so...did we lose everyone on the bubble

#101
#101
BTW, be careful what you declare concerning Clawson. He will have a chance to prove us right or wrong at BGU.
 
#102
#102
CLK and I'd guess Hamilton appear to be thinking a bit more long term. In the short term the easiest way to lock in the existing recruits would be to keep much of the O staff minus Clawson and the whole D staff. Then we'd look good on paper with a mish mash of systems and position coaches that proved to be less questionalbe - OL, RB, WR.

CLK and Hamilton decided to dump all the bathwater and whatever was left of the baby if there was a baby left in there. That came with the risk/high probability that would cause some issues with this year's recruiting class.

We won't know until after NSD and possibly even some time after that whether the initial results of this move were net positive, as expected or a disaster. The next test is how this staff performs with many of the same players. The next test is the 2010 class. The final test is the 2011 season. We'll know for sure what we got by 2011. That's a reasonable time frame to judge success/failure.
 
#103
#103
sjt18 said:
BTW, be careful what you declare concerning Clawson. He will have a chance to prove us right or wrong at BGU.
Click to expand...

Clawson's gone and I wish him success. Who knows what he might have been able to accomplish here in other circumstances or given more time. Whatever the cause of the 2008 disaster, I'd guess a big chunk of it was Fulmer himself and a cobbled together staff most of which were not Clawson's choice nor knew how to teach/run Clawson's system, he's now gone.

The only thing that matters is what the new staff produces. I'll give them some whiggle room this year that I would not have allowed Fulmer...and I think that is reasonable and as it should be. It has nothing to do with 'lowering the bar'. It's a matter of setting the appropriate expectation given the circumstances. We had one for Fulmer last year and we'll have an adjusted one for CLK his first year or so as he looks to revive a program that had likely sunk lower than we realized.
 
#104
#104
sjt18 said:
I'm less concerned frankly about the guys they don't appear to be getting than the ones they appear to be losing.
Click to expand...

That is exactly the issue. I don't expect Kiffin & Co. to come in and land a top 5 recruiting class right out of the bat. But they are supposedly this all-star group of recruiters. Yet they cannot hold onto the guys who were already committed THROUGH the coaching change. Oku and Patterson are huge hits -- no matter how you spin it. And to lose them to AUBURN, who's staff is newer than ours and much less "all-star."

I wish the team (and so the coaches) all the success in the world. But this class falling apart does not bode well for what we will be able to put onto the field this fall.
 
#105
#105
VolGirlinMaryvill said:
That is exactly the issue. I don't expect Kiffin & Co. to come in and land a top 5 recruiting class right out of the bat. But they are supposedly this all-star group of recruiters. Yet they cannot hold onto the guys who were already committed THROUGH the coaching change. Oku and Patterson are huge hits -- no matter how you spin it. And to lose them to AUBURN, who's staff is newer than ours and much less "all-star."

I wish the team (and so the coaches) all the success in the world. But this class falling apart does not bode well for what we will be able to put onto the field this fall.
Click to expand...

Oku is not gone yet, Patterson was never committed to UT. :question:
 
#106
#106
I am not happy at the moment. the only guys who seem to be doing theyre job is o and m.kiff. they're the ones getting us in the door with these guys. clk is not finishing and these kids seem like they dont really like him at first impression. i think clk's value as a recruiter has been suspect. we are not usc 2.0, and we are not the mini nfl. we are Tennessee and we have a great tradition, great fanbase, great facilities, and national exposure. that sells itself my friends. kiff needs to change his approach real quick or hell be gone in 3 years. I havent heard one person talk about the "family feel" at tennessee. you would hope that at least the members of the team would all be on the same page.
 
#107
#107
sjt18 said:
BTW, be careful what you declare concerning Clawson. He will have a chance to prove us right or wrong at BGU.
Click to expand...

Clawson may turn out to be a decent coach. But I'm telling you I don't care what prospect we got on campus...they would have regressed under the Fulmer staff. Clawson included...
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#108
#108
CICEROMESSIAH said:
I am not happy at the moment. the only guys who seem to be doing theyre job is o and m.kiff. they're the ones getting us in the door with these guys. clk is not finishing and these kids seem like they dont really like him at first impression. i think clk's value as a recruiter has been suspect. we are not usc 2.0, and we are not the mini nfl. we are Tennessee and we have a great tradition, great fanbase, great facilities, and national exposure. that sells itself my friends. kiff needs to change his approach real quick or hell be gone in 3 years. I havent heard one person talk about the "family feel" at tennessee. you would hope that at least the members of the team would all be on the same page.
Click to expand...

You hit on the easiness I've felt but have been trying to quell for some time. It came out again last week when he tells a kid A WEEK BEFORE SIGNING DAY that he's no longer wanted at UT. That was fine with the guys he did that to back in December. But this is too late in the game to be doing that to a kid. It showed a lack of class and honesty -- and other recruits will notice that sort of thing. I'm worried Al Davis' assessment of CLK's character may prove to be true, and that it all may come back to bite us in future recruiting.
 
#109
#109
CICEROMESSIAH said:
I am not happy at the moment. the only guys who seem to be doing theyre job is o and m.kiff. they're the ones getting us in the door with these guys. clk is not finishing and these kids seem like they dont really like him at first impression. i think clk's value as a recruiter has been suspect. we are not usc 2.0, and we are not the mini nfl. we are Tennessee and we have a great tradition, great fanbase, great facilities, and national exposure. that sells itself my friends. kiff needs to change his approach real quick or hell be gone in 3 years. I havent heard one person talk about the "family feel" at tennessee. you would hope that at least the members of the team would all be on the same page.
Click to expand...

Please give one instance where a recruit said they didn't like CLK? With the omission of the recruits he was forthright with in saying they didn't fit in his system. Don't just make statements like that without any proof.

And how did that "family-feel" crap pan out when the team bonded and united before the Wyoming game?
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#110
#110
VolGirlinMaryvill said:
You hit on the easiness I've felt but have been trying to quell for some time. It came out again last week when he tells a kid A WEEK BEFORE SIGNING DAY that he's no longer wanted at UT. That was fine with the guys he did that to back in December. But this is too late in the game to be doing that to a kid. It showed a lack of class and honesty -- and other recruits will notice that sort of thing. I'm worried Al Davis' assessment of CLK's character may prove to be true, and that it all may come back to bite us in future recruiting.
Click to expand...

Al Davis needs to be in a padded room on Guantanamo Bay...
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#113
#113
Lofton4Three said:
Please give one instance where a recruit said they didn't like CLK? With the omission of the recruits he was forthright with in saying they didn't fit in his system. Don't just make statements like that without any proof.

And how did that "family-feel" crap pan out when the team bonded and united before the Wyoming game?
Posted via VolNation Mobile
Click to expand...

i have no quotes on players being turned off, just what im reading into it.

dont even talk about the wyoming game. 26 hours on the greyhound for my first UT game. :banghead2:
 
#114
#114
Is it safe to assume at this point that a majority of the recruits are not buying into the NFL Farm League? Whatever the coaches are selling on these visits is easily shrugged off in a simple phone call from a Meyer, Saban, Miles etc.. I don't think these kids are buying it.
 
#115
#115
CICEROMESSIAH said:
i have no quotes on players being turned off, just what im reading into it.

dont even talk about the wyoming game. 26 hours on the greyhound for my first UT game. :banghead2:
Click to expand...

The mere fact that we have gotten some of the people on campus speaks volumes to how well CLK relates to the kids. There's no way we get the quality of guys in here to visit without CLK and this staff's ability.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#116
#116
PredUTor J said:
Is it safe to assume at this point that a majority of the recruits are not buying into the NFL Farm League? Whatever the coaches are selling on these visits is easily shrugged off in a simple phone call from a Meyer, Saban, Miles etc.. I don't think these kids are buying it.
Click to expand...

They will after they see the product for sure this year. Lane has only had 2 months on the road, and less than that with a full staff.

He's been playing with an incomplete deck of cards.

I think a lot of us are setting ourselves up for disappointment expecting too much this soon.

The litmus test will be next year on this staff's ability to recruit...
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#117
#117
I hope you are right, Lofton. But the whole bill of sale for CLK from the beginning was what a whiz kid recruiter he was, and how he would be unstoppable when combined with his daddy, Orgeron, and others. Now again, I don't expect them to pull in a top class this quickly. But they don't seem to be holding onto the ones we had nor pulling in any new ones.
 
#118
#118
PredUTor J said:
Is it safe to assume at this point that a majority of the recruits are not buying into the NFL Farm League? Whatever the coaches are selling on these visits is easily shrugged off in a simple phone call from a Meyer, Saban, Miles etc.. I don't think these kids are buying it.
Click to expand...

No

These kids are not buying into committing to a coach and school that they just heard from 1-3 weeks until thier decision. While they have known the other coaches for months or years.

It has nothing to do with the pitch.
 
#120
#120
Anybody who expected Kiffin & Co. too pull a great recruiting class out their rear ends was dreaming. The Vols have been CRAP in recent years--you either have a little buzz with high school players or you don't, and UT hasn't. And then we changed coaches--which didn't help either. It amazes me that Fulmer seemed to be putting together a pretty strong class--but guys, please, you think he and his staff would have coached 'em up? Not a chance!! I'm happy with the change and looking forward to the new regime.
 
#121
#121
sjt18 said:
BTW, be careful what you declare concerning Clawson. He will have a chance to prove us right or wrong at BGU.
Click to expand...


Wonder if he will redshirt his entire first two classes like he has done everywhere else as a HC.
 
#122
#122
I agree with being happy with the regime change. Fulmer was way overdue.

I guess I'm just looking down the road and worried about a chain reaction:
Several bad recruiting classes (this year and previous ones) = lack of talent to put on the field this fall = more losses to our rivals = Tennessee having none of that buzz with future recruits = slipping further into mediocrity in the SEC and further into Alabama and Florida's dust

Maybe it's just Monday and I'm gloomy. I would love to be wrong in all of this!
 
#123
#123
relationships that these kids have built up over the past year or so. They came to the Hill because they wanted to see for them selves, curiosity if you will. Next year will be the true test of recruiting after this coaching staff has a year to get to know and to be known by these kids. As someone who has been through the process, the relationship that you build with a recruiter is your main tie to the university that is recruiting you. Your source of "truth" for the decision that you have to make for your future.

It may not go a great as everyone would like this year, 3 weeks is a very short time to build that relationship. These kids that are juniors are the real ones that we need to be more concerned about. Besides, thes kids want to see "The Product" that is put on the field. This season will be important. Recruiting is like being a door to door salesman, you have to get your foot in the door! Some times you get invited in and some times you get the door slammed in your face.
 
#124
#124
I just read through this thread and it really amazes me how some people tolerated the mediocrity under Fulmer for so long and yet are ready to throw Kiffin under the bus after such a short period of time. I realize that recruiting is VERY important but come on guys, we all knew that this year was going to be tough. Look at the product we had on display last season. Not much there to attract me if I were a top notch prospect. Throw in the staff change and the time it took to put it together and that certainly doesn't help. Add to this, kids want to know what kind of system they are going to be a part of and at this point the system is all talk with no on field proof to back it up. We have all heard the plan but none of us, even CLK, knows what it's going to look like on gameday. I think a lot of you had way too high hopes when this staff was put together and expected instant results. Oh, and don't even bring up the guys we have "lost". What good are players that do not fit the system? Do we really want guys that go around shooting people in the face? Everyone needs to calm down no matter how NSD goes. This is a long term plan, not a quick fix. Our coach is named Lane Kiffin, not Jesus Christ. So put your crosses away...
 
#125
#125
we need to stop making excuses. i would be content with just keeping the class we had when fulmer was fired. its the timing and the bad pub that comes with it. kiffin has already handled several issues poorly and doesnt seem to understand what hes up against.make no mistake, its is MONTY AND O that are getting these kids to campus. its kiffins job to close once theyre here. hes not doing that , and hes not handling himself very well at the moment.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top