Recruiting Forum Football Talk II

[drvenner]

I watched all of cobra kai and now im watching karate kid for the first time.

Really enjoyed Cobra Kai

 

[jakez4ut]

Lol. He is an idiot. First off, our upperclassmen are plenty talented to beat Kentucky and Arkansas. Secondly, Falcons problem is not talent. It’s coaching. Glad his whole statement is wrong and he has no idea what he is talking about.

trey smith and ty chandler...sure. it gets kinda thin after that. from the 18 class...you could argue the two best guys from that class are the two WR's we have playing CB...

it's not the wrong assertion to state that the vast majority of hte BEST talent on this roster are fr/so....that's why mising this off season in particular was a big deal for us.....

you can't defend the results.....i'm certainly not going to. but it's not lost on me just how big this off season NOT happening was for this program, at this specific point in it's development...

that doesn't excuse some of the other red flags that have been put on display this season that haven't shown themselves til now...but just on "football" stuff....that's a big deal.

 

[TN-POSSUM]

Like everyone else I want the best proven coach available but we always seems to attach to one name for whatever reason in here. Freeze is a good one to look at but I want to know who else is out there. We were toxic last coaching search and the proven coaches weren't going to touch UT but this time if CP did anything he has brought in good players and has built a base of good talent, just seems to not be able to develop the talent. jmo of course

My reasons, Freeze beat Saban twice, Ole Miss was fun to watch while he was there, and he's got Liberty undefeated and ranked.

However, if he's the one that came up with that stupid land sharks idea, then I'll be more open to other candidates.

 

[BigOrangeVols]

It won’t even take losing out.

For the record, I think we could beat Auburn and Vandy, then get destroyed by Florida and A&M to finish the year and he gets fired.

He’s not as safe as the insiders are saying - they’re just getting word from the power players who haven’t made a steadfast decision either way.

Take Atlanta Vol for example. I have a lot of respect for the man and his information, so I’m not throwing stones. I’ve seen some of the philanthropy work and really appreciate it.

However, if you look back at his posts from the summer, every thing was great, Pruitt looked like the real deal, and all boats were rowing in the same direction.

Fast forward to present day, now that we suck on the field, and he said there is still a lot of internal fighting and that he himself would support a coaching change if asked for his opinion.

Now, either things got bad very quickly, or things weren’t as good as he portrayed in the summer. Or, what I think is more likely, is that the opinions of people in power can turn 180 degrees in the blink of an eye and they’re all very fickle and power-craven.

And since the precedent has been set by South Carolina that money isn’t as tight as it seems, Pruitt is not safe, barring some crazy finish where we beat Florida or something.

It's always the same cycle. "Real football coach", "Recruiting real players, not just going by stars", "Great support staff hires". Then bang, season takes a dump and the insiders/commenters change their tune and everyone acts like they weren't praising these same players and coaches all summer.

Pruitt is literally going to hang onto his job for 2 more years all because of that win streak he had last year. We somehow forgot he lost to GA state and BYU and gave him a flippin extension.

 

[drvenner]

You all need to listen to me.... I mean this dude.

 

[Kingston Vol]

And here's what we know about Jeremy Pruitt: he is not used to losing, and he's very tough to be around and work with even when things are good. These are indisputable facts with many corroborating sources.

If things don't turn around on the field, he will further alienate some folks who might have been on his side otherwise. Remember, he doesn't kiss the asses of the administration and boosters the way other coaches would have been made to do. Fulmer stepped in and took on that role for him so he could focus on coaching.

There is no loyalty to Jeremy Pruitt. He is a football coach. And not a very good head coach, it appears. He does not have the leash some on here say or think he does.

 

[volatil]

Didn’t we lose to a Sunbelt team?

 

[UTK]

The article doesn't say who, but it sounds like a few starters may be out.

Auburn could literally play a bunch of walk ons and I'm convinced they'd beat us by at least a couple TDs.

 

[Smyrna ATL Vol]

It won’t even take losing out.

For the record, I think we could beat Auburn and Vandy, then get destroyed by Florida and A&M to finish the year and he gets fired.

He’s not as safe as the insiders are saying - they’re just getting word from the power players who haven’t made a steadfast decision either way.

Take Atlanta Vol for example. I have a lot of respect for the man and his information, so I’m not throwing stones. I’ve seen some of the philanthropy work and really appreciate it.

However, if you look back at his posts from the summer, every thing was great, Pruitt looked like the real deal, and all boats were rowing in the same direction.

Fast forward to present day, now that we suck on the field, and he said there is still a lot of internal fighting and that he himself would support a coaching change if asked for his opinion.

Now, either things got bad very quickly, or things weren’t as good as he portrayed in the summer. Or, what I think is more likely, is that the opinions of people in power can turn 180 degrees in the blink of an eye and they’re all very fickle and power-craven.

And since the precedent has been set by South Carolina that money isn’t as tight as it seems, Pruitt is not safe, barring some crazy finish where we beat Florida or something.

100! Be ready for some flack since you are going against AV! Ha! He doesn’t speak as happy to VFL’s about the situation...

 

[FiremedicVOL127]

Auburn could literally play a bunch of walk ons and I'm convinced they'd beat us by at least a couple TDs.

 

[chavisut]

.

 

[UTK]

It won’t even take losing out.

For the record, I think we could beat Auburn and Vandy, then get destroyed by Florida and A&M to finish the year and he gets fired.

He’s not as safe as the insiders are saying - they’re just getting word from the power players who haven’t made a steadfast decision either way.

Take Atlanta Vol for example. I have a lot of respect for the man and his information, so I’m not throwing stones. I’ve seen some of the philanthropy work and really appreciate it.

However, if you look back at his posts from the summer, every thing was great, Pruitt looked like the real deal, and all boats were rowing in the same direction.

Fast forward to present day, now that we suck on the field, and he said there is still a lot of internal fighting and that he himself would support a coaching change if asked for his opinion.

Now, either things got bad very quickly, or things weren’t as good as he portrayed in the summer. Or, what I think is more likely, is that the opinions of people in power can turn 180 degrees in the blink of an eye and they’re all very fickle and power-craven.

And since the precedent has been set by South Carolina that money isn’t as tight as it seems, Pruitt is not safe, barring some crazy finish where we beat Florida or something.

I want to agree but that would be assuming the university actually gives a damn. Zero evidence of that.

 

[jakez4ut]

And here's what we know about Jeremy Pruitt: he is not used to losing, and he's very tough to be around and work with even when things are good. These are indisputable facts with many corroborating sources.

If things don't turn around on the field, he will further alienate some folks who might have been on his side otherwise. Remember, he doesn't kiss the asses of the administration and boosters the way other coaches would have been made to do. Fulmer stepped in and took on that role for him so he could focus on coaching.

There is no loyalty to Jeremy Pruitt. He is a football coach. And not a very good head coach, it appears. He does not have the leash some on here say or think he does.

well, i think it's safe to say there's enough contradictory information, as far as just how safe, or not, he is, that it's hard to say deinitively one way or the other.

what we do know...fulmer gave him an extension after last year. so he at least wanted the perception to be that we're behind this guy....

and he's not done/said anything so far this year publically to dissuade that (nor do i expect him to for all the obvioys reasons).

let the season play out and we'll see what happens.

i happen to believe that barring an 0fer finish, the UT administration has no desire to do this, this year.....i feel a lot like i did at headed in to 2017. my thoughts then were that there was NO desire to fire butch jones and that he'd basically have to leave them no choice but to fire him. no way a brand new AD comes in year one with designs on firing the football coach at the end of the season.

we know what happened....turns out he left them no choice...lol. feel pretty much the same right now about this season.....we'll see if he leaves Phil no choice.

 

[UTK]

View attachment 323267

I'll pass but I'll take watching a team that looks like they have a passion and give a damn about winning for once lol

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

trey smith and ty chandler...sure. it gets kinda thin after that. from the 18 class...you could argue the two best guys from that class are the two WR's we have playing CB...

it's not the wrong assertion to state that the vast majority of hte BEST talent on this roster are fr/so....that's why mising this off season in particular was a big deal for us.....

Trey is the best of our upper classmen, but by his own admission he's had a poor year. Trey Chandler has been injured a bit this year and when healthy goes down at first contact. Deandre Johnson blew his pass rushing wad week 1 and has been invisible since. Sad reality is, Kivon Bennett might be the most productive senior this year. Nothing against him, but that aint good.

For the 18's... we're really getting next to nothing. Bryce is spotty and honestly just kind of a knucklehead. He flashes and is probably our best DB but that isn't saying much. Outisde of the uscjr game, Alontae has been mediocre and even he has missed playing time due to injuries. Carvin is decent but he's missed several games because of injuries.

Then who is there? Jacob Warren gets about the most playing time of any '18, but you wouldn't know it watching the games because he's a non-factor.

Our far and away best players are from the '19 and '20 classes. This team isn't going to be worth a damn until they're upper classmen.

None of this excuses losing to Arkansas and Kentucky - but truthfully.... I put that on JG. Maybe we win the Arkansas game had he stayed in. That game made it easy to see how the staff thinks he gives us the best chance to win. Mauer and Bailey aren't/weren't ready. Sincerely hope we took this extra bye week to prepare Bailey.

 

[drvenner]

Everyone is going bowling this year.

Could we ask to play ....

Never mind, I cannot think of any auto-wins right now.

 

[Jimmy Football]

Would not be good, I agree. It is still would not be instead of will not be. If they hire him, then I will begin my own hand wringing.

I’m just saying I understand the concern. We’ve already got Dabo plucking kids from our backyard. Add Freeze to that same recruiting footprint, and you have to play against him every year? Brutal. And we already have to play Mullen, Smart, and Saban each year.

A good AD would recognize the danger and act accordingly.

 

[FiremedicVOL127]

I'll pass but I'll take watching a team that looks like they have a passion and give a damn about winning for once lol

I don't disagree with ya, just trying to provide tissue for everyone cryin and butt hurt. Haha

 

[Sugaray13]

Crazy we are projected to still go bowling.
2020 College Football Bowl Predictions - NCAA Bowl Game Projections
via Sports News

Didn't realize the toilet had a bowl game this year.

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

One thing I don't think has been discussed - but likely is playing a significant role in our poor season:

Losing Craig Fitzgerald in a pandemic year.

Losing the S&C coach - especially one as good as CF - is hard. It's especially hard when the kids are at home almost all summer. You'd think it would be an easier transition going to Artis considering he was under CF - but maybe he wasn't fully ready for the job at the time. Maybe there was some things that went by the wayside on account of him not being fully acclimated to the role.

I only bring this up because I mentioned in my last post a number of guys who have missed time to injuries. Carvin, Taylor, Thompson, Chandler, Banks, Solomen, just off the top of my head. And none of it has been significant injuries like broken bones or torn ligaments. All mostly sprains or muscle injuries which could be attributed to not being in the best position to hold up against an all SEC schedule.

 

[Vols4us]

If HB doesn't start and play extensively the rest of the season, it will not matter who protects CJP's job. Vol fans will check out and so will the UTAD's cash flow. Wealthy donors will not have their dollars chasing bad football to shore up stupidity at UT. There will be no sales pitch that saves CJP's job. Start HB and win at least two more games for them to even try to claim he should be given another year. That will most likely be Vandy and Auburn.

Freeze and Sark do it for me. But at his stage I would even take Fickell regardless of the Cincinnati ties. Jeremy never took a HC job at a G-5 level after coming out of an elite P-5 as a coordinator. Which is why he is failing now. Fickell did and has proven himself.

 

[GroverCleveland]

If you can enjoy college football in the midst of a pandemic, then you're obviously not thinking of the grandmothers.

Blue font here?

 

[TrippieRedd]

One thing I don't think has been discussed - but likely is playing a significant role in our poor season:

Losing Craig Fitzgerald in a pandemic year.

Losing the S&C coach - especially one as good as CF - is hard. It's especially hard when the kids are at home almost all summer. You'd think it would be an easier transition going to Artis considering he was under CF - but maybe he wasn't fully ready for the job at the time. Maybe there was some things that went by the wayside on account of him not being fully acclimated to the role.

I only bring this up because I mentioned in my last post a number of guys who have missed time to injuries. Carvin, Taylor, Thompson, Chandler, Banks, Solomen, just off the top of my head. And none of it has been significant injuries like broken bones or torn ligaments. All mostly sprains or muscle injuries which could be attributed to not being in the best position to hold up against an all SEC schedule.

Didn’t someone point out that we looked smaller? I wonder if that also has contributed to not just injuries, but overall play, maybe we aren’t as strong. Obviously, I could be overlooking it, but you never know.

 

[jakez4ut]

Trey is the best of our upper classmen, but by his own admission he's had a poor year. Trey Chandler has been injured a bit this year and when healthy goes down at first contact. Deandre Johnson blew his pass rushing wad week 1 and has been invisible since. Sad reality is, Kivon Bennett might be the most productive senior this year. Nothing against him, but that aint good.

For the 18's... we're really getting next to nothing. Bryce is spotty and honestly just kind of a knucklehead. He flashes and is probably our best DB but that isn't saying much. Outisde of the uscjr game, Alontae has been mediocre and even he has missed playing time due to injuries. Carvin is decent but he's missed several games because of injuries.

Then who is there? Jacob Warren gets about the most playing time of any '18, but you wouldn't know it watching the games because he's a non-factor.

Our far and away best players are from the '19 and '20 classes. This team isn't going to be worth a damn until they're upper classmen.

None of this excuses losing to Arkansas and Kentucky - but truthfully.... I put that on JG. Maybe we win the Arkansas game had he stayed in. That game made it easy to see how the staff thinks he gives us the best chance to win. Mauer and Bailey aren't/weren't ready. Sincerely hope we took this extra bye week to prepare Bailey.

yup. i really do think, way down deep, had we had a normal off season and gotten play our regularly scheculed 2020 schedule, the outlook would be a lot different than it is today.

i don't know that we beat FL early on, but i think it's clear that they're a lot better now, than at hte beginnin of the season....and vice versa, seems like playing UGA later, in November, may have in fact been a good thing for us. we also know OU isn't as good as years past....and you just couldn't ever extrapolate how important developmentally those early cupcake games might have been for this roster.

and there'd be no aTm, Auburn on the schedule....and you'd get Bama after a bye, on the heels of their 7th game in a row.

all speculation on my part obviously....but our schedule this season was really, really good.....i loved the way our schedule laid out this year.....

anyway....it's all ifs and buts.....and the way things have played out have been less than ideal.

next year...maybe....again. lol.

 

[Smyrna ATL Vol]

And here's what we know about Jeremy Pruitt: he is not used to losing, and he's very tough to be around and work with even when things are good. These are indisputable facts with many corroborating sources.

If things don't turn around on the field, he will further alienate some folks who might have been on his side otherwise. Remember, he doesn't kiss the asses of the administration and boosters the way other coaches would have been made to do. Fulmer stepped in and took on that role for him so he could focus on coaching.

There is no loyalty to Jeremy Pruitt. He is a football coach. And not a very good head coach, it appears. He does not have the leash some on here say or think he does.

Man, literally said everything I have wanted to say for a while but have held off. No one realizes how much Fulmer does for Pruitt. He has done everything to make Pruitts life easier and given him all he has wanted. No recent coaches have gotten the deal Pruitt has and he is still failing. Fulmer is going to paint a better picture to donors because that is our lifeblood. But he is not so happy when my VFL talks to him.