This year is setting up nicely

[ConantheVolbarian]

I have been listening to a lot of pundits lately and reading chatter from opposing fans and it seems like we are really flying under the radar. People arent expecting us to have as much success. I have even seen people saying Bama will boat race us in Tuscaloosa. They are in for a rude awakening.

 

[Johnnyreb#VFL]

Heard similarities. Georgia Bama lsu in that order. Tennessee was a top 5 sec honorable mention.

 

[ConantheVolbarian]

Heard similarities. Georgia Bama lsu in that order. Tennessee was a top 5 sec honorable mention.

And I don't get that at all. We beat two of those three last season. To me, anything less than a top 10 preseason ranking is complete disrespect.

 

[Proud Army Wife]

If I see one more prediction of USCjr finishing 2nd in the east I’m going to scream. I for the life me just don’t understand the hype. I think they’ll be improved but not 2nd in the east improved.

 

[VolKnight9]

I have been listening to a lot of pundits lately and reading chatter from opposing fans and it seems like we are really flying under the radar. People arent expecting us to have as much success. I have even seen people saying Bama will boat race us in Tuscaloosa. They are in for a rude awakening.

Ive been rewatching some of the games this week and just got done watching the LSU game today. Watched Clemson earlier in the week and Ive noticed a couple things. First thing ive noticed is with any little bit of improvement on the defensive side of the ball, this team will have the potential to be better than last years. I know that is kind of an obvious take but I dont think a lot of people realize how true that is. If our defensive line as a whole this season can step up and get a tad bit more pressure, it will be a major problem for opposing teams. Secondly, with Bru, Squirrel and Keyton specifically, it will be mismatch central with CJH scheming. Bru being a big bodied, stong handed receiver, Squirrel being a speed demon and Keytons ability to catch everything throw his way, will put that much more pressure on opponents secondaries. Squirrel and Joe should pick up right where Hooker and Hyatt left off. Again, these are very obvious to people that watch the games closely but I think there are a lot of people that still have doubts. Of course its yet to be seen if Milton can perform at a high level all season, but if the orange bowl is any indicator, look out.

 

[Delmar]

The disrespect started at the SEC meeting. No players on the first team all SEC and only one, Bru McCoy, on the second team. That should provide some incentive.

 

[ConantheVolbarian]

Ive been rewatching some of the games this week and just got done watching the LSU game today. Watched Clemson earlier in the week and Ive noticed a couple things. First thing ive noticed is with any little bit of improvement on the defensive side of the ball, this team will have the potential to be better than last years. I know that is kind of an obvious take but I dont think a lot of people realize how true that is. If our defensive line as a whole this season can step up and get a tad bit more pressure, it will be a major problem for opposing teams. Secondly, with Bru, Squirrel and Keyton specifically, it will be mismatch central with CJH scheming. Bru being a big bodied, stong handed receiver, Squirrel being a speed demon and Keytons ability to catch everything throw his way, will put that much more pressure on opponents secondaries. Squirrel and Joe should pick up right where Hooker and Hyatt left off. Again, these are very obvious to people that watch the games closely but I think there are a lot of people that still have doubts. Of course its yet to be seen if Milton can perform at a high level all season, but if the orange bowl is any indicator, look out.

And the thing is the defense wasn't bad last year. We gave up 22 points a game. That's good enough to win a national title. Heupel just needs to scheme us into scoring more points against Georgia and I think he will figure out how to do that.

 

[VolKnight9]

And the thing is the defense wasn't bad last year. We gave up 22 points a game. That's good enough to win a national title. Heupel just needs to scheme us into scoring more points against Georgia and I think he will figure out how to do that.

No defense as a whole wasn't bad. We were a real good run stopping team. We just desperately needed back end help last year. The only way to fix the areas on defense is to recruit well. Guess what, we are recruiting very well. Defensively, we should see a better product on the field this year. I think the secondary will be a bit better this year with another year under their belts and with the addition of some new players.

 

[vegasvolfan]

I have been listening to a lot of pundits lately and reading chatter from opposing fans and it seems like we are really flying under the radar. People arent expecting us to have as much success. I have even seen people saying Bama will boat race us in Tuscaloosa. They are in for a rude awakening.

Probably because we added A&M to our schedule with Bobby Petrino now running their offense. At Florida, at Bama and Georgia alone is a mess. Then Kentucky returned the OC that had Levis looking to do more last year and picked up NC states coveted QB. Doesn’t help that game is in Lexington.

Kentucky, South Carolina & Texas A&M

 

[cherokeeeVOL]

I don’t get the LSU love. I know they have talent but I don’t think Kelley is a fit there at all. They were OK last year but they had zero answers for our offense.

 

[aaronvol]

Ive been rewatching some of the games this week and just got done watching the LSU game today. Watched Clemson earlier in the week and Ive noticed a couple things. First thing ive noticed is with any little bit of improvement on the defensive side of the ball, this team will have the potential to be better than last years. I know that is kind of an obvious take but I dont think a lot of people realize how true that is. If our defensive line as a whole this season can step up and get a tad bit more pressure, it will be a major problem for opposing teams. Secondly, with Bru, Squirrel and Keyton specifically, it will be mismatch central with CJH scheming. Bru being a big bodied, stong handed receiver, Squirrel being a speed demon and Keytons ability to catch everything throw his way, will put that much more pressure on opponents secondaries. Squirrel and Joe should pick up right where Hooker and Hyatt left off. Again, these are very obvious to people that watch the games closely but I think there are a lot of people that still have doubts. Of course its yet to be seen if Milton can perform at a high level all season, but if the orange bowl is any indicator, look out.

I'll add to this. This WR corp is better than last year's. Thornton will be amazing in this offense. Thornton and White is better than Tillman and Hyatt. Feel free to disagree...

 

[VolKnight9]

I'll add to this. This WR corp is better than last year's. Thornton will be amazing in this offense. Thornton and White is better than Tillman and Hyatt. Feel free to disagree...

i agree. I think that Bru and Tillman are pretty similar. Bru is probably stronger and has stronger hands while Tillman may have been a little faster. Squirrel isnt as big as Hyatt but I think he is faster and Thornton is just an added weapon that has a little mixture of both with great speed.

 

[VolKnight9]

i agree. I think that Bru and Tillman are pretty similar. Bru is probably stronger and has stronger hands while Tillman may have been a little faster. Squirrel isnt as big as Hyatt but I think he is faster and Thornton is just an added weapon that has a little mixture of both with great speed.

To add to this, Squirrels fastest 40 time is a 4.27 while Hyatt ran a 4.40 at the NFL combine.

 

[GTBATV]

Not sure I'm hearing the same thing. All I have read and heard is that we are picked to finish second in the east with a record of 10-2 or 9-3.

 

[joevol33]

If I see one more prediction of USCjr finishing 2nd in the east I’m going to scream. I for the life me just don’t understand the hype. I think they’ll be improved but not 2nd in the east improved.

I joined a Facebook group sec super conference, or something. There's a ton of uscjr fans, and Kentucky, who are convinced they're at least second, and some saying they win the SEC . They seem to get triggered real easily

 

[OrangeTsar]

And I don't get that at all. We beat two of those three last season. To me, anything less than a top 10 preseason ranking is complete disrespect.

Wishful thinking on their part. They don’t want to believe we are back because they are scared of what that would mean. They know that if it turns out we aren’t just a flash in the pan and that Heupel is the real deal, then they have a much rougher future ahead. A down Tennessee has made life Farbrand easy for Georgia especially and they don’t want that boat rocked

 

[RockyTopTexas]

It all depends on Joe

 

[NeverWe'llSever]

If I see one more prediction of USCjr finishing 2nd in the east I’m going to scream. I for the life me just don’t understand the hype. I think they’ll be improved but not 2nd in the east improved.

They’ll be lucky to win 8 games.

I have been listening to a lot of pundits lately and reading chatter from opposing fans and it seems like we are really flying under the radar. People arent expecting us to have as much success. I have even seen people saying Bama will boat race us in Tuscaloosa. They are in for a rude awakening.

If anyone actually thinks for more than 10 seconds about that matchup, a blowout is unlikely and a Tennessee victory is not outlandish to believe in at all. Every writer and YouTuber I’ve watched in the off-season looks at the game for 2 seconds and gives us the L. It’s annoying.

My argument would begin by pointing out we have actually played pretty decent in Tuscaloosa in my time as a fan (knock on wood). Yeah, we’ve taken a couple beatdowns. 2011 and 2017 were the 2 worst teams in modern Tennessee history and maybe of all time. They got their teeth kicked in by Bama teams that would go on to win it all.

But we’ve also played some tight games there. 2009, obviously. Should have won and it was coaching malpractice that we didn’t. 2015, very close game. 2019, had multiple opportunities in that game but we had an incompetent imbecile for a head coach and an atrocious QB who missed wide open touchdowns and fumbled the ball on the 1 yd line for a 99 yd touchdown to make it 35-13 instead of 28-20. 2021, we threw the ball all over them and were only down a touchdown heading into the 4th, but our lack of depth from the atrocious Pruitt fallout off-season caught up with us.

So now we come to 2023. Bama fans say they’re going to play some power football this year. Let’s say they’re right, because depending on Tyler Buchner or Jalen Milroe to pass them victory this year is a tantalizing but unlikely proposition for the opposing SEC fan. Running the football on Tennessee does not scare Vol fans that much. Every fan in the SEC knows the secondary is the weakness of our defense. But what many don’t know is Tennessee is now prepared to rotate quality players on the defensive line for 4 quarters. 12-15, no problem. Bama will get their yards, but we will also get some stops. Now comes our offense. It’s going to score points if Joe Milton is decent, which we’ll know by that point in the year. Heupel has consistently schemed our WRs wide open against Saban’s defense 2 years in a row. Our tempo also means Bama will not be able to rotate as much, so we’ll probably be able to run the football a bit. Yeah…I’m liking this matchup. Won’t be easy, but I don’t concede an automatic loss in the off-season just because it’s Bama in Trashcaloosa and they want revenge.

 

[FBtime]

I joined a Facebook group sec super conference, or something. There's a ton of uscjr fans, and Kentucky, who are convinced they're at least second, and some saying they win the SEC . They seem to get triggered real easily

Fans thinking their team is better than it is, is nothing new. The media voted us 2nd in the east which means we are not being overlooked.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

To add to this, Squirrels fastest 40 time is a 4.27 while Hyatt ran a 4.40 at the NFL combine.

Where did he run a 4.27? That would be tied for 5th fastest EVER at the combine.

 

[CAVPUT]

Fans thinking their team is better than it is, is nothing new. The media voted us 2nd in the east which means we are not being overlooked.

Yep. Last year was special. We're replacing a lot of talent and while we've been recruiting well, there's simply no telling how this year will go. Hard to imagine our offense not taking a step or two back, but we might have a better defense. OTOH, you can't discount injuries. Bound to happen. We should be better at overcoming them, but it really depends on who they happen with. Then there's chemistry. Know that's beaten to death, but when the chips are down and we need someone to step up and take control on the field, make a big play, etc. do we have those guys? And really, on offense, I'll just say it out loud....can Milton keep it together and perform when it's all on the line? Time certainly will tell and I've got no problem with any prediction good or bad or any perceived lack of respect. Means nothing. No one had us on their radar last year....no one. Look at how we finished. Water finds it's level and so will we. It's really that unknown that makes the season so exciting.

 

[CAVPUT]

Where did he run a 4.27? That would be tied for 5th fastest EVER at the combine.

And how was it timed? Hand timed? Either way he's fast enough. Track speed is one thing, but football speed is where the rubber meets the road.

 

[Hank Bukowski]

I have been listening to a lot of pundits lately and reading chatter from opposing fans and it seems like we are really flying under the radar. People arent expecting us to have as much success. I have even seen people saying Bama will boat race us in Tuscaloosa. They are in for a rude awakening.

We got ‘em right where we want them. In my experience, Tennessee football historically excels when nobody gives us a chance. Most of what I have read seems to be based on the premise that Big Joe ain’t Hendon…that he just doesn’t have the skill set that Hendon did for us…the instincts, judgement, pocket awareness, etc.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

We got ‘em right where we want them. In my experience, Tennessee football historically excels when nobody gives us a chance. Most of what I have read seems to be based on the premise that Big Joe ain’t Hendon…that he just doesn’t have the skill set that Hendon did for us…the instincts, judgement, pocket awareness, etc.

To be fair, Joe remains a bit of an unknown, to all of us.

There is great reason for hope. The Orange Bowl performance. His extra season learning and living inside Heupel's offense. Great maturity and fully-flowered leadership. The young man's sails are grabbing all the wind right now.

If that carries through the start of the season, there is no limit to this offense. We almost wouldn't need a defense. We could outscore them all 80 to 50 if we had to. [but there are good reasons to believe the defense will be more stout this year, as well]

But because Joe is an unknown quantity, because we can't any of us be sure, that gives the pundits the freedom to show their colors while talking about us.

Anyone who played for a rival (Bama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Vandy, whoever) is gonna swing negative. They're going to hope for the worst in Joe, and because of that hope they're going to see the worst.

That's why we're being under-anticipated in some quarters. Not all sports talking heads went to UT. Heh.

Hopefully we'll show them.

Go Vols!

 

[VolKnight9]

Where did he run a 4.27? That would be tied for 5th fastest EVER at the combine.

NFL Draft Scout website. I dunno how reputable the site is but that’s what it says.