Recruiting Football Talk VIII

#103,676
#103,676
The Ohio State team that played tonight could win the whole thing. If they had beat Michigan we would have probably played @ND or @Penn State. I don’t think we would have beaten Penn State. We could have beat ND
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vols4us
#103,677
#103,677
Back at the hotel. Even with the outcome, had a fun weekend with a lot of Vols in Columbus. The fans gave their all, even if it seems a lot of the team caved after the first drive.

Nico is a warrior and laid it all on the line for us tonight. He has to get better for next season, but with his drive, talent, and Heupel’s coaching, no doubt he gets there.

We must improve greatly at both OL and WR to compete for a championship. Both have killed us all season and will continue to moving forward, barring some coaching changes and/or different approaches to recruiting. We need some athletes and killers at both spots, locker room cancers/egomaniacs/criminals/warlords/etc be damned. Get them in and let them help us win.

Defense was not good tonight, but they’ve been top 5 all year. We ran into a sleeping giant that played their best ball at the perfect time - one that has 4+ NFL first round WRs and two of the best 5-10 RBs in the nation. What Martinez, Garner, and Banks have done with this group is amazing. We have some great pieces coming back, but really need to build out depth in the secondary and at LB. Not having Pili hurt us every game after he went out, but it showed up big time with the LBs getting fooled/a step behind by presnap motions and bunch/combo routes out of the slot and backfield.

Overall, if you told me we’d go 10-2 and lose R1 on the road in the playoffs in August, I’d have been elated. A great building block for our program, but one that has to be just that - a building block. Hopeful for some progress on both sides of the ball next year, Heupel fixing some road woes (another issue for another day), and consecutive trips to playoffs - hopefully with a better showing.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: tnhunter 10, Vols4us, franklinpence and 8 others
#103,678
#103,678
UTK said:
We got some of the coaching. But there’s a couple glaring weak spots. CJH gotta put business first. He can get it done here making tough decisions. Oline play is unacceptable at this point. Whoever coaches linebackers needs to go too.
Click to expand...
Talk about ignorant. You can’t remember what you wrote. Your words! Whoever coaches LB’s needs to go. You did post to get rid of him. It’s right there
 
#103,679
#103,679
JacketVol said:
Talk about ignorant. You can’t remember what you wrote. Your words! Whoever coaches LB’s needs to go. You did post to get rid of him. It’s right there
Click to expand...

Is it a reactionary post in a game thread? If you take that seriously you’re dumb as hell. I wrote a breakdown about the staff. How about you go read it before you call people ignorant.
 
#103,683
#103,683
JacketVol said:
Read your own words quoted above. Get rid of the LB coach.
Click to expand...

I don’t give a **** what I said in the moment. If I meant everything I said in the game thread I’d want everybody on our team kicked off 💀. I’m sorry you’re too ignorant to know how a game thread works bud
 
#103,684
#103,684
mrMet said:
Banks should def be blamed about continually rushing 4 and nothing more. Howard is ass under pressure but we decided to not try and pressure tonight. A shame
Click to expand...
Tim banks decided let’s run the same game plan we ran against Georgia. Ohio State actually watched film. What is with the linebackers and not being able to cover a tight end down the field?
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrMet and InVOLuntary
#103,686
#103,686
I still think that face mask on their first possession was huge. We get the ball there... The momentum doesn't get going. So another penalty this year that really impacted the game.

After that..I didn't like the defensive game plan at all.

We looked slow and didn't pressure the QB enough, especially when situation called for it.

For them, they did exactly what many thought they should by using the quick passing game on the perimeter, and finding spots behind lbs and in front of safeties... And it wasn't like all the routes we're quick slants. Some went across the entire forks m field and we just let em do it.

Offensively.. The worst have the offensive line played in a while. WR's weren't good. Nico ran it well. Lewis showed some promise again.

But the passing game is just bad. Play calling, execution... Sub par.

We got out coached in all phases.

Basically one of, if not the, worst game all the way around under heupel.

Don't want to overreact to it. Lots of good still there the past 4 years... But when the lights have shined the brightest... We haven't been ready.

Just a really tough way to end the year... And it was a very good year... With a really bad ending that should get the attention of this staff that there's thinks they're doing that aren't working.

Ugh.

Good news.. Basketball season picks back up Monday.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AppStVol, tnhunter 10, Jack Burton and 3 others
#103,689
#103,689
UTK said:
Is it a reactionary post in a game thread? If you take that seriously you’re dumb as hell. I wrote a breakdown about the staff. How about you go read it before you call people ignorant.
Click to expand...
You wrote to fire him after the game, said you didn’t when you did. It’s not just you, seeing tons of people wanting to get rid of Heup. No one likes how this ended but no need to start over and especially not the LB coach. We overachieved what most thought before the season started. Yet, here we are. To be the best, we’ve got to develop the guys brought in last year and do it quickly. Also, Banks is not doing it for me. Playing and staying in the soft zone till late in the second quarter was just too much. Last straw. Need to do better but he isn’t going to be fired.
 
  • Like
Reactions: StoVol
#103,693
#103,693
JacketVol said:
You wrote to fire him after the game, said you didn’t when you did. It’s not just you, seeing tons of people wanting to get rid of Heup. No one likes how this ended but no need to start over and especially not the LB coach. We overachieved what most thought before the season started. Yet, here we are. To be the best, we’ve got to develop the guys brought in last year and do it quickly. Also, Banks is not doing it for me. Playing and staying in the soft zone till late in the second quarter was just too much. Last straw. Need to do better but he isn’t going to be fired.
Click to expand...

okay I changed my mind because I realized I was being reactionary about the lb coach. That’s why I put it in debatable on my overall breakdown. Am I sold on him? No. Why the hell would I be, but he deserves next year. Let’s see what they look like. Click on my profile brother. If you think I’m disappointed in where the program is right he now, you’re mistaken. I’m pumping some major shine 💀
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: JacketVol
#103,695
#103,695
UTK said:
okay I changed my mind because I realized I was being reactionary about the lb coach. That’s why I put it in debatable on my overall breakdown. Am I sold on him? No. Why the hell would I be, but he deserve next year. Let’s see what they look like
Click to expand...
He’s awful you are just seeing the facts. Our linebackers look lost when it’s a pass. 6”6 biggest guy on the opposing team on a route tight end is WIDE OPEN way too much.
 
#103,697
#103,697
UTK said:
I don’t give a **** what I said in the moment. If I meant everything I said in the game thread I’d want everybody on our team kicked off 💀. I’m sorry you’re too ignorant to know how a game thread works bud
Click to expand...
I either go to the games or watch them. And this is not the game thread. Post in the actual game thread
 
#103,698
#103,698
Again, you just got the flack of a lot of stuff I was hearing not even on the board. Glad you love the Vols but trust me, Will knows we need better backers. May be why so much zone. They can’t cover in space.
 
#103,699
#103,699
I was at the game tonight. Just wanted to reflect and put some thoughts together about the season/tonight to decompress a bit. Haven’t read the board since pre-game so apologies if this is re-stating a bunch of similar thoughts, I’m sure most are thinking the same:

First off, Vol Nation is actually incredible! I can’t believe how many fellow Vols were in attendance and how loud and proud they were. So many sections of that stadium were just dominated by us and it was truly a sight to see. I don’t think its possible for anyone to care more than we do and I’m forever proud of that fact. Buckeye fans on the other hand are absolutely garbage, makes sense why people hate the state of Ohio. I will say the Horseshoe is a pretty cool stadium though and the views of the field were great all around. But man that place is quiet, it literally doesn’t even compare to Neyland. Onto the program:

Offense: Without an absolute game breaker at WR (Hyatt) and mastermind running it (I miss you Hendon), this current version of the offense is sadly as elementary as it gets. Our route concepts create absolutely zero confusion for the defense and that’s further emphasized with us no longer going at warp speed anymore. It was honestly hard to watch it play out in person and it’s what we’ve seen all year against teams that either match or overpower us in talent. We run zero misdirection, tight mesh plays, anything involving motion and it makes it so easy for the defense to man up, play cover 2, and out talent us in the end. I’m sitting here watching highlights from the 2022 offense and I caught the Hyatt TD against Missouri on the wheel route from the backfield. That play had us in a 3 TE set with a RB coming in motion on a fake jet sweep that caused all kinds of chaos for the defense post-snap. Where on earth did that play calling/creation go? How many times did Ohio State run crossers for Smith to just run open across the field? Egbuka was running wide open on quick outs for first downs because of simple pre snap motion by their WRs in bunch formations. Their concepts complemented each other and didn’t require a 1 on 1 win every single time unlike ours. And as a result we have Nico running for his life on every play, which to his credit really showed some toughness. I say all that knowing we were dealt a bad hand with Sampson’s injury issues and the WR core being decimated as well. But the personnel shouldn’t hold us back to the lengths that it did tonight and have all season.

Defense: It finally made sense why this team is so shockingly bad on the road while mostly being able to dominate at home. Banks’ system 100% relies on the confusion created by our fans at Neyland and loses that entire edge on the road. Offenses are so disoriented when we play at home and the D-Line feasts on that while the back 7 just do enough to clean up any mistakes. On the road, that entire factor is removed and we end up getting zero pressure with Banks’ tendencies to to rush 4 on every play and drop into zones that our LBs and Safties clearly struggle in (Georgia 2.0). When we did man up tonight, our CBs just weren’t good enough and didn’t do their jobs. But I don’t understand how Banks can just continue to live with that mindset on the road when it repeats itself every single time. If you’re gonna fall, at least go down swinging and try something different man. How he refused to bring any blitz packages on crucial downs will forever infuriate me. This system is good enough to win when we hold the advantages and when the talent levels are near equal, but we’re severely out-schemed in every way when the cards aren’t in our favor. I’m not sure what we do about that other than hope and pray Banks shows some willingness to adjust going forward if we have him around next year.

All in all, I’m proud of Heupel and what he’s done here so far. It was awesome to be in the playoffs and to feel like we’re part of this elite group once again. But the current state of the program and the direction we’re headed in will just never result in more than being a top 9-12 team. We might finish a couple spots ahead or below that every now and then but we will never truly be elite. We’ll always be 9-3 or 10-2. And I appreciate the culture we have with this team and program and it’s amazing to see how much of a brotherhood they seem to have together. But if we want to win with the OSU’s and Georgia’s of the world, Heupel needs to turn into an absolute killer. We can’t sit back in the portal and continue to be outbid for top tier talent because it’s not the “right culture fit” or would disrupt the NIL structure in the team. Those top 1-3 teams don’t care an ounce about that. We can’t continue to lose top recruits to other teams because we weren’t willing to engage in bidding games. At some point, Heupel needs to consider whether his system and program can really take the next step without that type of talent because it sure doesn’t seem like it. After tonight, we need new talent and we need it fast. You cannot leave Nico in this position going into next season or we will have wasted his entire window and sizable NIL investment. At the moment, I don’t see anything that suggests we’d improve past the 9-10 win range again next year with our class coming in and our minor involvement in the portal from the looks of it. And that may be fine and I’d be happy to just make the playoffs again next year, but the outcome won’t be any different and we’ll probably be doing this again in 365 days. I hope Heupel feels the same and doesn’t want to experience this all over again. But we need some change, that’s a fact.

Side note - I hope Elarbee was just left in Columbus tonight. That man is living off the memory of Darnell Wright and riding the coattails of Sampson this season. Why oh why does he have to be Heupel’s best friend
 
  • Like
Reactions: clt_tiger, MrVolton, UpstateVol613 and 14 others
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top