Suggestions for the coaching staff

[hUTch2002]

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.

My suggestion for the staff is not to listen to us on VN.

 

[hUTch2002]

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 name.

We found Pruitt again! I was wondering what he was up to.

 

[Vol4gzus]

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

Thank you for the ,apparently, sarcastic response minus the "blue font". Some don't know about ignore button. So simply an FYI for those who MAY CHOOSE to use. Also, as you stated in other response, might be a fair thing to do in waiting after other responses to see if they establish themselves as an annoyance over those.

 

[swampfoxfan]

Shouldn't comment, I know I shouldn't. But I don't believe JH and staff would take advice from Saban Smart or anybody else and surely not from anybody on this board. Unless Josh's wife lurks here, then maybe.

 

[swampfoxfan]

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 name.

WTF with the.all white kids bull shat

 

[LittleVol]

My suggestion for the staff is not to listen to us on VN.

I guess it depends on who it is on Volnation????

We're not all the same you know lol.

 

[GVol1966]

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.

 

[hUTch2002]

I guess it depends on who it is on Volnation????

We're not all the same you know lol.

True but none of us know coaching AND the team more than our coaches.

 

[Volos]

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??

Thanks man. Always great to get some feedback from a poster that actually knows football.

With the defense, with all the veteran departures, I would feel a lot better if Slaughter, Conyer and Matthews had gotten some reps this year. We are probably looking at 5 new DB starters this year and they will be super green. Those blowout reps matter.

 

[Volos]

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

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.

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.

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

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

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?

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.

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".

Well two things. One is UT does play young guys if they're ready

How can you get guys ready unless you give them reps? Giving them real live reps gets them ready faster than just playing scout team all year long.

Everyone who saw practice that August said that Milton blew Hooker and the others away. The competition wasn't close.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. You have to give the young guys reps and not just rely on practice to see who the best guys are. Some guys are gamers.

The overall gist of your post seems to imply that coach always knows best. But that wasn't the case with Hooker/Milton. It wasn't the case in the past with Dobbs/Worley. I could name you a lot of times that the coaches didn't get it right.

Jones in particular seemed to chase "stars" and ended up with an absolute TON of busts.

Butch actually recruited a great roster. That 2016 team was STACKED. We had the roster to win the SEC or a Natty. Dobbs, a slew of WRs, Barnett, Sutton, AJ, etc. The problem was coaching and it's proof that coaches do not always get it right. I think there are times where coaches are too close to see what is in front of them and the personal connections make it tougher to make the hard decisions. You almost need someone to treat this like a Madden roster and make objective decisions.

And why wouldn't I give credence to Basillio? He has been doing this for years. And it's not just him, Hubbs, AP, Hooker, Calhoun, etc are all saying the same things.