Wesley Walker enters the portal

[TJVol95]

Fire Martinez!!

 

[VolunteerVandiver]

Secondary needs a totally fresh start. Wish these guys well, but they just weren't it at Tennessee. Hoping the young guys inject some much needed talent.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Probably could not have recruited any of the better players we did if the entire secondary of last season was returning. Would not be surprised if some were told it would be better for them to move on and, as others have said, they were getting recruited over and saw the writing.

 

[orangemadam]

maybe being told to move on. opens up space for the next wave of portal signings.

 

[Orange931]

I don't necessarily think its a bad thing but it is odd that almost the entire starting secondary is leaving.

They probably looked at VN, but you’ve gotta have tougher skin than that and just play better. Criticism is part of the game.

 

[HalfullVol]

Ugh.

It's crazy how well we are doing at literally every other position this offseason and how poorly we're doing at secondary. Hope we have some young guys (and our portal guys) can step up, but difficult to see how losing this much top-line depth in a single off-season can be good. Even if the new players we bring in are higher-quality, probably going to take a few seasons to see the impact.

welp we're down to maybe (6) scholarship DB's for the bowl game.

WTF?

 

[MiramarVol]

Wes saw the young guns bowl practicing & realized his spot got snatched.

 

[casual-observer]

Not that it's a bad thing. I've never been a huge fan of the "we got players returning" narrative when the players weren't real good to start with.

EXACTLY!

UT's secondary is near the bottom in all categories statistically. It's coaching, players, or both...so why would anyone be upset with turnover.

I wish these guys the best success and hope they find an NFL-ready fit at another program. But for UT, either find the guys to fit the scheme or find a new scheme.

 

[Vol737]

I thought Walker played pretty well in his time here and Tamarian McDonald showed flashes. We will know for sure what the issue with DBs is if the next round of starters aren’t very good two seasons from now.

 

[DaddyChad]

Ugh.

It's crazy how well we are doing at literally every other position this offseason and how poorly we're doing at secondary. Hope we have some young guys (and our portal guys) can step up, but difficult to see how losing this much top-line depth in a single off-season can be good. Even if the new players we bring in are higher-quality, probably going to take a few seasons to see the impact.

We may be looking at this wrong. Secondary was the worst performing group for the last several years. Maybe the spots are worth more than retaining the players? I really think Heupel and company prioritized the players they wanted back. We saw that with the Olinemen returning. I just don’t think the secondary was prioritized bc quite frankly most of them struggled.

 

[KnoxVegas]

It’s been mentioned multiple times on 99.1 that both Baron and Walker weren’t returning to UT, regardless of anything else. Anyone know why?

The narrative that he wouldn’t have a spot isn’t true, Walker was/is the best S on the team.

 

[Volfan39]

It’s been mentioned multiple times on 99.1 that both Baron and Walker weren’t returning to UT, regardless of anything else. Anyone know why?

The narrative that he wouldn’t have a spot isn’t true, Walker was/is the best S on the team.

Mccollough was way better than him this season. They just needed a new start as a whole in the secondary

 

[KTrain]

it’s not writing if they are told directly you got to go

Yep, a lot of ppl say why can't players leave for more money coaches do it all the time. Now it's here so Scholarships are year to year and with the portal and 1000s players in it out there, as a team you got to play hard ball especially if you have scholly reductions. It goes something like. I think your situation might be better at another place, we will do everything we can to help you land in a good situation, we appreciate all you did for the team and being a good teammate.

 

[I4Vols]

If the new DBs coming in have better NIL deals than an existing DB and he can't negotiate a better one, then the message is clear "in a competitive player marketplace".

Very few will make it to the big bucks pro level, and you hope those that don't (and even those that do), get a meaningful, free college degree given all the jumping around. They're 20 something and it's hard for most to think about what it will take to enjoy life for decades beyond.

Who knows, in five years we might be buying expensive cups of coffee from guys whose names we vaguely remember...

 

[Tnphil]

No surprise. We need to cull that position...it's been bad for the last several years.

 

[bpalmer28]

Fire Martinez!!

Blue font?

This is good news. Our coaching staff is getting our secondary straightened out.

 

[FBtime]

2 will be walk ons.

Will Brooks is a walk-on and started the last two games and looked really good vs Vandy. Who is the other that would be a walk-on?

 

[Caspian]

Dude was a baller for the Jets
View attachment 604175

Not as good as a DB.

What's up with that football. It's huge. Looks more like a basketball.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

welp we're down to maybe (6) scholarship DB's for the bowl game.

WTF?

I count 10, plus Brooks.

 

[General Jack]

What do we think Juedy Lally is going to do? If he hits the portal we will have a 100% new secondary for 2024

I hope he stays, smart kid and he’s talented enough to contribute even with the apparent upgrades coming in. He would provide some stability amidst all of the turnover.

 

[Checker_the_Shire]

What do we think Juedy Lally is going to do? If he hits the portal we will have a 100% new secondary for 2024

Good. Secondary was . And if Martinez is in fact returning, then if Heupel has any real sense, he’ll have Martinez on thin ice.

 

[Vol4gzus]

I really hope my prediction of having Iowa go off on us doesn't happen. lol

Tell Donnie and Debbie Vol faithful said hey! Was that predictable?

 

[rocytop2624]

So is Martinez gone?

 

[IndianaVol]

This is college football in 2023/24. High schoolers now sign with a team to try it out to see if they like it. If not, hit the portal. After a year or two, maybe the coach is riding you a little too hard, maybe you have to compete a little too much for playing time, or maybe your girlfriend broke up with you and you just need a change of atmosphere. Solution? Hit the portal.

Will be interesting to see these guys in 5-7 years with real jobs and they want to hit the job market portal after the boss doesn’t promote them after 3 weeks.

Already seeing this in the real world.
We had a position open for a machinist, so we went to a local college that has a great reputation for turning out top notch toolmakers.

One of the candidates asked "How long before I can be shop foreman?"...ummmm, how about you spend a few years behind a machine and we let you know...kids these days.

 

[McDad]

I don't necessarily think its a bad thing but it is odd that almost the entire starting secondary is leaving.

Two thoughts on this. Number one they see who is being recruited and who is transferring and they know the writing is on the wall. Number two they probably got fussed at every single week in the film room and likely grew tired of it