Recruiting Forum Football Talk [RIP 9.3.2019]

[SugarCC]

Not sure he has been as badthis yr as people make him out to be because of stats. He has affected QB at times just no sacks. Not great but not pathetic like people are saying. Like Taylor was bashed by vq but the guy busted through line in both games just didn't sack the QB since QB got away. Our biggest problem is actually tackling the QB when we get there.

I posted the same thing yesterday, just my initial reaction. We get good pressure, we just have to finish it off with the sack. If we continue getting the type of pressure we have been able to generate so far, I believe the sacks will come. Pressure is good, we have to be able to finish it off though.

 

[MetalVolunteer]

Mariotta May be headed to the trade block. Don’t see them signing him to a long term contract

 

[Brillovol]

Not sure he has been as badthis yr as people make him out to be because of stats. He has affected QB at times just no sacks. Not great but not pathetic like people are saying. Like Taylor was bashed by vq but the guy busted through line in both games just didn't sack the QB since QB got away. Our biggest problem is actually tackling the QB when we get there.

Two things: 1) he’s had to learn a new position in a new system, and 2) we’ve played two quick hitting offenses. The first will lead to some apprehension and the second cuts down available time.

His career’s not over yet. Until then I will wait patiently and hope to see improvement.

 

[BigOrange15]

From Brian Randolph:

Ubben: What has been your impression of a Pruitt-coached Tennessee team so far?

Randolph: I haven’t really met him, but all the guys tell me he knows what he’s talking about, and from Butch Jones, it’s like night and day. Because he’s actually a football coach. He knows schemes. He knows defense, offense. I feel like a guy like that who actually knows what he’s talking about and can put his players in position to make plays, there’s just a lot of room for this team to improve.

 

[Blake25p]

From Brian Randolph:

Ubben: What has been your impression of a Pruitt-coached Tennessee team so far?

Randolph: I haven’t really met him, but all the guys tell me he knows what he’s talking about, and from Butch Jones, it’s like night and day. Because he’s actually a football coach. He knows schemes. He knows defense, offense. I feel like a guy like that who actually knows what he’s talking about and can put his players in position to make plays, there’s just a lot of room for this team to improve.

 

[PelhamUT]

Mariotta May be headed to the trade block. Don’t see them signing him to a long term contract

Not a chance.

 

[rekinhavoc]

From Brian Randolph:

Ubben: What has been your impression of a Pruitt-coached Tennessee team so far?

Randolph: I haven’t really met him, but all the guys tell me he knows what he’s talking about, and from Butch Jones, it’s like night and day. Because he’s actually a football coach. He knows schemes. He knows defense, offense. I feel like a guy like that who actually knows what he’s talking about and can put his players in position to make plays, there’s just a lot of room for this team to improve.

 

[OGbabyaviVol]

Looking at the schedule in 2weeks I think our game is #4 on the draft board


Bama-a&m
Georgia-Mizzu
MSU-Kentucky


What time does that leave us if I am right?

Wrong. We are #2 on that board, especially after the last few games coming down to the very end. Florida-TN is a huge rivalry game. We should get a night game at Neyland.

 

[volsfan_17]

It happens on Sunday too regardless of if you turn off the tv and pout.

No pouting required on my end. Not sure why you take offense to my viewing habits. But I enjoy my sports without a side of political agenda.

 

[MetalVolunteer]

Not a chance.

He doesn’t look good, and I’ve never been impressed since he’s been in the league.

To have all the accolades that he had, I guarantee there have been discussions about his future in TN, and not the good kind.

 

[vol2002]

I realize it was ETSU but when rewatching the game I was struck by a few flashes in our defense, especially in the second quarter, that look like a Bama defense. Watching us bat balls around and make ETSU look chaotic, while we ran back interceptions and blocked punts was fun. Hopefully Pruitt can get his caliber of players in here and we can start doing that against power 5 competition. It’s fun to watch. We are playing the kind of football I enjoy.

 

[ChattaTNVol]

“I like our guys on the offensive line,” Pruitt said. “I believe in them. I think the guys are hard-nosed. I think they fight. We have to execute a little better. I think as this season goes and those guys get to playing together and play the same positions over and over, I think they will do that. I really do.”

One of the major consensus concerns fans and observers have about our football team is the offensive line. The offensive line is the key to our success or lack thereof on offense. Whether it is running the ball or protecting the passer so goes the offensive line so goes the offense.

As onlookers we often default to lack of talent or physical development/maturity as the reason we have subpar performance on our offensive line. That may not be correct or even close.

The two most important keys to success for an offensive linemen aside from talent and physical development are technique and assignment. In 2017, by all accounts, Rock Gullickson ran a NFL quality strength and conditioning program at UT. At the end of 2017 he was replaced by another NFL veteran, Craig Fitzgerald.

The one thing we know from Fingers practice reports is that our offensive linemen have spent many hours working on technique. The film doesn’t lie.

That leaves assignments. Both against WVU and this past week against ETSU Pruitt has said our offensive linemen have had to deal with defensive linemen who are stemming. Stunting and stemming are, as I understand it, movement by the defensive linemen designed to confuse the blockers in regards to their assignments.

Phil Steele and others track offensive line starts as one of the key metrics in forecasting the measure of success an offense can statistically expect based on an established historical correlation.

The key to building and maintaining a good offensive line is thought to be physical talent/development, technique development, and assignment understanding. All three of these areas are a product of time and experience. It is always said that an offensive line has to be five guys performing as a single unit. With all the position shuffling we’ve been doing we should be getting closer to a point where our guys know the assignments for just about every other position on the line.

We’ve started off slow on the offensive line in both games so far but we’ve continued to have negative yardage plays, albeit with less frequency, on most of the succeeding drives over the course of the games.

I think the issue with our offensive line is primarily confusion and lack of confidence. I also think the more experience we can gain the more we are likely to improve. Experience, it is said, is often the best teacher. It is also said sometimes we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes.

Eliminating confusion will likely lead to increased confidence and collectively that has the likelihood of molding our offensive line into a cohesive unit. The journey to that objective is along a thoroughfare known as experience.

If Pruitt is to be believed in regards to the guys on our offensive line then the thing we as fans absolutely do not have is the one thing we require most in supporting Coach Friend and our offensive line, patience. Jmo.

 

[Chief Vol 13]

I realize it was ETSU but when rewatching the game I was struck by a few flashes in our defense, especially in the second quarter, that look like a Bama defense. Watching us bat balls around and make ETSU look chaotic, while we ran back interceptions and blocked punts was fun. Hopefully Pruitt can get his caliber of players in here and we can start doing that against power 5 competition. It’s fun to watch. We are playing the kind of football I enjoy.

Ah I thought the defense was improved but in no way, shape or form did that look like an Alabama defense. We're still about two years away before we really will resemble that type of defense IMO.

 

[Rishvol]

Stemming is that shift that the ETSU dline were doing to try and get the oline to jump. I'm pretty happy that the second and third string didn't fall for it and stayed in position until the snap.

 

[mrorange211]

I think recruiting rankings mattered a lot more under coaches like Dooley and Jones because the coaching wasn't there. To see what Pruitt has already done with guys like Taylor and Thompson makes me think that while they are still important, they are not nearly as important as they were 3 years ago. I feel like we have real coaches now.

 

[VolsDoc81TX]

The tone of his show was so much different than Butch or Dooley. He’s just a ball coach. No fluff.

The way he went through the highlights you’d have thought we lost 50 to nothing. He saw many more negatives than positives. But that’s good - if the players correct what he pointed out we can be a solid team. We don’t have elite talent but we have enough to make a bowl game and give some of the better teams on our schedule a real head ache...

Help!
I have not been able to find Coach Pruitt’s show on DirecTV.
Does anyone know what channel it is on?
Thanks!
Signed,
Lost in Texas

 

[Rishvol]

Help!
I have not been able to find Coach Pruitt’s show on DirecTV.
Does anyone know what channel it is on?
Thanks!
Signed,
Lost in Texas

Well your first problem is that you're in Texas. After that it should be on utsports

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

I think recruiting rankings mattered a lot more under coaches like Dooley and Jones because the coaching wasn't there. To see what Pruitt has already done with guys like Taylor and Thompson makes me think that while they are still important, they are not nearly as important as they were 3 years ago. I feel like we have real coaches now.

Taylor likely would’ve been a 5 Star corner had he played in high school.

Thompson as an .8900 composite definitely seems under ranked.

To your point, it is going to be very interesting come years end, and looking at who were the big contributors to the season.

It’s been my thinking that yeah, we might not get a top 5 class this year, but the guys we do get will end up giving everything they have to this program. Every ounce of potential will be reached based on our coaching staff, S&C program, and our culture change.

Sounds so elementary- but hearing about equal reps throughout the team and how if you want to play on Saturday - you better grind m-f, just hearing that and seeing it implemented warms my ever loving football heart.

 

[roosterjbh]

Alright I’m out. I think I know now all I need to know about this team. Gonna be a slog! See you guys later in the year around signing day.

I realize it was ETSU but when rewatching the game I was struck by a few flashes in our defense, especially in the second quarter, that look like a Bama defense. Watching us bat balls around and make ETSU look chaotic, while we ran back interceptions and blocked punts was fun. Hopefully Pruitt can get his caliber of players in here and we can start doing that against power 5 competition. It’s fun to watch. We are playing the kind of football I enjoy.

Almost made it to signing day!

 

[mrorange211]

Taylor likely would’ve been a 5 Star corner had he played in high school.

Thompson as an .8900 composite definitely seems under ranked.

To your point, it is going to be very interesting come years end, and looking at who were the big contributors to the season.

It’s been my thinking that yeah, we might not get a top 5 class this year, but the guys we do get will end up giving everything they have to this program. Every ounce of potential will be reached based on our coaching staff, S&C program, and our culture change.

Sounds so elementary- but hearing about equal reps throughout the team and how if you want to play on Saturday - you better grind m-f, just hearing that and seeing it implemented warms my ever loving football heart.

Couldn't agree more. The fact that we have every position subbing constantly throughout both games indicates to me that Pruitt knows we don't have much depth and is trying to prepare the team for that crucial Nov stretch.

 

[BruinVol]

Wrong. We are #2 on that board, especially after the last few games coming down to the very end. Florida-TN is a huge rivalry game. We should get a night game at Neyland.

Sorry but Georgia vs an NFL QB is more appealing to the nation that TN-Fla.

MSU-Ky is a stretch but at best our game is 3rd in the pecking order

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

Couldn't agree more. The fact that we have every position subbing constantly throughout both games indicates to me that Pruitt knows we don't have much depth and is trying to prepare the team for that crucial Nov stretch.

Preparing us for the November stretch.... and more importantly 2019.

 

[jave36]

To be fair, Butch tried to feed him early in a couple of games to keep him interested. The fumble in the red zone against Arkansas in 2015 was a killer. Everyone wants to blame Butch for not getting the ball to a half dozen players yet their is one football. Not saying he was a good coach, but it’s easy to pile on now.

Not talking about getting him the ball, just being overall a really bad coach who was inevitably going to make you play like every other WR in his system that doesn't care if you're Megatron or pig Howard, you're going to be used the same way.

 

[engineerVOL]

From Brian Randolph:

Ubben: What has been your impression of a Pruitt-coached Tennessee team so far?

Randolph: I haven’t really met him, but all the guys tell me he knows what he’s talking about, and from Butch Jones, it’s like night and day. Because he’s actually a football coach. He knows schemes. He knows defense, offense. I feel like a guy like that who actually knows what he’s talking about and can put his players in position to make plays, there’s just a lot of room for this team to improve.

 

[volfanCLT]

Sorry but Georgia vs an NFL QB is more appealing to the nation that TN-Fla.

MSU-Ky is a stretch but at best our game is 3rd in the pecking order

Not really. A 49-17 type beat down isn’t really appealing to anyone.

Mizz could lose to Purdue this weekend too