'18 Recruiting Forum: Official West Virginia Pre-Game/Game Thread

#1,426
#1,426
buckfama said:
Still have a lot of issues to fix.

OL looked lost first quarter.
Still not sure what the problem is with the DL, very little pressure, even when we blitzed.

I actually thought the freshman db's played better than the older guys. Made freshman mistakes but that's to be expected.

The Lb's are what puzzled me the most. I expected way more out of them. Maybe they haven't gotten the mental part down yet and we're thinking too much but it's like they disappeared.
Qb looked good and Jordan ran hard. Banks made a couple plays but we need better rb's.

Pruitt took the blame in the press conference which was a nice change of pace. I still think we have a good coach, just need to get his players in to fit this system.

Gonna take time.

Being a vol fan has sucked the last 10 years. I'm ready to win again.
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I don’t care if a coach takes blame or if he blames everything on whoever the bogeyman du jour is. I just want to see some semblance of competence from a UT coaching staff again.

Maybe they will learn on the job. It will be unprecedented if they do, though.
 
#1,427
#1,427
HankHill said:
Taylor did really well at holding down his side i thought. I know this loss sucks but i think it was a horrible matchup for us and i liked our scheme both on offense and defense. We obviously need more players but i saw a lot from our players and coaches that i liked.
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Im pissed but agree. Very tough to break in a new secondary and 34 system against a pure thrower and Holgerson. Pruitt showed ability here, but he may have to simplify.

Our offensive action was a welcomed site to me. Like the bunch and stack formations and the WR route trees. Just need the RBs to keep running hard hit the correct creases.

Buckle down fellas we will be alright. We should play loose the remainder of the year as underdogs.
 
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#1,428
#1,428
nicksjuzunk said:
2018 Recruiting Forum: Official West Virginia Pre-Game/Game Thread

Date: Saturday, September 1
Game Time: 3:30 pm ET
Venue: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Network: CBS

View attachment 163631
Through many dangers, toils and snares, we have already come...

The last time one of these threads was posted was November 25th, 2017. They were simple times. We were getting ready to beat Vandy to close out the season, and we had full confidence that Currie was about to land us a heck of a football coach. You know the story, and here we are... beginning the Pruitt era in Charlotte, North Carolina against a top 25 opponent. It's a season that has fairly low expectations, so I suggest buckling in loosely and enjoying it for what it is. Generally, I begin these threads a week in advance, but week 1 gets a little extra rope. Let's go.


Keys to Victory:

1. Smear the Grier: Ok, childish game reference aside, Will Grier is a very good quarterback. Possibly the best the Vols will face this season, though Drew Lock may have something to say about that. Grier was the slippery Gator the Vols couldn't seem to get a hold of 3 years ago in the swamp, as Florida turned a simple hook pattern into an impossibly long touchdown to win the game on 3rd and forever. Somehow, Jim McElwain thought it was best to drive Grier away soon after that when he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, and of course, we know how Florida QB play has been since then... and McElwain is now counting pennies in Ann Arbor for Jim Harbaugh.

Here is a look at how Grier performed last season:
View attachment 163630

The stats speak for themselves. Aside from a poor performance against Oklahoma State, he was remarkably good. He is not prone to turn the ball over, and has a blistering completion % of 64.4%. A veteran Tennessee front 7 need to keep constant pressure on Grier, and unlike the Vols of 2015, need to bring him to the ground, in order to help out the young TN corner backs. If Tennessee could hold him to below 300 passing yards, they would be only the second team to do so since his WV arrival. Tall order. Strangely, with such a great passing attack, West Virginia was terrible on 3rd and long situations. They gain their yards big chunks at a time, and if they are not able to pick up substantial yardage on 1st and 2nd down, they may have trouble converting on 3rd. Key Point: Grier passing below 320 yards.

2. Outrun the Gun: Tennessee is not about to out throw the Mountaineers, who are very talented in the secondary, but they very well may be able to outrun them. The Vols will likely be "running back by committee" with Ty Chandler, Madre London & Tim Jordan getting the bulk of the work. I expect Chandler to bring himself to the front of the pack with his undeniable big play potential. Most importantly, the Tennessee offensive line will be at full strength, barring any injuries over the next two weeks. The top 5 look pretty good, but after that, things get thin pretty quick. Being able to have a go at full strength gives Tennessee a needed edge and should help the Vols to control the pace of the game. They do NOT want a shootout. Last season WV allowed 204 yards per game rushing. Tennessee will need to get more than that to win. West Virginia brings in DT transfers from USC and Clemson, so it's hard to tell what they are going to have up front.

West Virginia does not bring much to the table in the running game. Their top returning RB accounted for 596 yards last season. This is good news... since Tennessee gave up 251 YPG in 2017. Key Point: Vols out rush WV by 100 yards.

3. Turnovers: Over the previous 5 seasons, Jeremy Pruitt led defenses have led the nation in forced turnovers, averaging 139 per season. When he has arrived at FSU, UGA, and Alabama, each of those teams increased their forced turnovers by over 10 in the following season. Tennessee was -3 on turnovers last year, with a total of 17 turnovers gained. If Pruitt could bring that total up by his standard 10 turnover average, that would be 27 forced turnovers... which is pretty high on the food chain. Turnovers will be key in this game. Key Point: Tennessee +2 in turnovers.

4. Working out the Kinks: Every new staff has to work out the bugs in their first season. There will be miscommunications, misalignment, missed assignments and other sorts of calamities. This is the inevitable lot that comes with being a brand spanking new head coach. Let's hope the preparations are ready for a smooth performance. Key Point: Do the things that good coaches do.

5. Battle on the Edges: West Virginia features a trio of wide receivers that terrorize opponents. Together, they logged 1.55 miles (or 2,739 yards, if that's your thing) last season. Jennings is their top WR in the slot, with one of the weirdest stat lines you'll see... 97 catches, 1096 yards and 1 TD. One touchdown in week one... on 97 catches, are you serious? I mean, is this like an intentional thing... run to the 1 and kneel or something? Does he have some sort of bet going on? Is he caught up in some sort of bizarre West Virginia moonshine mafia betting ring that won't let him score? Besides Jennings... who may or may not be under the thumb of the mountaineer mafia is former QB superstar turned pretty dang good WR David Sills and Marcus Sims.

Tennessee expects to start true freshman Alontae Taylor on one end, and unless things change, Baylen Buchanan in the other CB position. While Taylor is immensely talented, few true freshmen shine in their first start... especially against WR's of this caliber. Taylor may end up taking some lumps, but hopefully, his talent shines as well and it is a good sign of things to come. If he has an outstanding performance, Vols fans have plenty to be excited for over the coming 3 years. Baylen has had an inconsistent career so far but this will be a chance for him to display the growth he's experienced and the quality of coaching each have been under. Key Point: Limit the big 3 WR's to under 250 yards receiving.

6. Display of Strength: The bad news is Tennessee has been tremendously underdeveloped in the strength and conditioning program over the last 3 years. The good news is that the less developed you are, the quicker you make progress. This means that our opponents who have had decent S&C programs will only marginally improve, or maintain their program in S&C from season to season. For Tennessee, the underdevelopment means there is a much larger room for progress over the next 3-4 seasons... with season 1 likely being the biggest, but not the most important change. What does this mean? If the S&C department has done the work that we all hope they have done, this team will look dramatically different than they did last year... though not as strong as they will from season to season over the next 4 years.

Now, ChattaTNVol pointed out a few weeks ago that the composite 247 star rating of the top 40 players for each team are .8475 for West Virginia and .9287 for Tennessee. Aside from HS performance, ratings take into account the existing development of the players and also the expected genetic potential "has room in his frame..." for the players. Frankly speaking, Tennessee started with the higher potential players, but they haven't been developed. West Virginia had less to work with, but has likely developed what they had to a higher degree. I would say this is likely a wash at this point, but it will be a very interesting thing to see... has Tennessee finally developed their 4-5* talents to perform as such or will a bunch of 3* players with proper development be too much to overcome? It will tell a lot about how this team will do in SEC play. Key Point: Perform like you "even lift, bro."

Prediction: The Vols come out and look like a team that knows how to play football. Fundamentally, they are sound, but the offense is inconsistent on their drives and the defense has trouble slowing down the West Virginia Air Raid.

TN 17
WV 31
Click to expand...


Tennessee vs. The Keys:

This season, I'm going to go back over the OP to see how Tennessee did with the Keys to Victory, and how the game and prediction went, just for fun.

1. Grier below 320 Passing: I said the front 7 needed to keep constant pressure on Grier to keep him from dicing them up, and the Vols needed to hold him below 320 yards passing. Tennessee struggled to get pressure, and when they did, could not do much with it. Grier passed for 429.

2. Vols outrush WV by 100 yards: I expected the OL to shine here, and for the Vols to rush for 250+. The DT transfers were unknown for WV. The very first offensive play was a bad, bad omen as the DT blew threw Kennedy like wind through a screendoor. The rest of the first quarter was much the same. Tennessee manage 129 yards to WV 118.

3. Tennessee plus 2 in turnovers: The Vols got a well timed fumble recovery. They needed more.

4. Working out the kinks: Tennessee almost got burned for a TD when they had 10 men on the field, but otherwise, things functioned normally.

5. Limit the big 3 WR's to under 250 yards receiving: All day long, WV was a step faster, in every part of the game... extremely concerning. The Big 3 WR's combined for 293 yards, and the Bama transfer pitched in for 59.... ouch.

6. Perform like you "even lift, bro": The question was whether our star power advantage would transfer to a talent advantage, or whether WV's years of S&C development would trump the stars. It seems clear to me, the Tennessee S&C is still behind the curve (which is to be expected) after Butch laid waste to that facet of the program.

Prediction: The Vols come out and look like a team that knows how to play football. Fundamentally, they are sound, but the offense is inconsistent on their drives and the defense has trouble slowing down the West Virginia Air Raid.

Post Prediction: Yep... pretty much. JG was better than I expected, the OL was far worse and the running game greatly under-performed, though Tim Jordan was great and we lost Chandler early in. We have ourselves a QB and a RB and the WR's were very consistent, though not game breaking. The rest of the team has a lot of work to do.
 
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#1,429
#1,429
McGeesPub said:
I don’t care if a coach takes blame or if he blames everything on whoever the bogeyman du jour is. I just want to see some semblance of competence from a UT coaching staff again.

Maybe they will learn on the job. It will be unprecedented if they do, though.
Click to expand...

Everyone of these guys had been successful at a high level, except for Wienke and Fair. They didn't forget how to coach. I think they will turn it around.
 
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#1,430
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Catbone said:
Only true vol fans remain. Honestly can't think of another fanbase that's put up with more **** in the last 10 years... yet we are THE most profitable program in the SEC.
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@InVOLuntary, your comments flood my thoughts with this post. Ugh! I hope the thought process has changed on the Hill with Fulmer as AD.
 
#1,431
#1,431
Aesius said:
My give a damn meter concerning this program is apparently just about broken. I left the game today feeling fine. Seeing the Vols get blown out by a team that isn’t even Bama didn’t faze me. That’s concerning. But it’s nice to not be sitting here feeling I got socked in the gut like I used to after every loss.
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Yeah, that’s where I am. We just are what we are and have been for about a decade now. Still love em regardless, just can’t get emotionally invested any more. It’s nothing against Pruitt or the staff. I don’t want to FAHR anyone or anything.
 
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#1,437
#1,437
McGeesPub said:
Or the Peter Principle could now apply. We’ll see.
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LMAO. Ridiculous. This is the most competent staff we’ve had in a decade or more.

Too many Vol “fans” have a unrealistic view of where this program is right now. This staff can turn it around, but it’s not going to be in one season.
 
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#1,438
#1,438
Bring_Back_Dooley said:
LMAO. Ridiculous. This is the most competent staff we’ve had in a decade or more.

Too many Vol “fans” have a unrealistic view of where this program is right now. This staff can turn it around, but it’s not going to be in one season.
Click to expand...

Nor one game. Sheesh...
 
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#1,440
#1,440
Bring_Back_Dooley said:
LMAO. Ridiculous. This is the most competent staff we’ve had in a decade or more.

Too many Vol “fans” have a unrealistic view of where this program is right now. This staff can turn it around, but it’s not going to be in one season.
Click to expand...

This is one of the best posts I have seen in the kast 24 hours. Spot on man.
 
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#1,445
#1,445
McGeesPub said:
Hence the “we’ll see.” Hope to see the performance get much, much better.
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One dang game, and the dicktards are apready flappin them gums..I knew we were going to lose, and I knew the dumbarse bridge trolls like you were gonna pull out the torches and pitchforks...freakin idiots 🤬
 
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