Recruiting Forum Football Talk [RIP 9.3.2019]

[ChismsHeadband]

I know DBs should be this staff's specialty, but where are the elite DLs and pass rushers? Huuge need.

I mean, Bailey and Davis, but Davis isn't looking like a super firm commit right now.. Tyler Baron should replace Davis at the worst, and let's hope we land a couple more real strong DL/DE/OLBs.

 

[ChismsHeadband]

I used to get redneck mad when rival fans insulted the Vols. Now I'm just like "yeah, we suck, maybe we'll go to a bowl game this year."

I still talk mad sh** to my Bama fan coworker, like off-the-wall stuff like we're gonna go into Tuscaloosa and make the fanbase want to fire Saban. I don't have to believe it to say it.

 

[DefenseWins]

I leave for a couple of hours and now all the CB’s roll in!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT IS GOING ON!?!?!?!?!?
ITS HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!

 

[chargervol]

Same here, if I hadn't been right about the last 3.

The number of good coaches is minimal, the number of great coaches, minuscule.

Betting against new coaches isn't award worthy, it's simply the safest bet. Hardly worth a patting of the back, especially from one's self.

 

[chargervol]

Yes, though people are taking it with orange shaded glasses. A bunch of those guys he was like "Tennessee is in good position". Big difference between that and TN locks, like some posters are taking it. People are going to start thinking we land 90% of them, when the odds are probably closer to 50-60%. I mean, King as an example - we've all gotten hyped about him, but we're still fighting 3 schools and we may not even be the favorite for all we know. Even if we are, I doubt the margin is much considering A&M is also in good position and doesn't have another top QB already committed.

tl:dr - Good vibes, but my cup is securely placed.

Disagree. Your example of King was one that he gave the least confidence in but still think it's most likely a 2 horse race.
The fact that it's between us and a home state team may give them an edge but it being such a race is a testament in itself.

 

[butchna]

Disagree. Your example of King was one that he gave the least confidence in but still think it's most likely a 2 horse race.
The fact that it's between us and a home state team may give them an edge but it being such a race is a testament in itself.

Even worse for ole Devo, his personal nemesis Chaney is why we’re even in this conversation.

 

[Devo182]

I'm going there Tuesday. I'm scared to death.

The whole string of recent D.R. stories is crazy. Our friends are headed there for a wedding next week and my wife had mentioned going there for our anniversary. I said, "let's see what our friends say before we book". Now I'm extra glad we haven't rushed things. Things happen all over, but that country has never been especially safe and the recent media sure hasn't helped its image.

 

[Devo182]

Disagree. Your example of King was one that he gave the least confidence in but still think it's most likely a 2 horse race.
The fact that it's between us and a home state team may give them an edge but it being such a race is a testament in itself.

No doubt a testament. I just mean we have reached the point of expecting to get him and if we don't it will feel like a big blow. Some are taking the positive vibes to go full blown, but really what are our odds with King? 60-70%?

 

[Devo182]

Even worse for ole Devo, his personal nemesis Chaney is why we’re even in this conversation.

Haha yes, I'm upset we are in on a 2nd elite QB. No wait, that's you.

I like Chaney...just realize he's not worth being the #1 paid OC in the country...he's quite good, just not elite. And that's fine for us right now. When you're at the bottom you have to overpay. It's the premium for being so down.

fwiw I think he's good with QBs and that balances things out a bit for him. His scheme these days is nothing to write home about though.

King has also talked a fair amount about Weinke. He is putting in work, despite the haters saying he is dead weight.

 

[Devo182]

"My name is Ella-May from Mobile, Alabama, and I just want to say since listening to Kanye's workout tape, I been able to date outside the family, I got a double wide, and I rode a plane"

Alabama...everybody knows you're trash.

 

[chargervol]

No doubt a testament. I just mean we have reached the point of expecting to get him and if we don't it will feel like a big blow. Some are taking the positive vibes to go full blown, but really what are our odds with King? 60-70%?

I'd give the edge to the home state school, slightly tbh.
I just think you're underestimating the fans in this forum. Some negavols will try to paint the ones we lose as a "whiff" but I think you're misinterpreting good old fun and hype from posters, as ignorance on how it really works.

They know.

 

[volatil]

Watching Finebaum. Dooley beat writer for Florida on here talking about them possibly being 11-1.

Games he’s concerned with not named Georgia...

LSU, Auburn, Kentucky, and Missouri

 

[Devo182]

I'd give the edge to the home state school, slightly tbh.
I just think you're underestimating the fans in this forum. Some negavols will try to paint the ones we lose as a "whiff" but I think you're misinterpreting good old fun and hype from posters, as ignorance on how it really works.

They know.

Gotcha. I think many HERE know. Thinking more of the 247 responses and how the FF will respond. Ya know implosions will begin with the first guy we don't get. FONG LIED TO US Just trying to edge expectations, maybe this is the wrong place for that. Clearly you are already there (reality). But the FF, VQ, 247, are not full of vets.

 

[Devo182]

Watching Finebaum. Dooley beat writer for Florida on here talking about them possibly being 11-1.

Games he’s concerned with not named Georgia...

LSU, Auburn, Kentucky, and Missouri

Not impossible, but probably as likely as us going 10-2. UGA will whip them. LSU is even with them, as is Auburn. There's 10.0 expected wins. Miami could surprise them (30% chance?)...FSU is late in the season. I know they were terrible last year, but Briles is an absolute wildcard (20%?). By late season that offense could be rolling.

Ok, let's give them every possible benefit of the doubt and say they are 90/10 favorites over the rest of the East....we are now down to 9.0 expected wins. Even an extremely optimistic outlook leaves them a few games short in my book.

And I believe they are replacing most of their OL (Chatta?). They ARE fairly high on returning production, but if the new OL doesn't produce...well we know what that leads to. On top of that much of their top end incoming talent has exited, so they are probably thin at a few positions as well.

Wildcard in all of this is Mullen is an extremely good coach, as is his DC. They might have the best playcallers in the league.

 

[cHiZzLeVOL]

Is Finger Paint doing edits for Alabama recruits now?

If so.... heck yes! There recruiting is about to go down the toilet.....

 

[butchna]

Haha yes, I'm upset we are in on a 2nd elite QB. No wait, that's you.

I like Chaney...just realize he's not worth being the #1 paid OC in the country...he's quite good, just not elite. And that's fine for us right now. When you're at the bottom you have to overpay. It's the premium for being so down.

fwiw I think he's good with QBs and that balances things out a bit for him. His scheme these days is nothing to write home about though.

King has also talked a fair amount about Weinke. He is putting in work, despite the haters saying he is dead weight.

Ok with your Weinke point. Never going to agree with your Chaney feud. Money well spent specially since it’s not ours. Will be the going rate sooner rather than later.

 

[Devo182]

And he couldn't have gone to UF?!??

UT luck...

 

[Paper_Towel]

Whoever commits first in-state will be like:

 

[Devo182]

Any updates on when we may hear something on Solomon and/or Gibbs? I figure Gibbs is the long shot, but we should have a legitimate shot with Solomon...

Absolutely nobody knows anything about this whatsoever. It's a dark, long rabbit hole. That is assuming we have even filed the paperwork. Some think we are watching to see what works and doesn't. There really isn't much of a rush. They are preparing to play regardless.

 

[Devo182]

Oh, well that's where you messed up. I don't know what you really expected there.

Was at Bonnaroo. Wasn't much of an opportunity cost that night. And he was scheduled right after Vampire Weekend, on the same stage, so we just had to sit there and wait.

 

[ChattaTNVol]

Not impossible, but probably as likely as us going 10-2. UGA will whip them. LSU is even with them, as is Auburn. There's 10.0 expected wins. Miami could surprise them (30% chance?)...FSU is late in the season. I know they were terrible last year, but Briles is an absolute wildcard (20%?). By late season that offense could be rolling.

Ok, let's give them every possible benefit of the doubt and say they are 90/10 favorites over the rest of the East....we are now down to 9.0 expected wins. Even an extremely optimistic outlook leaves them a few games short in my book.

And I believe they are replacing most of their OL (Chatta?). They ARE fairly high on returning production, but if the new OL doesn't produce...well we know what that leads to. On top of that much of their top end incoming talent has exited, so they are probably thin at a few positions as well.

Wildcard in all of this is Mullen is an extremely good coach, as is his DC. They might have the best playcallers in the league.

Just so happens I am almost always working on my argument about how and why we can beat Florida this year and it's all directed at their offensive line. I mean I'm sort of putting all my eggs in this basket because other than that they probably do have a pretty good team. I guess I'm not totally convinced we pull it off but I'm still arguing my point. Here are my latest arguments.

We have to stop Florida’s offense if we are to win that game. They’re replacing 4 multi-year starters from their offensive line and 7 out of their top 8 rotation from last year so while it’s not guaranteed I’m expecting their offense to struggle a bit similar to what happened to Auburn last year.

Auburn had a returning stud quarterback, much of its elite receiving corps and a stable of quality running backs but their offensive line was in rebuild mode and so all those other weapons at the skill positions took a huge step back in production in 2018.

That doesn’t always happen. Alabama, for example, has the talent level that allows them to reload on the offensive line with relative ease. Florida doesn’t have elite offensive line talent and they’re short on healthy bodies, so much so that they are expected to have a number of true freshmen in their 2-deep for the line, mostly 3-stars.

Pruitt’s defensive philosophy is to keep sustained pressure on the opposing offense so if we can do that then we have an opportunity to flip the script from last year and our defense can lead the way for us to bring home the win. jmo.

Almost without exception all of the previews I’ve read for the Florida football team this year are forecasting an improvement for them over their performance last year. The one caveat almost everyone includes is they have to figure out their offensive line, meaning they have to replace 4 starters.

The big focus in on their elite receiving corps and the presumption that Franks will be as good or better this season, largely due to improving confidence. They also have decent running backs and tight ends.

Last year the AP had Auburn at #9 in their preseason poll. Athlon had Auburn at #7 and Phil Steele had them at #19 but he had Miami at #7 and Wisconsin at #6. Not one of those 3 teams finished in the top 25 for the year. There may have been other misses but my point is no one is that good at predicting how the season is going to shake out.

The line opened with Auburn an 18.5 point favorite against us last year and was still at 14.5 on Friday morning before game day.

Auburn has good running backs though they lost their stud from 2017. Still they had Stidham and almost all of their receiving production returning yet their offense was struggling from the start of the season.

In Athlon’s season preview for Auburn was this snippet:

In 2018, the question won't be about the QB but about his protection. During five of its last six games in 2017, Auburn started four seniors on its offensive line, and those players have given way to a lot of new faces. Line coach J.B. Grimes has figured out at least three of the five starting spots: left tackle, left guard and right guard.

The post mortem from their game with us was covered by SDS:

The wheels came off in a hurry, despite Auburn being favored in every game this season. Even head coach Gus Malzahn was scratching his head after the latest debacle, a 30-24 loss at home to a Tennessee team that hadn’t won a conference game in 11 previous tries.

“I’m going to watch the film,” Malzahn said after the shocking loss. “We’ll have a plan moving forward, whatever that is, to get better. Bottom line is we’ve got to get better and we’ve got to get better as a team. I’m very disappointed with our performance. I thought we would play better.”

There are many reasons why a team goes into the dumpster. Auburn is no exception. Here are five glaring reasons for the sudden collapse.

1. Offensive line

This is a no-brainer. It’s the first thing that comes to mind. The running game has become inconsistent, to put it mildly. The Tigers failed to break 100 yards as a team in the two previous games prior to accumulating 126 in the loss to Tennessee. Protecting quarterback Jarrett Stidham has been a problem as well.

“I think we’ve got to look at everything right now. We didn’t protect very well,” Malzahn said. “We need to look at everything — from an offensive line standpoint, for really all positions.”

In his interview on Wednesday, Pruitt explained that his defensive philosophy is and always has been to keep pressure on the opposing offense. That worked for us last year against Auburn and Kentucky. Since I’m seeing pretty much the same hype for Florida this year that was published last year and since Florida has to replace 4 starters on their offensive line, and really 7 of their top 8 linemen from last year, I don’t understand why more writers aren’t just a tad bit more cautious on the Gators prospects for this year. jmo.

 

[Sleegro]

I know DBs should be this staff's specialty, but where are the elite DLs and pass rushers? Huuge need.

We've actually signed a lot of dl and olb the last two years. Maybe not as highly rated as some would like but it's not like they are ignoring it. 7 in 2018 and at least 4 in 2019 plus Solomon and possibly crouch and toot depending on where they end up. So potentially up to 14 dl and edge rushers in the last 2 years. We definitely could use more. Just pointing out that it they are in fact signing those positions in bulk and it may not be as bad as people are making it out to be.

 

[Devo182]

Interesting (at least to me) answer by Ubben on which staff left the program in its worst shape. I thought there was no way anyone could have done worst than Dooley, but apparently Dooley held Butch's beer:

"what staff left this program in the worse shape at their departure? Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley or Butch Jones?

Justin L.

There’s only one answer here. It’s Butch Jones. Lane Kiffin is a competent coach who was probably a little too green to be running a big-time program in college or the NFL a decade ago. His Nick Saban-fueled rebirth has been interesting to watch, and I suspect he’ll have a far more successful second life at another major program before we’ve seen the last of him.

Dooley was in over his head, and like I highlighted in the piece you referenced, a recruiting class with zero offensive linemen is outrageous and I can’t believe anyone bought into the idea that it was wise or acceptable. It was insane.

But the top-to-bottom issues in the program under Jones, along with the bottoming out on his way out, make him the clear choice. The lack of development has put Tennessee in one of the lowest periods in its history. The issues in the strength and conditioning program contributed to that, and the thin workload just wasn’t enough to ever come close to achieving what this program is capable of doing. Additionally, the program’s consistent half-truths and mistruths publicly cost him trust with the fan base and more than a few players.

When a program has major contributors bailing in the middle of a season, it has a major problem. If it’s one guy, sure, maybe it’s just that player’s issue or he’s getting bad advice whispered in his ear. When it happens as often as it happened at Tennessee under Jones, the responsibility lies at the feet of the coaching staff.

No coaching staff can do that much damage to a program in one year, so rule Kiffin out. Dooley was a bad hire, but the program Jones inherited was not the relative disaster Jeremy Pruitt inherited."

 

[Devo182]

We've actually signed a lot of dl and olb the last two years. Maybe not as highly rated as some would like but it's not like they are ignoring it. 7 in 2018 and at least 4 in 2019 plus Solomon and possibly crouch and toot depending on where they end up. So potentially up to 14 dl and edge rushers in the last 2 years. We definitely could use more. Just pointing out that it they are in fact signing those positions in bulk and it may not be as bad as people are making it out to be.

Good points. Just itching for some stud HS DL guys. Still hoping Rogers gets his head out of the Kroger's and comes to a real school.

 

[LightningVol]

I can definitely understand the need for versatility and flexibility because I've having a bit of a challenge trying to find enough initial counters for all the guys we're getting. I think I'm a half-dozen or more short for this class. I know, I know. It's only June.

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I saw that too. A guess a few guys could have nice seasons and go pro, but there will be movement. Grad transfers and such. Pruitt will find a way.