Recruiting Football Talk VIII

[MarcoVol]

Fellas I’m housed

Go Vols!

 

[rocktopper16]

Here’s a thought, quit getting so offended by someone disagreeing on a message board lol

Rocktopper and I are fine

We are fine but I agree with everything he said.

You don’t have to be so harsh man. It is a message board but in the same token my fandom is different than yours. I’d add that mental health is severely declining for all in recent years. JV is a great dude.

I wish LA VOL would return along with others. I don’t care if he spilled another nug, I liked his post. This was the best damn forum on VN for a long ass time but recently hasn’t been so great. I’m drunk and rambling on.

 

[rocktopper16]

Mike best hope he balls out next year. You’re either a vol or you’re not. We won’t forget what he did, regardless is it was a tactic to get more money or not.

 

[rocktopper16]

Fellas I’m housed

Go Vols!

I’m cashed myself.

 

[rocktopper16]

And herein lies the issue. It’s all about how it’s reported by the media and those claiming to know things. This is a lot easier to swallow than “he’s gone” or “he’s entered the transfer portal”. I mean I guess he technically has entered it, but he’s not actually walked.

Media won’t change there narrative until vol twitter makes it personal.

He didn’t enter though. He still cannot be contacted by teams nor can he reach out. He still has all Tennessee stuff in his social media.

There’s a linebacker from UGA who recently followed Nico and Nico followed him back. I believe he followed a couple of other Tennessee players too. It’s something to keep a eye on after the playoff games this week.

 

[rocktopper16]

As a high school coach myself, I promise you guys, coaches are playing the players they can trust the most.

You are not going to intentionally not play a guy that you think can help you win

UNLESS YOUR BUTCH JONESSSSSZS

 

[rocktopper16]

Alvin Kamara. That dude could have set records to never be broke at the university of Tennessee.

 

[rocktopper16]

Boo reminds me of Da’rick Rodgers. Ik, they’re there owwwn person but dude will be an absolute hound in our scheme.

 

[UTSuave’]

 

[UTSuave’]

If you guys do not think guys like CLR are using back channels and tampering for a QB with Nico's potential, then you are the ones who are ignorant of the current state of college football. I am so sick of how guys get attacked for dropping what may be some info. A poster I like said some things about LA Vol and he got more upset than he should and stopped posting. Others had done these attacks on him as well. I know him and he was the most legit poster ever. Now, he is gone.

Bring em back jacket…we come in peace

 

[volstudent26]

Mike matthews just added one of his old Instagram posts back in Tennesse gear. Doesn’t necessarily mean anything but previously he had hidden of deleted them all.

 

[rocktopper16]

 

[Kurtastrophe]

Matthews. But even without him, when you lose a ton of guys at one position,even if they're all backups, it makes you wonder.

I would agree with this if we hadn’t seen the same thing with the secondary last year. I think it was pretty clear that the 2024 secondary was better than 2023.

 

[volbeast33]

Our biggest issue has been recruiting. We are missing on way too many players. The list of offensive recruits that have been average or better in four years:
1. Nico
2. Squirrel
3. Sampson

That’s absolutely pathetic.

 

[volsagain]

I like a good 34d

Nice and Firm !

 

[headhunter15]

Crap…just saw the Mike Matthews news. Fingers crossed UT can hold onto him. Thought he showed potential. Can’t let him get away.

 

[knoxvol52]

These young men have way to much control these days.

Players should be paid for the production on the field, not for making cookie commercials or meet and greet.

 

[CAVPUT]

Crap…just saw the Mike Matthews news. Fingers crossed UT can hold onto him. Thought he showed potential. Can’t let him get away.

The potential is there? I guess, but I keep wondering why he couldn't see the field given the play and health of our starters? It's not like we were running the Heupel fast offense. It was very conservative and ground game focused. Maybe he's still young, but could they not find 5 or 6 plays he could run and get him on the field in those situations? Dunno. It will be interesting to see the value the staff sees in him. Just odd we didn't see more of him this year given our struggles on offense.

 

[Vols4us]

Come on bro…we all know how high school politics works if you have a freshman that’s better than your seniors on day 1 it’s because you’ve recruited him from another area…you’re playing players with most experience which games from the film room and live reps..so you have something to critique their craft on (coaching)…you don’t get that from practice because it’s not live…freshmen should always be in your rotation on the chance you have that hidden gem.lights coming on hit different for certain people.i know you’ve seen it up close if you’re in fact a high school coach respectfully.

To somewhat prove the point. Sevier County High won their state championship starting a talented freshman QB last season to build his experience, who was clearly one of the top 5 in the state this season as a soph; along with using freshman and sophomore RB's with other underclassmen sprinkled in throughout the starters and two deep. They had plenty of talented upperclassmen leaders that helped mentor the young guys. They lost a number of talented players to injury at various points this season, but the younger guys had played meaningful time and were able to step in and get it done. The result was an undefeated season that went through Central, Powell and West through the playoffs.

Play the talent. They need to own it, fix it and go win.

 

[VolNash17]

I'm no UNC fan but to say they've done nearly nothing since 1998 is ridiculous. 8 Final Fours, 3 national titles, and 2 national runner-ups. If that's nearly nothing I'd hate to know what you think of our accomplishments in basketball since then.

Getting Roy Williams to leave Kansas after 15 years and being declined once by him was a tremendous haul. Only reason he left was obvious being a UNC grad. Declined them once before. Basically saved their basketball program

 

[Buddy’s Bandit]

I rest my faith in DW and staff. AS long as they are around, we will contend for championships…..particularly in football. He understand it’s the grease that turns the Wheel.

 

[Vols4us]

Folks - reminder - major college athletics are professional now. There is no union/collective bargaining with team payroll caps. It is all about what the market will bear in a sport that is violent and has career ending injuries. The players and their families know that side better than fans. They also want the best path forward to playing in the NFL. The players will come and go forever now, even if they end up with collective bargaining. The make up of the Vol coaching and support staffs matters greatly. Instead of career planning in college, the players and parents are doing it in high school now.

As fans of a professional team we are either in or out. If in, that means spending money on NIL, AD donations, tickets, buying gear and such to the level you can. If out, you are not vested in the program's success and your input will not have much of an effect. To UT and the program, money talks. For money to be abundant they have to win at a high level. If they are satisfied with the current or even a slightly reduced flow of it - then 8-10 win seasons will be the norm.

"Family" atmospheres only goes so far in professional sports programs. Leadership and development have to be strong. We will now see if Heup and DW have what it takes to develop an elite program.

 

[Volbucky]

Signing a 5 star only to sit on the bench and not play a ton of meaningful snaps is dumb. No matter how it shakes it this time. That’s a dumb plan

 

[dmwvol12]

Damn I forgot about that scrub. Who else we forgetting? Crouch also comes to mind

The legend of the high school 5 star is a story as old as time. He was a 5 star so he has to be the best on the roster. How many times do we have to see it before we realize it’s based on potential. He couldn’t get on the field ahead of a MASH unit but he’s an all American because the staff is incompetent. He might figure it out and be elite but I’m confident if he’s not playing he’s either injured or it’s on him for not doing what he needs to do. Good coaches make players earn playing time. See Rick Barnes and Tony V.

 

[Revived2002]

Not worth buying a player’s jersey, getting invested in them, or even expect to see them graduate from UT.

Feels that way

And fascinating that selling your name, image, and likeness so that it can be branded with the team logo is at the heart of how these players get paid. I wonder how that plays out over time, if fans become much less interested in the players..?