We are missing a unique play maker.

[SeriousVolFan]

We are getting some decent guys but I don't feel we are going all in on special ones. We need a Ryan Williams type. Maybe it's just me thinking that. I dont know.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

You're looking for the wrong thing.

You seek a star. But football is a team sport. Truly. Team.

You want Eric Berry. But remember how our teams did when Eric Berry was here? We sucked. Even though Eric was awesome, we went 5-7 and 7-6 his two best years.

Point is, a star doesn't make a team championship caliber. A lot of really good no-name players working together toward a common goal (championships) are far more valuable than one or two stars.

Go Vols!

 

[Other_Guy]

You're looking for the wrong thing.

You seek a star. But football is a team sport. Truly. Team.

You want Eric Berry. But remember how our teams did when Eric Berry was here? We sucked. Even though Eric was awesome, we went 5-7 and 7-6 his two best years.

Point is, a star doesn't make a team championship caliber. A lot of really good no-name players working together toward a common goal (championships) are far more valuable than one or two stars.

Go Vols!

Ok, but need nico to be a star lol

 

[CAVPUT]

You're looking for the wrong thing.

You seek a star. But football is a team sport. Truly. Team.

You want Eric Berry. But remember how our teams did when Eric Berry was here? We sucked. Even though Eric was awesome, we went 5-7 and 7-6 his two best years.

Point is, a star doesn't make a team championship caliber. A lot of really good no-name players working together toward a common goal (championships) are far more valuable than one or two stars.

Go Vols!

Very true, but the OP has a point. Nico and this offense need more players capable of making the big play. Our skill guys are very pedestrian and have suspect coaching IMO.

 

[savannahfan]

Ok, but need nico to be a star lol

We could have the best QB to ever play the game and if no one gets open and the blocking is so- so, then this QB will be just another coulda, woulda, if, player.

 

[Golfprovol]

Very true, but the OP has a point. Nico and this offense needs more players capable of making the big play. Our skill guys are very pedestrian and have suspect coaching IMO.

Can't say the players are not that good AND the coaches suck. Pick one or the other. You are asking the coaches to turn a camry nto a Bentley.

So either we have Bentley's that need polished, or we have camry's that need upgrading.......can't have both.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

I agree. We have a bunch of #2's and #3's but not a #1 guy. In fact, before Hyatt's breakout year in 2022 we hadn't had a genuine phenom "homerun" guy since Cordarell Patterson. That is WAY too much of a drought for a program like ours!

 

[bicenTENNial]

Do you know how to catch a unique player???
















Unique up on him

 

[KTrain]

Very true, but the OP has a point. Nico and this offense needs more players capable of making the big play. Our skill guys are very pedestrian and have suspect coaching IMO.

I agree to a point, Oregon & Tennessee couldn't stop Ohio States super star 19 yo top ranked recruit Jeremiah Smith and got blown out and Texas basically shut him down but the rest of the team stepped up and won by 2 TDs. The best players usually win that's why the best hall of fame coaches recruited the best players. A good coach/great recruiter and high $$$ collective = HOF Coach. Deion had 2 of the best in college players but never made the playoffs even in the worst P4 conference.

 

[KTrain]

We could have the best QB to ever play the game and if no one gets open and the blocking is so- so, then this QB will be just another coulda, woulda, if, player.

Hopefully Nico will turn into the QB that makes the O-line look better than they are in pass protection and the receivers better that they are by throwing them open, instead of behind or over their head.
One year around maybe 2011 UTs O-Line led the SEC in sacks allowed and mid season Tyler Bray took over for Matt Simms who was a pocket passer who held the ball too long. Bray got the ball out so fast the same O-line from that point led the Sec in fewest sacks allowed.

 

[RiseToTheTop]

You're looking for the wrong thing.

You seek a star. But football is a team sport. Truly. Team.

You want Eric Berry. But remember how our teams did when Eric Berry was here? We sucked. Even though Eric was awesome, we went 5-7 and 7-6 his two best years.

Point is, a star doesn't make a team championship caliber. A lot of really good no-name players working together toward a common goal (championships) are far more valuable than one or two stars.

Go Vols!

then you watch Ohio St play and realize you do need some stars

 

[BreatheUT]

You're looking for the wrong thing.

You seek a star. But football is a team sport. Truly. Team.

You want Eric Berry. But remember how our teams did when Eric Berry was here? We sucked. Even though Eric was awesome, we went 5-7 and 7-6 his two best years.

Point is, a star doesn't make a team championship caliber. A lot of really good no-name players working together toward a common goal (championships) are far more valuable than one or two stars.

Go Vols!

You can have all the coached up average players you want but there will be a lid on success. You better hope that someone is phenomenal. It doesn't have to be a recruited 5 star. He can be a diamond in the rough that has an innate talent. More importantly the OL has to be a nasty bunch. That is just on offense.

On defense you just need players that can do their job - know where to go, can get there, and can make plays.

 

[CAVPUT]

Can't say the players are not that good AND the coaches suck. Pick one or the other. You are asking the coaches to turn a camry nto a Bentley.

So either we have Bentley's that need polished, or we have camry's that need upgrading.......can't have both.

I think some of our staff are challenged in both their evals and coaching. The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. It's not an either/or proposition.

 

[kptvol1452]

We are getting some decent guys but I don't feel we are going all in on special ones. We need a Ryan Williams type. Maybe it's just me thinking that. I dont know.

I agree Vol don't have a GAME BREAER
teams need great players to be great
It never hurts to have a player that can break game open Go Vols......

 

[BreatheUT]

I agree Vol don't have a GAME BREAER
teams need great players to be great
It never hurts to have a player that can break game open Go Vols......

People misunderstand gamebreaker sometimes. It could mean your QB makes all the throws or finds a way to convert on crucial 3rd downs that make fans on the other side throw their bowl of cheetos at the television set.

 

[walkenvol]

We are a Bryce Young level of QB play away from taking the next step IMO. Football has become QB driven, especially guys who make plays on the 2nd & 3rd reads and on scramble plays after the pocket breaks down.

 

[Orangeblooded615]

Mathews will have a better season than Williams will next year

 

[LegionnaireOfTheMiserable]

You're looking for the wrong thing.

You seek a star. But football is a team sport. Truly. Team.

You want Eric Berry. But remember how our teams did when Eric Berry was here? We sucked. Even though Eric was awesome, we went 5-7 and 7-6 his two best years.

Point is, a star doesn't make a team championship caliber. A lot of really good no-name players working together toward a common goal (championships) are far more valuable than one or two stars.

Go Vols!

Lol is the moral of the story is we shouldn’t want Eric Berry types? Ohio State has a bunch of stars, how did that work out for them against our team?

 

[VFL-82-JP]

You can have all the coached up average players you want but there will be a lid on success. You better hope that someone is phenomenal. It doesn't have to be a recruited 5 star. He can be a diamond in the rough that has an innate talent. More importantly the OL has to be a nasty bunch. That is just on offense.

On defense you just need players that can do their job - know where to go, can get there, and can make plays.

Well, there's a bit of a catch-22 to what I said.

If you win championships, at least some--perhaps many--of those unsung heroes who got you there, they will become famous, lauded.

And then, boom, you do have rock stars after all.

So I'm not saying let's don't have any rock stars. I'm saying let's don't look for rock stars. Let's look for talented guys who are GREAT TEAM MATES. The rock star recruits often aren't that.

Go Vols!

p.s. No one said average. Anywhere.

 

[BreatheUT]

Lol is the moral of the story is we shouldn’t want Eric Berry types? Ohio State has a bunch of stars, how did that work out for them against our team?

Right.

The one argument sgainst this is it's hard getting the Eric Berry types to stay for years in the "look at me" world of college sports now.

 

[rickyyrs]

You're looking for the wrong thing.

You seek a star. But football is a team sport. Truly. Team.

You want Eric Berry. But remember how our teams did when Eric Berry was here? We sucked. Even though Eric was awesome, we went 5-7 and 7-6 his two best years.

Point is, a star doesn't make a team championship caliber. A lot of really good no-name players working together toward a common goal (championships) are far more valuable than one or two stars.

Go Vols!

Sill would not hurt to have a Ryan Williams though

 

[VolunteerVandiver]

I agree that a unique playmaker will take this team to the next level. Someone like Hyatt that can consistently take the lid enough was enough to really get the offense rolling. Hopefully MM is that

 

[LegionnaireOfTheMiserable]

Right.

The one argument sgainst this is it's hard getting the Eric Berry types to stay for years in the "look at me" world of college sports now.

You aren’t winning championships without elite players. Nobody has ever done that in college football, in recent memory at least. So if you decide you aren’t going to play that game because it’s difficult to attain and retain those types of players, you’re putting a very hard ceiling on your program that will prevent you from ever winning big. If you’re content winning 8-10 games a year and getting the occasional first round playoff exit, you can do that, but you’ll never do more.

 

[VolInNW]

Can't say the players are not that good AND the coaches suck. Pick one or the other. You are asking the coaches to turn a camry nto a Bentley.

So either we have Bentley's that need polished, or we have camry's that need upgrading.......can't have both.

I think some of our staff are challenged in both their evals and coaching. The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. It's not an either/or proposition.

That spells it out. We have some position coaches that appear to stink at player spotting and development, and as a result we lack playmakers.

Heupel has GOT to let go of his loyalty at all costs philosophy. Coaching is a cutthroat profession, and the truly successful HBCs know when to pull chocks on mediocre assistants. We have a few of those on staff who either need to step up their game and efforts in player spotting and development RIGHT NOW, or head to other programs.

I REALLY want Heupel to succeed because he is our coach, and he seems like a genuinely good dude. BUT, if he is more concerned with being a nice guy than coming down on coaches and players who don't produce, then human nature will bite him in the rear and he will be surrounded by people happy enough to collect an enormous paycheck for as long as possible with the minimum effort necessary.

 

[SpookyAction]

When you have a standout player, like Jalin Hyatt for instance, the defense has to account for that player on every down. It divides the defenses' attention.
That is why it is best to have a couple of standout players on the field on both offense and defense.

WR should be a much improved position group next year.
We have lost some average players.

I was not a believer when we had the secondary massacre in the portal last season. The whole group looked better on the first defensive series of the season. As unlikely as it seemed to me, restocking the secondary was a brilliant move by the coaching staff. I am hoping WR will be the same in 2025.

We also need two of these new huge TEs that run like rhinos through the secondary with the ball. Kitselman is good, but Heupel and crew have not featured him very much for a reason. Hopefully Jack Van Dorselaer and Da'Saahn Brame give us huge weapons in the passing game and run blocking. They both fit the physical Brock Bowers mold. I hope they have at least some of his skills and drive.