back into the 50's real quick with a turd season of 6 wins and increase in prices. What goes around comes around. They Jack up cost really quick but you better be winning a lot when you do that. Win and keep on winning. What we saw the last two games will not be worth the 2500K plus some seats are going to.

True. Aggressive pricing was risky, and the support was not universal. It was driven by the expectation of continued momentum and success. The narrative that this was viewed as a rebuild or bridge year is false. The team goal was to win the East as a steppingstone to being a playoff contender. A paradigm shift in college sports means using the portal and NIL to keep rosters stocked to win. Significant investments come with an expectation of return.

 

[LIvol]

It seems very simple to me. We will always have 7-10 wins, maybe an outlier year, but for the most part somewhere in that range. We will not be a consistent 11-12 win team until we recruit with the big boys at EVERY position. Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Florida State (now) will always be at or near the top, again with outliers.

When we lose out on Chris Cole after they secured 6 or so top LBs in the last few years, it is just a larger picture of what we are. A decent team in a loaded conference.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

Banks just doesn't have the players yet. Needs 4-5 more recruiting classes. JMO

It doesn't matter what you give him. He's way too soft to succeed in the SEC he needs to go back to the B10.

 

[joevol33]

We should do our own version of the "What Other Message Boards Are Saying" but for the FF instead of the opponent.

I get the frustration, but man, some have lost it. Everything from firing Heupel , bench Milton, fire the whole staff, Pruitt 2.0, it's hilarious . I mean I'm upset, but I definitely don't want to go through another coaching search.

 

[Vols2DaWall]

I’m not sure how Banks evades criticism and he’s lauded as some great coach. The third down defense hasn’t changed a bit. The defense is his responsibility. Our players were clueless. We again couldn’t generate pressure against a team with a pulse. The DBs are worthless.

What has Banks shown that he can actually defend against a team that’s good?

 

[SouthKnoxVOL]

One thing that has stuck with me is what Milton said after the game on Saturday...."We're gonna come together or we're gonna separate"....as a supposed "leader" and QB of the team....that does not scream confidence or leader to me. As a leader it is your responsibility to make damn sure that the team comes together. That comment just rubbed me the wrong way.

 

[Vols2DaWall]

The poor OL recruiting is a head scratcher. We're going to be in trouble next year if we don't do really well in the transfer portal.

Next year we are going to have a real problem at OL if we lose Mays and Campbell in addition to Spraggins. It’s gonna be ugly.

 

[SoilVol]

I think they're extremely limited. Which, makes no sense when your QB can throw it a country mile.

On paper they WR's are really really good. Turns out, maybe they arent. I mean, common sense is teams have zero faith in our vertical passing game. I mean, why would they? So, they jam the LOS, play the run. And yet, we throw screens, and run up the gut.

We have good 'possession' receivers, which we dont. But, only squirrel is dynamic.

I think you misinterpret what's happening. It's hard to throw deep when the QB doesn't have time to throw. Defenses ARE respecting our deep threat, but they're pressuring Milton and forcing the intermediate or check down throw.

When we do take a deep shot, Milton has been pressured almost every time. Squirrel had both defenders beat on the interception. If Milton doesn't get hit, that's hopefully completed. But the pocket collapsed and the blitzer got home.

Our WR's are absolutely a strength and they actually played quite well in the Swamp. Bru had a deep TD catch. Squirrel was dynamic. Thornton had two deep looks and should've caught the first one (or PI). Keyton caught some missiles and they were off on a deep route. Castles is as advertised. His 3rd and long conversion was incredible catch and effort after contact.

 

[Vols2DaWall]

It seems very simple to me. We will always have 7-10 wins, maybe an outlier year, but for the most part somewhere in that range. We will not be a consistent 11-12 win team until we recruit with the big boys at EVERY position. Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Florida State (now) will always be at or near the top, again with outliers.

When we lose out on Chris Cole after they secured 6 or so top LBs in the last few years, it is just a larger picture of what we are. A decent team in a loaded conference.

This is exactly right. And the reason Heupel will not last here long term. He cannot recruit at a level to consistently win big.

Championships are won in Dec-February

 

[TheTimeIsNow]

It’s been awhile since I posted last but apparently the time is now to post.

I and everyone else knew this season would hinge on how much Joe progressed this offseason. Joe didn’t play good vs Vandy last year and played great for us vs Clemson. So the question for me was which Joe would show up this year for us. Well an average Joe showed up.

When this season started I honestly figured the defense would carry the team this year. I thought our offense would average 28ish a game and our defense would hold opponents to 18ish. Call me crazy, I know but that’s what I thought would happen.

I fully trust in Heupel, I’ve never said that about any other coach we’ve had recently. He has yet to give me any reason to doubt him. If Joe continues to struggle and he refuses to give Nico a chance, then I will doubt him. He’s an offensive guru, he wants to win more than me or you, Danny White wants to win, he will figure this out.

BVS is real and we’ve carried it long enough.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

This is exactly right. And the reason Heupel will not last here long term. He cannot recruit at a level to consistently win big.

Championships are won in Dec-February

I don't know that's all his fault, I'm just not sure how many of those Elite talents want to play in his system, or have the capability too.
I give you George Pickens for example, Elite talent, but there's no way he would've been able to read the defense well enough to run the routes needed, or be willing to block on the outside for the running backs.
The difference between Hendon and Joe is what I'm talking about. He don't could think fast, keep the O moving decide things quickly. With Joe we slowed way down and went to a check with me system.

 

[KPT_VFL]

Listening to podcasts…Mertz was clean on 84.8% of his drop backs. 1 sack and 1 qb hit.

Vols really got whipped in the trenches.

To be fair their entire game plan was quick short passes. They had 5 pop pass completions to Wilson on the first drive and idk when they threw the ball further than 10 yards other than once maybe twice. They nickel and dimes us down the field and D couldn’t get off the field which is a big factor as to why the offense couldn’t get going. Hard to score when you run 13 plays in almost a half because D can’t get off the field on 3rd down.

 

[CAVPUT]

His average depth-of-target was also only 3.5 yards. Again, Florida ran a ton of motion to take advantage of Herring at MLB, and the guys responsible for the slot (particularly McDonald) got abused by it. The rush rarely had a chance to get to Mertz.

With our tackling, you don't need much more. Just get in space and it's pretty easy...

 

[UTSuave’]

Wish we would have won…this is the kinda moment he was waiting for

 

[vol_in_ga]

Also, Spyre needs to consider opening up the checkbook a little more to help flip some guys. Maybe there's a player or two we need to be willing to overpay for. Even if it's in the portal. The OL needs major help. The DL will need major help after this season. Winning starts in the trenches.

Oh no you didn’t. God forbid we “overpay” for a legitimate force at a position of need. #poorfinancialmanagement