Recruiting Forum Football Talk [RIP 9.3.2019]

[McGeesPub]

and that's fine. but situations being what htey are, i think it'd be hard to find anyone to argue against the notion that Kirby walked in a plug and play situation, where Pruitt.........hasn't.

what kirby stepped in to was more akin to what Fulmer took over after Majors. what Pruitt walked in to is more akin to what majors walked in to after Battle (and imo, it was worse than that with all the leadership changes, and how that search played out in the end).

so if you wanna compare Kirby and Pruitt, fine. but it's not apples to apples...if that can be at least agreed upon, then rank 'em however you see fit....doesn't matter to me.

Of course not. I’ve said for awhile that the closest comparison for Kirby was Fulmer. People want to compare Pruitt and Kirby because they were both DCs under Saban, but that’s probably where the similarities end. As far rankings as a coach, Kirby has top 2 results in the SEC and Pruitt does not.

 

[jakez4ut]

True. And add that I'll be patient with that determination. I know some resent the on the job training/learning but that's the direction we went. As long as the trend is upward, I'm in.

The no hesitation to correct choices like Helton does inspire confidence.

yep. decisive.

the other thing that really has me feeling more optimistic is that the program is getting the resources (people) it needs/wants to do what they think is needed. getting Chaney and Ansley on this staff, adding Tee martin.....the gaggle of analysts and off field support, retaining Fitz....all big steps imo.

if nothing else, there just won't be any excuses about we coudln't hire this guy or didn't the moeny needed for that guy etc...he's getting what he wants. there seems to be more alignment at UT right now than there has been in maybe 15 years.

the only problem is that this thing is probably a slow turner no matter who the head coach is, so while you can be cautiously optimistic for the immediate future, you still have to have your sights set on 2-3 years down the road...get to year 4 and see what it looks like in other words....by then we should have seen all this stuff start to pay, or have already paid, some dividends.

like you said, as long as it keeps going in a positive direction, stay the course.

 

[jakez4ut]

Of course not. I’ve said for awhile that the closest comparison for Kirby was Fulmer. People want to compare Pruitt and Kirby because they were both DCs under Saban, but that’s probably where the similarities end. As far rankings as a coach, Kirby has top 2 results in the SEC and Pruitt does not.

agreed.

 

[volatil]

Among other things, he apparently doesn't think too highly of our coaching staff.

Has us as his No 7 most improved team and can win 9 games in this article. Story changes daily with him it seems. I picture Phill Steele walking around with his underwear on the outside of his pants.


Also how is this a violation?
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt's tweet deemed NCAA violation

 

[yourstruly23]

Kiss of death

 

[McGeesPub]

Kiss of death

I’ve maintained that UGA is the most underachieving school in college athletics, but A&M (and to a bit lesser extent Texas) is right up there. Good lord, how do you not win an NC in 80 years with those resources.

 

[HankHill]

I expected the "just one game" responses, as I said, I gave them to myself. But as I also pointed out, the dt troubles were repeatedly mentioned at Bama also.

It's not like I expected to say something critical and not to be met with pushback. But the above did happen. I'm also keeping in mind that Pruitt may have adjusted/learned over time along with hoping Ansley brings a little something to the table.
Not like I'm declaring defeat.

I think the bigger question is...(and a lot of big time successful assistants ultimately fail because of this) but how does Pruitt adjust his scheme and overall philosophy when you don’t have one of the most talented teams in the country. Georgia, FSU, and bama are all top 5 in talent virtually every year.

It would take legitimately 6-8 years for us to stock pile and get to that point, doesn’t mean you can’t win a lot of games right now or the next handful but he has to prove he can do it in both situations. Some can but most can’t.

 

[HankHill]

The only problem I have with this assessment is Kirby was never a head coach, was a DC at AL also, walked into a team loaded with talent that for the most part was well coached, and he was instantly the #2 coach in the SEC destined to become the next Saban as far as the media is concerned.

I honestly don’t see how it’s even possible to have Kirby ranked ahead of jimbo in anyway what so ever.

 

[HankHill]

To be fair in the last 2 classes we've signed 7 pure DL plus Solomon, 3 edge rushers and 3 lb who could play inside or off the edge. Now the only 5 star is the transfer and we don't really know what we have with any of them. And certainly could use more but like 40% of the first 2 classes were along the lines of scrimmage and there's only so many spots per class. But it's not like they're ignoring it. Hopefully we can get more this year too and have a couple be bluechippers.

Also edge players imo are the toughest to evaluate. Obviously they are the tops of each class are pretty safe. But there are so many great edge players that was low ranked and weird sized LBs coming out.


Josh Allen 1st rounder from Kentucky was a 6’4 210lb 2 star LB coming out of high school.

 

[RiotVol]

I’ve maintained that UGA is the most underachieving school in college athletics, but A&M (and to a bit lesser extent Texas) is right up there. Good lord, how do you not win an NC in 80 years with those resources.

I've been to my fair share of college campuses, and Texas A&M was by far the weirdest.

 

[butchna]

I've been to my fair share of college campuses, and Texas A&M was by far the weirdest.

Had loads of fun myself. Welcoming fans...great environment.

 

[HankHill]

I've been to my fair share of college campuses, and Texas A&M was by far the weirdest.

Try going to Oregon. Naked hippies everywhere

 

[butchna]

Try going to Oregon. Naked hippies everywhere

Quality hippies

 

[DeepPurpleFloyd]

You just really...
























...hate to see it.

That's LGBTQ AF

 

[RiotVol]

Had loads of fun myself. Welcoming fans...great environment.

I wasn't there for a football game, which by all accounts seem like a great time.

 

[volatil]

Quality hippies
View attachment 212206

We need to step up our hippie game around here

 

[JohnD13]

I always try to avoid responding to certain posts because I figure nothing good can come of it. I agree with those that say we have to prove ourselves and I think we will.

But no, that CH is not about overall position groups. It’s coaches, and in particular, head coach. Texas A&M doesn’t have anywhere close to the 2nd best overall position groups. They have Jimbo Fisher who Steele thinks is tied with Kirby as the 2nd best coach in the league.

Pruitt’s ranking is not outside the norm. It may be outside the ranking in our bubble but most other publications have similar rankings for Pruitt. Sporting News dropped him from 44th best in the nation to start last year to 54th best to start this year. Barrett Sallee writing for CBS has him ranked at #11 among fellow SEC coaches this year. Athlon has him at #13 this year. He’s largely unproven working on his own at the top of a program and the way he finished last year to some degree overshadowed the wins against Auburn on the road and Kentucky at home.

Two of the knocks on Pruitt starting out was he didn’t have the temperament to be a head coach and he was difficult to work with. He threw a lot of his players under the bus on national TV during halftime of the Alabama game last year (and most of our fans cheered) and there were whispers of dysfunction between him and Helton as the season wore on. Some people think a lot of our players quit on him at the end of last year and outside our bubble he doesn’t escape responsibility for that.

Most people here will know that probably 95% or better of my posts tend to look for the silver lining in things. I’m hopeful for Pruitt. I think he came in here spoiled. He’s only ever had experience coaching the most talented teams in all of college football. Now he has to work and actually work harder probably than he ever imagined. The most important thing he probably needed to learn is that he can’t do it all by himself. Nobody can, not here, not anywhere. He needs his players and he needs his staff. I think from some of the things I’ve heard from both him and Fulmer during the offseason we’re going to see a bit of a different Pruitt this year. I figure he’ll go 11-1 this year in the regular season, 12-0 if he can figure out a way to beat Vanderbilt, and that’ll all be reflected in his ranking next year. jmo.

11-1. LMAO

 

[SLICKYINC]

That's LGBTQ AF

 

[LynxVol]

SIAP

Pop quiz: Who had the lowest interception rate in the SEC last season? You're probably thinking Tua Tagovailoa, right? It's a good guess, but it's wrong. How about Jake Fromm? He was terrific for Georgia, right? Well, that's the wrong answer, too.

The answer, you might be surprised to learn, is Tennessee's Jarrett Guarantano, who threw only three picks in 246 attempts, despite playing behind one of the country's worst offensive lines.

OK, one more quiz question. Who had the better season?

• Player A: 59.4% completions, 7.8 yards per pass, 3.4-1 TD-to-INT ratio, 35% conversions on third-down throws
• Player B: 62.2% completions, 7.8 yards per pass, 4-1 TD-to-INT ratio, 41% conversions on third-down throws

Pretty close, but you'd probably give the nod to Player B, right? Well, once again, that's Guarantano. The other player is Oregon's Justin Herbert, widely considered one of the top QB prospects in college football.

Long story short, Guarantano was pretty darn good last season, even if you didn't notice. And, of course, the reason you probably didn't notice is because Tennessee was pretty bad. That's really the true benchmark for Guarantano, too. Adversity was all around him. He was sacked on 8.2% of his dropbacks, good for 106th in FBS. He ranked 119th in FBS with 39% of his throws coming under pressure. And his rushing offense ranked last in the SEC.

But when Guarantano wasn't buried under the pass rush, he was developing into a premier QB. It was just a little tough to notice.

"He's incredibly smart, and football comes fairly easy to him," Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt said. "He's got really good arm strength, he's tough, he's a good athlete. He has a lot of really good intangibles to be a good quarterback."

Not only did Guarantano survive the O-line struggles last year, he thrived. When pressured, he completed 57% of his passes and averaged 9 yards per attempt. No QB in the country was better. Few QBs needed to be. The good news is Guarantano has more room to grow, and his role in the offense figures to expand, too. He threw only 12 touchdown passes last season, but doubling that number might be a good starting point for 2019.

The better news for Tennessee fans, however, is that Guarantano's development could be matched by that offensive line in 2019. Pruitt has depth at long last, including five-star freshmen Darnell Wright and Wanya Morris, which could allow Guarantano to reach his potential.

- ESPN

 

[jpope9]

Among other things, he apparently doesn't think too highly of our coaching staff.

the fact he has our DB's ranked 8th in the league shows he's FOS.

 

[Glitch]

 

[SLICKYINC]

Oooof

 

[RiotVol]

Oooof

I will be taking the under on their season win total.

 

[Volbucky]

Oooof

Looks like the perfect storm is brewing for a 2019 azz whipping in the swamp courtesy of Pruitt and Co.

 

[barrylee]

So who has the 3rd best coach? There are 2 13's, maybe we are 3..