Suggestions for the coaching staff

[njvols]

JH stopped the historic bleeding in Y1 w/ 7 wins. Followed that w/ over achieving 11 wins in Y2 and other than UF loss, pretty much maxed out our potential in Y3 w/ 9 wins...averaging 9 wins/year over first 3 years. I think we're in a pretty good trajectory position w/ what we have to put on the field the next few years.

 

[LittleVol]

I don't know what your problem is. Every time I make a post you feel the need to be a big cyber bully for no reason. Have you ever made a coherent rebuttel to what I'm saying? Show me where I'm wrong. Do we need to play the young guys more? Yes. Is Hendon better than Milton? Yes. Have we missed on player evals? Yes. Could our defensive scheme use some work? Yes. But all you do is come in here and attack me for no reason. EVERY TIME.

You wrote too much at once.

Small bites, man.

yes, everything you mentioned has some validity. But you're also not seeing that Nico wasn't ready.
AND He still needed Joe to become "better".
He accomplished both.

Defense is getting better and better. Just have to add depth. And they are playing the younger guys more. Haven't you noticed all the veteran departures??

 

[Ratvol]

Sorry for the late thread, I would have liked to have posted before the bowl game and I know I promised a write up with suggestions a few weeks ago but I just got busy with work and the holidays. Overall, this was a decent season but there are a number of areas for development for the coaching staff. If they can work on these items I feel like we have a very promising future, but if the coach keeps making the same blunders we might have some real issues. The first issue is one that every educated football pundit that covers the Vols have noted. WE HAVE TO PLAY OUR YOUNG GUYS. For some crazy reason we refuse to play our young players. Why did it take so long to get Nico on the field during blowouts? Why have the freshman DBs played so little? Why did Matthews and Conyer barely play yesterday? Are we even trying to develop our young OL? AP, Hubbs and Basillio have brought this up often. If you don't play the young guys, in the age of the transfer portal, they might transfer. And AP said our NIL strategy is to spread the money around but why are we paying a bunch of players to just sit on the bench and just transfer? What is the point of depth if we don't use it? What good does it do for us to play Jeudy Lally and Tank all game long in a bowl game? The second one is related to player evals. I'm worried that given the choice in the future, Heupel is going to choose a Joe Milton over Hendon Hooker. Does he realize that he made the wrong decision his first year when he went with Milton over HH and that he just got lucky that Milton got hurt? Has he learned from that so that in the future he looks for characteristics other than just arm strength? Mental make up matters for a QB too. We also need a QB that has escapability in the offense. Milton might have good straight line speed, but we need a guy that has more wiggle. So note to Heupel, when recruiting QBs, try to find a guy more like Hooker than Milton. The last point also has to do with evaluations. There are times where I see us recruiting lower ranked guys for some reason and it seems like the coaches trust their evals over the recruiting sites and what other teams think. However, we have whiffed on all of our OL, and bunch of our lower ranked commits the last couple of years have been whiffs. Look as us this year in the transfer portal, apparently we like the Temple kid more than the Harris kid from UGA. Harris is a former 5 star that everyone wants. Is it really likely that everyone else is wrong? Why did we not go for the #1 ranked kid in state this year while LSU and other pursued? While rankings are not the end all be all, the coaches need to take a hard look at why these guys are ranked high and try to stack as much elite talent as possible. Getting too cute with player evals is a fast path to the Dan Mullen career track.

On another subject, I still have nightmares from last year's SCar game and this year's 2nd half Bama and against Mizzou. Our DBs have struggled really badly at times and a lot of times we are getting beat in the middle of the field. I think we should go with a scheme change. This is something I do on my team and it makes it really really hard for a defense to throw at all. I think we should start playing press man with a single high safety and corners playing inside leverage. This way, every receiver is locked up and can't catch any balls short or over the middle. Instead, the CBs give up outside leverage, so the only way to completely passes is by throwing over the DB to the outside. This is a really long throw to the sideline and I don't think QBs can consistently make that throw, most guys lack the arm strength to throw that far. The one issue is getting beat deep, so it's important to have an eraser at S. So I think we need to get a Deon Grant or Eric Berry type and physical CBs and we are going to be impossible to throw against.

We need to be loud as a fanbase and these this information to the staff to save them from themselves. A number of times the coach has been saved from himself (not my words, this is from Basillio), like when Milton got hurt and the bowl opt out. But if Heup would just learn and change a bit I think we can go from fringe playoff contender to elite.

Post here often???

GO VOLS!!!!

 

[utvolpj]

“So I think we need to get a Deon Grant or Eric Berry type”

Yeah we’ll just grab some guy that’s just like these 2. Shouldn’t be too hard to find someone like the best 2 safeties we’ve ever had.

Maybe we could just settle for a Dale Carter?

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Maybe we could just settle for a Dale Carter?

Dale works too. Any of those 3, maybe get a lockdown corner . What we could really use after Pearce leaves next year is a game changer DE like Reggie White. That’s who we should try and get.

 

[Smokefatty]

It's either satire or a glorious lack of self awareness lol. This is the same guy who earlier this year said Cooper Mays wasn't that important and the reason he knew was he played Center and all he had to do was snap the ball . . . and then run his route. lol

Ahahahaha! So, he's a player-coach? The Dan Reeves of the Bucksnort Flag Football Beer League (over 50 division).

 

[ksgovols]

I don't know what your problem is. Every time I make a post you feel the need to be a big cyber bully for no reason. Have you ever made a coherent rebuttel to what I'm saying? Show me where I'm wrong. Do we need to play the young guys more? Yes. Is Hendon better than Milton? Yes. Have we missed on player evals? Yes. Could our defensive scheme use some work? Yes. But all you do is come in here and attack me for no reason. EVERY TIME.

Perhaps the answers are within Volos.

 

[Score50]

Sorry for the late thread, I would have liked to have posted before the bowl game and I know I promised a write up with suggestions a few weeks ago but I just got busy with work and the holidays. Overall, this was a decent season but there are a number of areas for development for the coaching staff. If they can work on these items I feel like we have a very promising future, but if the coach keeps making the same blunders we might have some real issues. The first issue is one that every educated football pundit that covers the Vols have noted. WE HAVE TO PLAY OUR YOUNG GUYS. For some crazy reason we refuse to play our young players. Why did it take so long to get Nico on the field during blowouts? Why have the freshman DBs played so little? Why did Matthews and Conyer barely play yesterday? Are we even trying to develop our young OL? AP, Hubbs and Basillio have brought this up often. If you don't play the young guys, in the age of the transfer portal, they might transfer. And AP said our NIL strategy is to spread the money around but why are we paying a bunch of players to just sit on the bench and just transfer? What is the point of depth if we don't use it? What good does it do for us to play Jeudy Lally and Tank all game long in a bowl game? The second one is related to player evals. I'm worried that given the choice in the future, Heupel is going to choose a Joe Milton over Hendon Hooker. Does he realize that he made the wrong decision his first year when he went with Milton over HH and that he just got lucky that Milton got hurt? Has he learned from that so that in the future he looks for characteristics other than just arm strength? Mental make up matters for a QB too. We also need a QB that has escapability in the offense. Milton might have good straight line speed, but we need a guy that has more wiggle. So note to Heupel, when recruiting QBs, try to find a guy more like Hooker than Milton. The last point also has to do with evaluations. There are times where I see us recruiting lower ranked guys for some reason and it seems like the coaches trust their evals over the recruiting sites and what other teams think. However, we have whiffed on all of our OL, and bunch of our lower ranked commits the last couple of years have been whiffs. Look as us this year in the transfer portal, apparently we like the Temple kid more than the Harris kid from UGA. Harris is a former 5 star that everyone wants. Is it really likely that everyone else is wrong? Why did we not go for the #1 ranked kid in state this year while LSU and other pursued? While rankings are not the end all be all, the coaches need to take a hard look at why these guys are ranked high and try to stack as much elite talent as possible. Getting too cute with player evals is a fast path to the Dan Mullen career track.

On another subject, I still have nightmares from last year's SCar game and this year's 2nd half Bama and against Mizzou. Our DBs have struggled really badly at times and a lot of times we are getting beat in the middle of the field. I think we should go with a scheme change. This is something I do on my team and it makes it really really hard for a defense to throw at all. I think we should start playing press man with a single high safety and corners playing inside leverage. This way, every receiver is locked up and can't catch any balls short or over the middle. Instead, the CBs give up outside leverage, so the only way to completely passes is by throwing over the DB to the outside. This is a really long throw to the sideline and I don't think QBs can consistently make that throw, most guys lack the arm strength to throw that far. The one issue is getting beat deep, so it's important to have an eraser at S. So I think we need to get a Deon Grant or Eric Berry type and physical CBs and we are going to be impossible to throw against.

We need to be loud as a fanbase and these this information to the staff to save them from themselves. A number of times the coach has been saved from himself (not my words, this is from Basillio), like when Milton got hurt and the bowl opt out. But if Heup would just learn and change a bit I think we can go from fringe playoff contender to elite.

I don’t have time to read an essay. I’m sure you summarized exactly what CJH is thinking. He would have asked you but he didn’t have time to read it or listen to your suggestions. Geez.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Whew! That's a lot of words, with no spacing, not to say anything that was a new revelation. I didn't read anything that has not been discussed here previously.

 

[PreacherVol2]

This thread OP would be better suited in the “Better Never Than Late” category.

 

[Orangethumb]

Already tired of people pushing the "why didn't CJH play Nico sooner, he must be an idiot we're screwed."

 

[Butch s]

Your press man coverage only works so well because you coach against all white kids who will be lucky to play D3 ball lol. You aren’t some genius coach. If you were, you wouldn’t be sharing your “wisdom” on an anonymous message board. You’d already be coaching somewhere we’d know your

 

[Vol4gzus]

Staff, Can you just pull the plug when someone has so little posts, and then posts a silly post like this? Or at least give the intelligent members (mostly anyone else but me) a dislike button to maybe allow less like these that rot ones retinas?

or there is a IGNORE button. Click on pic or name and look for the ignore button and click on it and voila no more Volos threads.

 

[JohnWardForever]

Sorry you were so late with this......... Now, I'm out of the mood..

 

[GordonC]

I've nailed these theses to the "opportunity is now here" door. Won't we feel foolish if it was all a joke!

Hahaha
"These theses"
That's hilarious

 

[Tarkus]

Sorry for the late thread, I would have liked to have posted before the bowl game and I know I promised a write up with suggestions a few weeks ago but I just got busy with work and the holidays. Overall, this was a decent season but there are a number of areas for development for the coaching staff. If they can work on these items I feel like we have a very promising future, but if the coach keeps making the same blunders we might have some real issues. The first issue is one that every educated football pundit that covers the Vols have noted. WE HAVE TO PLAY OUR YOUNG GUYS. For some crazy reason we refuse to play our young players. Why did it take so long to get Nico on the field during blowouts? Why have the freshman DBs played so little? Why did Matthews and Conyer barely play yesterday? Are we even trying to develop our young OL? AP, Hubbs and Basillio have brought this up often. If you don't play the young guys, in the age of the transfer portal, they might transfer. And AP said our NIL strategy is to spread the money around but why are we paying a bunch of players to just sit on the bench and just transfer? What is the point of depth if we don't use it? What good does it do for us to play Jeudy Lally and Tank all game long in a bowl game? The second one is related to player evals. I'm worried that given the choice in the future, Heupel is going to choose a Joe Milton over Hendon Hooker. Does he realize that he made the wrong decision his first year when he went with Milton over HH and that he just got lucky that Milton got hurt? Has he learned from that so that in the future he looks for characteristics other than just arm strength? Mental make up matters for a QB too. We also need a QB that has escapability in the offense. Milton might have good straight line speed, but we need a guy that has more wiggle. So note to Heupel, when recruiting QBs, try to find a guy more like Hooker than Milton. The last point also has to do with evaluations. There are times where I see us recruiting lower ranked guys for some reason and it seems like the coaches trust their evals over the recruiting sites and what other teams think. However, we have whiffed on all of our OL, and bunch of our lower ranked commits the last couple of years have been whiffs. Look as us this year in the transfer portal, apparently we like the Temple kid more than the Harris kid from UGA. Harris is a former 5 star that everyone wants. Is it really likely that everyone else is wrong? Why did we not go for the #1 ranked kid in state this year while LSU and other pursued? While rankings are not the end all be all, the coaches need to take a hard look at why these guys are ranked high and try to stack as much elite talent as possible. Getting too cute with player evals is a fast path to the Dan Mullen career track.

On another subject, I still have nightmares from last year's SCar game and this year's 2nd half Bama and against Mizzou. Our DBs have struggled really badly at times and a lot of times we are getting beat in the middle of the field. I think we should go with a scheme change. This is something I do on my team and it makes it really really hard for a defense to throw at all. I think we should start playing press man with a single high safety and corners playing inside leverage. This way, every receiver is locked up and can't catch any balls short or over the middle. Instead, the CBs give up outside leverage, so the only way to completely passes is by throwing over the DB to the outside. This is a really long throw to the sideline and I don't think QBs can consistently make that throw, most guys lack the arm strength to throw that far. The one issue is getting beat deep, so it's important to have an eraser at S. So I think we need to get a Deon Grant or Eric Berry type and physical CBs and we are going to be impossible to throw against.

We need to be loud as a fanbase and these this information to the staff to save them from themselves. A number of times the coach has been saved from himself (not my words, this is from Basillio), like when Milton got hurt and the bowl opt out. But if Heup would just learn and change a bit I think we can go from fringe playoff contender to elite.

Hard to argue with such a brilliant synopsis. Especially how easy it is to make it impossible for the other team to pass.

 

[OleRockyTopTennessee]

I got a headache after reading the first three sentences.
Can someone sum up the rest of the book that was wrote in one sentence for me please?

 

[Pride85]

or there is a IGNORE button. Click on pic or name and look for the ignore button and click on it and voila no more Volos threads.

The problem is this. You don't know someone is worthy of being ignored if they are new or rarely post until you open the thread. When they start the thread there is nothing to let it is word salad. If you read the VAST majority of responses, my opinion was not mine alone.

 

[Pride85]

or there is a IGNORE button. Click on pic or name and look for the ignore button and click on it and voila no more Volos threads.

BTW, thank you for the knowledge I acquired many years ago. I will now put it in practice, Buh Bye.

 

[Cod]

lol this site never disappoints!!!

We could win back to back Natty's and some of these guys would still "FIRE HEUPEL FIRE EVERYONE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE HIRE HIRE HIRE XXXX " trust me I know footballz.... I mean i work a banking job but my kid plays youth club football and we need to do this!!!!

 

[Behr]

 

[JohnWardForever]

I got a headache after reading the first three sentences.
Can someone sum up the rest of the book that was wrote in one sentence for me please?

You're kidding, right?

 

[OleRockyTopTennessee]

You're kidding, right?

Yes I am!

 

[sjt18]

Overall, this was a decent season but there are a number of areas for development for the coaching staff. If they can work on these items I feel like we have a very promising future, but if the coach keeps making the same blunders we might have some real issues.

Blunders? Or are they making plans and dealing with the problems of executing a plan?

The first issue is one that every educated football pundit that covers the Vols have noted. WE HAVE TO PLAY OUR YOUNG GUYS.

Well two things. One is UT does play young guys if they're ready. This year they played Fr on the DL, LB, DB, and a ton on STs. Heupel's O is very nuanced. It takes time and a certain amount of mental talent to learn it. Every player on O is getting the signal from the sideline. Most or all are making "reads" to know what they have to do. UT runs a lot of option routes with the WRs which almost precludes Fr from playing. Fr don't get much time play O for UT because they make critical mistakes that turn into turnovers or worse.

For some crazy reason we refuse to play our young players. Why did it take so long to get Nico on the field during blowouts? Why have the freshman DBs played so little? Why did Matthews and Conyer barely play yesterday? Are we even trying to develop our young OL?

Nico actually makes a great example AGAINST what you're arguing. They didn't rush him. They didn't put him in situations he wasn't ready to handle. They brought him along at a good pace... and he was in command of the O when given the #1 job. He played a D that challenges decision making. He was ready to make good decisions. He played a D that hits. The 20 or more lbs of muscle he's added since this time last year probably kept him in the game.

The "crazy" thing is that you think you know more about who is and is not ready to play than Heupel... or you understand his plan for the program better than he does. We're not at the end of his "plan" for building the program. We're closer to the beginning than end. He is being very disciplined in his approach to developing key pieces.

AP, Hubbs and Basillio have brought this up often. If you don't play the young guys, in the age of the transfer portal, they might transfer. And AP said our NIL strategy is to spread the money around but why are we paying a bunch of players to just sit on the bench and just transfer?

I feel pretty confident in saying that you have twisted what they're saying. That notion is bolstered by you not recognizing the contradiction in what you said. Guys are being paid to develop and play at a high level when inserted. That's pretty simple. It is very straight forward.

Did you notice who transferred this year? It wasn't the young guys in a development program. They know their future is in front of them and for the most part trust the coaches to put them in position for maximum success.

What is the point of depth if we don't use it?

What is the point of playing guys who aren't ready and thereby putting them in a position to fail... and hit the portal because of it?

What good does it do for us to play Jeudy Lally and Tank all game long in a bowl game?

UT didn't have a lot of depth after the other guys left. Sit Gabe and start another Fr?

The second one is related to player evals. I'm worried that given the choice in the future, Heupel is going to choose a Joe Milton over Hendon Hooker. Does he realize that he made the wrong decision his first year when he went with Milton over HH and that he just got lucky that Milton got hurt? Has he learned from that so that in the future he looks for characteristics other than just arm strength?

I'm trying to be polite but your "reading between the lines" comes really close to being stupid. EVERY quality coach plays the guy who earns it in practice. ALL OF THEM. It wasn't one account or mixed opinion. Everyone who saw practice that August said that Milton blew Hooker and the others away. The competition wasn't close. That's not a mistake. However there is a margin of error that cannot be fleshed out in practice. There are guys who rise to the occasion in games and guys who don't. There are guys who play with second nature instinct and guys who think too much.

That is just reality and if he coaches long enough it probably will happen again. It happens all the time across football at all levels. But your best bet is ALWAYS to play the guys who earn it in practice. QB is unique in that it is generally a mistake to have that competition play out on game day. Every other position you can. Do you REALLY want him to start playing guys who DO NOT win the job in practice? What do you think that will do the trust, motivation, and morale of the rest of the team?

Mental make up matters for a QB too. We also need a QB that has escapability in the offense. Milton might have good straight line speed, but we need a guy that has more wiggle. So note to Heupel, when recruiting QBs, try to find a guy more like Hooker than Milton. The last point also has to do with evaluations. There are times where I see us recruiting lower ranked guys for some reason and it seems like the coaches trust their evals over the recruiting sites and what other teams think. However, we have whiffed on all of our OL, and bunch of our lower ranked commits the last couple of years have been whiffs. Look as us this year in the transfer portal, apparently we like the Temple kid more than the Harris kid from UGA. Harris is a former 5 star that everyone wants. Is it really likely that everyone else is wrong? Why did we not go for the #1 ranked kid in state this year while LSU and other pursued? While rankings are not the end all be all, the coaches need to take a hard look at why these guys are ranked high and try to stack as much elite talent as possible. Getting too cute with player evals is a fast path to the Dan Mullen career track.

This is dumb. Really, really dumb. There are times you don't get the guys you want most. The roster was an absolute disaster when Heupel took the job and they have been forced to fill holes. Some of that was less than ideal to be sure.

But yes. A coach should trust his own evals over the recruiting sites. For the better part of the lowest period in UT football history... the Vols landed "top 25" recruiting classes. Jones in particular seemed to chase "stars" and ended up with an absolute TON of busts. Your coaching staff is paid to evaluate and sign talent... not to make people like you feel good about a subjective ranking.

On another subject, I still have nightmares from last year's SCar game and this year's 2nd half Bama and against Mizzou. Our DBs have struggled really badly at times and a lot of times we are getting beat in the middle of the field. I think we should go with a scheme change. This is something I do on my team and it makes it really really hard for a defense to throw at all. I think we should start playing press man with a single high safety and corners playing inside leverage. This way, every receiver is locked up and can't catch any balls short or over the middle. Instead, the CBs give up outside leverage, so the only way to completely passes is by throwing over the DB to the outside. This is a really long throw to the sideline and I don't think QBs can consistently make that throw, most guys lack the arm strength to throw that far. The one issue is getting beat deep, so it's important to have an eraser at S. So I think we need to get a Deon Grant or Eric Berry type and physical CBs and we are going to be impossible to throw against.

We need to be loud as a fanbase and these this information to the staff to save them from themselves. A number of times the coach has been saved from himself (not my words, this is from Basillio), like when Milton got hurt and the bowl opt out. But if Heup would just learn and change a bit I think we can go from fringe playoff contender to elite.

So thus saith you... everyone get in line with their protest signs? You REALLY think you are the savior of the program? You need to learn some wisdom. The program was in the ditch and then Jones/Pruitt did their part to spin the wheels until it was stuck to the axle. Baking a cake can be messy but you don't judge the cake until the baker is done.

The fact that you give one ounce of credence to Basillio... pretty much says all that needs to be said about your "opinion".

 

[sjt18]

Addition to my "book" critique.

I mentioned how UT did according to the recruiting rankings when it had a coach that very much appeared to care about recruiting rankings. UT lost 8 games for the first time in program history in 2017. Butch Jones had "recruited at a high level" according to the recruiting sites. That was his 5th year which many argued would be the amount of time for him to get "his players" and show his true ability. The 247 composite had the Vols as the 12th most talented team in the country in 2017 and 5th in the SEC. That team was poorly coach- true. They also weren't anywhere close to the 12th most talented team in the country.

Recruiting rankings FOLLOW success... they do not lead it. If Heupel keeps winning and steps up even a little more then his "high 3*" guys will start to get bumps. When he puts a Saban like focus on a particular player, the recruiting sites will sit up and notice just like they did with Dabo and others.