Should Heup Ask Players to Leave, if Drama?

[Allvols1996]

IF that is the case, kicking them off the team is not a stupid answer. I'd say not kicking them off the team is the dumber of the two options.

Agreed. If it’s true, then it’s spells doom for this team. Flushing a playoff appearance down the toilet to air out your grievances is a cancer that can’t be treated and needs to be cut out.

 

[Andre052]

Did you know that the SC players are on scholarships the same as the Vols players and that some of their players were actually highly sought after recruits coming out of high school?[/QUOTE
If SC score half on Clemson what they scored on UT, then maybe they would win by a field goal over that high school I was talking about.

 

[BigALWiLson]

We all knew that coming out of last year that defense was going to be our Achilles heel this year. And it has been

Being an achillies heal and being totally inept are two very different things. Banks has to go. Keep the position coaches another year if needed but we have to have a leader on that side who isn't afraid to send as many as needed to get the ball out quick and create havoc. My eyes tell me he directly coaches safeties and its the worst play I have ever seen in a UT team and I am 42. Im sure others much older than I, have never seen a worse collective group than what we have on the backend.

 

[Andre052]

Decides to get beat? Are you saying they didn’t give all? I think they got out played. I also think our coaches didn’t react very well to them being out played, aka our coaches. It’s my opinion when you are getting out played it’s necessary to gamble more. Blitz more, either run or pass blitz, send heat.

Out played? PLEASE! SC scored only 6 on Fla. and then 63 on the #5 team in the nation! The defense gave that game away. Watch how Clemson do South Carolina. (52-7)

 

[OrangeInKy]

if what we are hearing is true, Banks should have been gone last week, and any player griping and pouting about to could join him or take a seat. I'm not concerned about much about Heupel at this point, but if this stuff is true, then I am concerned that Banks would play this weekend and am concerned Hadden didn't get pulled. I assume/hope there is a lot of tough love happening in house. What we saw Saturday night just looked like a team that had some issues internally.

 

[aaronvol]

Not sure. But I just watched his post game presser. Go to the end, the last question about J. Banks, and watch CLOSELY at CJH's demeanor change. It gets real tight. Watch his eyes - you can see fire.

Something is up there. In no way do I believe Banks was hurt. The Hooker/Banks altercation might have legs?

It has big legs.

 

[superdave1984]

If several players on the team conspired to lay down the game due to some locker room drama, that is a serious allegation that has to have swift and serious consequences. Heck something like that could have contributed to Hooker's injury. We could speculate lots of things, but we have no concrete evidence yet. And if there was something going on, it will get out. College kids are too lax with info for it not to.

 

[Delmar]

Oh sure guys, kick them off the team. What a PR and recruiting disaster that would be, not to mention the impossibility of reconstituting the defense next year. It would be equivalent to the Marshall University plane crash. Years to recover. And that's if you can ever convince defensive recruits that they will be treated equitably here.

Personally, if the story is accurate, I think they made an excellent point. You can score 50 points a game, but you lose when your defense gives up 60.

I would suggest you try to resolve the inequities of the way UT is working the NIL system, otherwise this problem will pop up again.

In the meantime, the proof will be the Vandy game.

Notice I said IF several times. But you just said IF it’s true then they made an “excellent point”? Doing what? Sabotaging a chance to go to the playoffs? So I guess we just let the inmates run the asylum then. If you let that go then it really has become a version of the NFL or NBA where the players can get a coach fired if they don’t like him or his policies. If it ends up going that way, count me out.

 

[WBO]

Notice I said IF several times. But you just said IF it’s true then they made an “excellent point”? Doing what? Sabotaging a chance to go to the playoffs? So I guess we just let the inmates run the asylum then. If you let that go then it really has become a version of the NFL or NBA where the players can get a coach fired if they don’t like him or his policies. If it ends up going that way, count me out.

I don't disagree with your unhappiness and uncertainty about the future, but the money cat is out of the bag. The NCAA, or any other organization, can't unilaterally stop this. Believe it or not, without a exception from antitrust law (and Congress would never do that) the only way you're going to get control of it is to have the players unionize and collectively bargain the restrictions, just like the pro sports.

I'm sure that's not a popular idea in this part of the country. So I think we're looking at true capitalism for quite some time here.

 

[Delmar]

I don't disagree with your unhappiness and uncertainty about the future, but the money cat is out of the bag. The NCAA, or any other organization, can't unilaterally stop this. Believe it or not, without a exception from antitrust law (and Congress would never do that) the only way you're going to get control of it is to have the players unionize and collectively bargain the restrictions, just like the pro sports.

I'm sure that's not a popular idea in this part of the country. So I think we're looking at true capitalism for quite some time here.

I agree that players should be paid something. Rather than the Wild West which is what we have now, maybe it should have been a profit sharing plan where the players get equal bonuses out of the conference share and TV money. The bigger the share the more money the players make. Now a lot of folks will say that a player should be free to make what he can. That’s fine but that’s where the jealousy thing comes in and that is and will be a big problem. We may have just seen the first example of it. There just wasn’t enough thought put in on the control of this mess.

 

[volfeeva]

After the game I was puzzled how the defense could be so porous , even worse than other games where we gave up big chunks of passing yards. Then when the info/rumors came out about the in-fighting, it all made sense. Who knows how they will play against Vandy ? Players quitting on a team makes you want to give up the last decent sports that is left worth watching.

 

[VAVol85]

If they lose to Vandy, he’s going to have to ask DC Banks to leave. That would be the only thing that keeps the fan base on Hypes side.

Used to be… losing to vandy was a fireable offense.

Whether they are fired or linger for a few years losing to Vandy is always a harbinger of bad things to come. I don’t think Heupel loses to Vandy.

 

[A2K]

Lots of rumors swirling, yes they are rumors. Not suggesting there's beef or drama going on.

However, if there has been tension or drama or fights amongst players, there COULD be reason to be concerned.

I have no idea, but if they have a situation where this player is taking that players side or got their back, it certainly looked like the defensive players literally packed it in. You almost can't try to play as poorly as they did.

I certainly hope this isn't the case. But, these are college aged kids and any distraction or issues can completely disrupt focus, cohesiveness and unity(harmony).

Do you remember being that age?

If, if, something like this is going on, should Heup ask players to leave?

Any sport a locker room is a locker room....thats daily. No player on the court or the field will take an L to prove a point...ie..you would slap your brother in the mouth...but..If I did it?

 

[vol_smoothie]

Sport agents getting involved will destroy what is left of college football. ESPN,high paid ten million dollar a year coaches and now high paid players , what’s left for the fan? High ticket prices and apathetic low or no paid NIL players throwing games because their butt hurt! Thanks NCAA for destroying what was once a great sport to follow.

I could not describe the decay of our beloved game any better.

I went to my first game at Neyland as a 9-year old kid in 1967. The end-zones had the orange-and-white checkerboard, the team made their entrance through the huge T formed by the band.
A cannon on the hill behind the north bleachers was fired when the Vols scored. It was magical.

Players back then often threw the ball into those bleachers in celebration. They didn't do stupid gyrating dances to draw attention to themselves. Those guys loved the game and loved the University - they took pride in that T on the side of the helmet. Oh yeah, they also kicked the daylights out of the opponent that day with a swarming beehive of a defense.

There are still a few of those type of players at Tennessee, but less and less as the years go by and the powers that be surrender to the greed that is destroying college athletics.

 

[UTblood4life]

I wonder how many big money NIL busts we will see