walk-on Jacob Gilliam bidding for Tiny's LT spot

#27
#27
There is no reason to call someone a bust from a few scant practice reports about a guy who has been on campus for a few short months.

If anyone's been keeping track, a common theme among JUCO linemen is their lack of conditioning. Mo Couch, Dan McCullers, even new guy Owen Williams all came in with conditioning issues.
 
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#33
#33
Chilmonty said:
So pretty much an unprepared bust, so far, that sucks. :banghead2:


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An example of how stupid we have become. We don't play a football game for a long time. He has time to pick it up and take the job. Prolly a manufactured competition thing by the coaches because they know you can do that in April.
 
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#35
#35
VolAllen said:
"Bust" meaning that a "touted" JUNIOR isn't ready to be 1st team, even in preseason PRACTICE. You normally discover a "bust" in game time situations (Peterman, our OL last year, Dobbs, etc..), but a "touted" player normally comes in and works his tail off in practice (or is a freak of nature like CP) to live up to expectations, and earn the starting spot. So to come in and be replaced by a walk-on in just a couple of short weeks had to say something..
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Touted players don't always work their butts off. They could be pampered, spoiled things who've always been told how good they are blah blah blah. Same thing with spoiled pretty people who're used to getting what they want just cause they're pretty. Just ask Hollywood how many such can't find work because of their 'tudes and behavior.

I think Blair made the same miscalculation as many others have. He loafed instead of working out, doing wind sprints and anything else that would help him hit the ground running once he got here. So it's no surprise a guy like Gilliam who has been all blue collar is the better player at this point. If Blair has sense, he will speed up his readiness. Refuse to use elevators and walk up floors. Take the longest walking route to classes, the library, downtown, wherever. Do wind sprints after practice no matter how tired he is. If possible join the track team's workouts. Anything that will accelerate his readiness. being beat out by a walkon should be motivation enough to get ones butt in gear.
 
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#36
#36
I don't know if any of ya'll have seen the practice interview with Gilliam, but it's remarkable. Dude was recruited for a PWO spot by Lane Kiffin's staff...they told him to come for an OV, then left a few days before...so this kid gets to campus for his visit and there's no coaches there because Dooley and his gang haven't been hired yet. He's walking around getting his tour from the "front office people", as he says, because there's no coaches there. Then after Dools is hired, he plays for Harry Hiestand, discusses him for a minute, then talks about the new staff and what it's like to be a walk-on competing with scholarship players. He's a R. Sr...came in the same class as JaWuan James and all them. Talks about learning from them and how those guys were superior athletes and how he's just tried to soak up anything and everything he could in the last 5 years, as he's been a Tennessee fan since he was 7 years old and he would do anything he could to play here.

Man. I'm really impressed. Can't help but root for this kid. Very humble, but the want-to is real with him.
 
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#37
#37
K-town Vol Fan said:
A walk on starting at LT?

Wake me up when its over
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I dream of a day, up on that mountain top, when D1 football players will be judged by what they do on the practice field, without regard of how they got to the practice field.

Someday a coach is going to come along who understands this (maybe experienced it). A coach who realizes that the star system sucks. A coach who perhaps experienced himself the reverse racism and PC that dominates Rivals and college sports today in general. A coach who places proper value on putting Tennessee boys in orange. That THEY are the ones who will never ever never give up at halftime of a hot Saturday afternoon. Someday, we will stand on that mountain top and win multiple back to back national championships. Then we can all song together, " free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, free at last.
 
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#39
#39
K-town Vol Fan said:
A walk on starting at LT?

Wake me up when its over
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It might make you feel a little bit better to know they were talking about this kid pushing for a spot before Blair showed any issues. So while he's a walk on, he's one they've been considering for a while.
 
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#40
#40
The last time we started walk-ons on the O-line, we didn't do very well....and I thought that O-line coach better prepared the players than this one has to date. This may be a story of "Rudy" overachieving.....or a serious weakness that will plague us for a while (perhaps the whole season).
 
#41
#41
Why did Patrick Brown write an article about Gilliam and include a picture of somebody else? I think that an article about Gilliam should have a picture of Gilliam.
 
#42
#42
I'm really confused on the negativity coming from this thread. When I read the title, I thought this was a great thing. Even if Gilliam doesn't win the starting position, we have a guy that we know can come in and maybe not be as far a dropoff from 1st to 2nd string as we thought. Why is it bad that Bullard is having competition? We talked about it with all of our depth issues the last few years, that competition is what we need. I for one, think it's GREAT that Bullard is being beaten out. If he can finally turn that potential into talent, we have something on our hands, as well as a very valuable walk-on.

Nothing but good from this, in my opinion.
 
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#43
#43
tenmanjonez said:
I'm really confused on the negativity coming from this thread. When I read the title, I thought this was a great thing. Even if Gilliam doesn't win the starting position, we have a guy that we know can come in and maybe not be as far a dropoff from 1st to 2nd string as we thought. Why is it bad that Bullard is having competition? We talked about it with all of our depth issues the last few years, that competition is what we need. I for one, think it's GREAT that Bullard is being beaten out. If he can finally turn that potential into talent, we have something on our hands, as well as a very valuable walk-on.

Nothing but good from this, in my opinion.
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Huh? Bullard?
 
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#44
#44
K-town Vol Fan said:
A walk on starting at LT?

Wake me up when its over
Click to expand...


A 22-23 yr old man thats been in the program for 4 yrs battling in every practice and playing behind nfl linemen. Why don't you just stay asleep until we win again. Then you can act like you were there the whole time. Lot of that going around.
 
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#46
#46
Spartacavolus said:
A 22-23 yr old man thats been in the program for 4 yrs battling in every practice and playing behind nfl linemen. Why don't you just stay asleep until we win again. Then you can act like you were there the whole time. Lot of that going around.
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So why don't we have more walk-ons come in and sit for a few years then when its time for them to step up they will magically be good?

Im sorry, the most important position on the o-line being filled by a walk on isnt a good thing any way you want to spin it.
 
#47
#47
I think Blair made the same miscalculation as many others have. He loafed instead of working out, doing wind sprints and anything else that would help him hit the ground running once he got here. So it's no surprise a guy like Gilliam who has been all blue collar is the better player at this point. If Blair has sense, he will speed up his readiness. Refuse to use elevators and walk up floors. Take the longest walking route to classes, the library, downtown, wherever. Do wind sprints after practice no matter how tired he is. If possible join the track team's workouts. Anything that will accelerate his readiness. being beat out by a walkon should be motivation enough to get ones butt in gear.
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Good Gosh, Speculate much? Damn give the kid some time to get acclimated, and learn the system, PLEASE. geeeeezzzz
 
#48
#48
Blair was good enough to pancake Vereen yesterday, but because he is out of shape, he got beat by Vickers on a speed rush
 
#50
#50
utvols74 said:
The last time we started walk-ons on the O-line, we didn't do very well....and I thought that O-line coach better prepared the players than this one has to date. This may be a story of "Rudy" overachieving.....or a serious weakness that will plague us for a while (perhaps the whole season).
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The last time we started three scholarship o linemen we had the worse o line in our history. When was that? Oh yeah, I remember, it was last year.
 
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