What do we really have with CJH?

[J C Higgins]

How CJH does in recruiting is still an unknown but he took a team with a depleted and mediocre roster to a 10 win season by getting the most from which he had to work and in my mind that's the true measure of a great coach.

Recruiting will always depend on salesmanship to some extent but the NIL money is now a huge factor. In fact it may be as important or even more important than salesmanship and/or whether a particular player likes the coach and the program.

 

[Proud Army Wife]

People are all guessing. No one knows diddly squat about what he will accomplish here. No one.

Maybe Tennessee's at the start of a new era. Maybe it's Kirby digging in for the long haul. Or maybe it's at the end of a 2019 LSU sort of year; super-senior QB that makes an offense hum, followed by a fall off. Who knows? For every Lincoln Riley there's a Mel Tucker. So who knows?

We can guess though. And Heupel's track record has some tendencies. He runs a tempo program. His teams almost never win TOP. His defenses have to play 35-40 minutes a game. His teams have historically struggled with penalties. His teams have also scored - a lot. He knows how to find mismatches. He manages his own gameplan; that is, he's not a "CEO coach." And most importantly of all, he wins a pretty good amount, too.

Will taking his formula and adding SEC talent make it a champion approach? Again, everyone's just guessing. I certainly hope so though. Oregon had some great years where their tempo offense seemed unstoppable - until it got stopped by good defenses. Seen a lot of programs have seasons like that. Big flashy show, lots of scoring, but couldn't cash in at the end. I'm very hopeful though that Tennessee, with its resources and brand, can be one that does.

The one thing I do think we know is this - what Tennessee does next year with a less consistent starting QB and two young backup signal callers is going to tell us a whole lot about how Heupel will do in Knoxville over the next five years (or more, hopefully). I do love that he coaches without fear. Year 1, he made Alabama pay attention. Year 2, he made Alabama pay the bill. A lot of guys would "get your popcorn ready" that situation, but he went about his business and won that game. So I'm hopeful.

I agree. Underrated post.

 

[Proud Army Wife]

It’s going to be really tough for him to get over the Kirby and Georgia monster and win the East and perhaps the SEC but he can def have some solid 9 and 10 win seasons here but this is Tennessee as we all know and our goals are to win the East and the SEC so he must beat Kirby eventually. But his first two seasons have been really good and he’s been the best coach we have hired since we fired Phil in 2008. 17-8 in two seasons and 10-6 in the SEC is really good considering what he walked into here. I’m really intrigued to see what he does next season without Hooker at QB and will he put more of an emphasis on having a better defense. He’s earned my trust though and I’m happy with him as our coach right now and he did beat Florida and Bama in year 2 ending those long losing streaks.

I’m not worried about UGA long term. The SEC hasn’t made a formal announcement yet, but rumor has it, they’re likely doing away with divisions when OU and TX join.

 

[Proud Army Wife]

Good point(s), SJT. I was referring to the sustainability of this offense.

Will it be viable five years down the road or will defenses be able to start defending against it next year or the year after.

I think (hope) Heupel is smart enough to adapt. I think he is.

 

[BowlBrother85]

From a season prediction standpoint it was expected when the game came around

You described it as being the "status quo," .... which means a continuation of the current state of affairs. A Tennessee win over Alabama definitely wasn't that at all.

... and although Tennessee was a slight favorite the week of the game, I would hardly treat Tennessee snapping the 15 game losing streak as having been "expected."

 

[BlinghamptonVol]

When the CFP expands to 12 teams, Heup won’t miss the playoffs. Also,if we make it past the first round of the playoffs, expect to see us in the championship game regularly. One week is not enough time for other teams to prepare for our offense. Heup is leading us to a golden era of Vol football. Get ready to enjoy it!

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

I think he has surpassed expectations, especially with what was left on the roster when he took over, after year 2 he is 17-8 overall and 10-6 in SEC, pretty darn remarkable. He has shown he can recruit, now he needs to establish consistency in winning and developing players. Losing Golesh hurts somewhat but Heupel will call plays seamlessly until he gets his new OC. The verdict is out on his DC Banks, defense improved in many areas this season but the pass defense was atrocious, if he cant get it done, Heupel will need to make a change sooner than later and make an excellent hire for DC.

How many guys in our secondary have a chance of getting a sniff at the NFL? I hope all of them do but the reality is the talent level there makes it nearly impossible to coach them up to a high level. Especially in the SEC. If they can recruit hihj quality athletes i think the opinion of the defensive staff will change to a mostly positive opinion.

 

[TennesseeTarheel]

All that was said before, plus, he's a snappy dresser.

 

[Boca Vol]

I'm still waiting for him to tell us a player tripped over a helmet!

Just kidding. Heup had brought excitement back to Big Orange Football.

 

[sjt18]

Good point(s), SJT. I was referring to the sustainability of this offense.

Will it be viable five years down the road or will defenses be able to start defending against it next year or the year after.

I'm not sure any scheme or system is ultimately sustainable even with all the "Jimmy's and Joe's" in the world. I am old enough, sadly, to remember OU dominating with the wishbone. Nebraska just crushed people with that option I they ran. The wing T came and went... then kind of came back again. The veer was a good scheme for a while. Not that long ago only "weird" O's ran out of the "shotgun" as a standard set. It was almost "unmanly" to spread a D out... the focus was "hat on hat" and winning the tough guy contest.

Saban's success at Bama was built on a power run game and his 3-4 "novel" defense that no one could solve.

Saban's genius has been that he has evolved with the game. He didn't seem to always like it. I'm sure he'd rather go back to when dominant D alone won games. But... he likes winning better. I don't particularly like him as a person but his willingness to change and ability to do so is amazing.

We will see with Heupel but what he does now is significantly evolved from what he did at OU or even Mizzou. IMHO, it will take a rule change to keep his level of "tempo" from being effective regardless of the plays or scheme. It isn't so much fatigue as we've come to realize. It prevents D's from getting sophisticated, using situational personnel, or consistently getting aligned correctly before the snap. If you think about it... it is a great adaptation of military tactics that have worked through recorded history. Attack quick and hard... create confusion then attack quicker and harder.

 

[chuck0303]

Threads like this are pretty amazing to me. Prior to this season, it was all about “winning season, blah blah blah, but can he beat one of the big three?”

And this year he beats Florida AND alabama, and now we are questioning. The way I see it, we have ONE chance to gain stability and build to becoming the program we once were. It’s CJH. Fire him, and we can get ready for another decade of REALLY stinking. He came here when nobody else (or few others) would. We just finished a 10-2 season. It’s amazing how some people will never be happy.

There are a lot of idiots who live among us. Anyone predict we would be #1 in the first CFP announcement? I didn't think so. Anyone think we could be this successful with 30 or so players gone before Heupel came onboard? Er, no. Some ppl aren't ever satisfied. Be thankful for the coaches, players, and the season we've had so far.
All indications are we're getting better and should have a solid season next year and the coaches are recruiting to fill needs first and building depth. And to all those pessimistic fans, stop f_cking complaining/whining! Be positive & supportive & we don't need those stupid freaking nonsense polls to stir ppl up.

 

[WilcoVolsFan]

Are you for real w/this ish?

Here's what we had.

A 1-7 finish to the season with 3 different quarterbacks starting the last 4 games.
2020 Tennessee Volunteers Schedule | ESPN

Over 30 transfers out of the portal including starters at both Middle Linebacker positions, the Left Tackle, Left Guard, Running Back (+backup), and every QB on scholarship
2021 College Football Transfer Portal

Unknown future sanctions, including the former Coach attempting to blackmail the UT athletics program with a threatened lawsuit that would "cripple UT's athletic programs for years"
Jeremy Pruitt lawyer threatens to cripple Tennessee athletics in suit

A mere 2-seasons after that, we're at 10 wins, a NY6 bowl, a victory over 'Bama for the ages, a Top 10 recruiting class w/a 5-Star QB that realistically may be the best recruit in the country.

So yeah...this is what we have after year 2.

 

[LittleVol]

So at this point in the CJH era, what does everyone think we have in him as a head coach? When you look at him and his body of work so far, what do you see? Do you see a coach that can bring conference championships and playoff berths to the program or do you see it different?

Personally what I see is a coach that has brought much needed stability and a healthy culture to the program. I see a coach that will consistently bring 8 to 9 wins a year with the occasional 10+ win season. And I see a coach that will have us in a decent to very good bowl game each year and for now, that's good enough!

Up to this point the only thing I dont see in CJH is a dynamic recruiter that will consistently get us top 5 nationally which is what you absolutely need to have to contend for SEC conference titles. That's my only real concern going forward in the CJH era.

So you're only concern is that his recruits don't rank top 5 collectively based of a platform run by a bunch of dudes that mostly.never even played college football ?

It is a top 5 class if you had a better grasp of what Tennessee football is now...-which was on huge display this season

 

[LittleVol]

Are you for real w/this ish?

Here's what we had.

A 1-7 finish to the season with 3 different quarterbacks starting the last 4 games.
2020 Tennessee Volunteers Schedule | ESPN

Over 30 transfers out of the portal including starters at both Middle Linebacker positions, the Left Tackle, Left Guard, Running Back (+backup), and every QB on scholarship
2021 College Football Transfer Portal

Unknown future sanctions, including the former Coach attempting to blackmail the UT athletics program with a threatened lawsuit that would "cripple UT's athletic programs for years"
Jeremy Pruitt lawyer threatens to cripple Tennessee athletics in suit

A mere 2-seasons after that, we're at 10 wins, a NY6 bowl, a victory over 'Bama for the ages, a Top 10 recruiting class w/a 5-Star QB that realistically may be the best recruit in the country.

So yeah...this is what we have after year 2.

No use in trying to explain things to someone who doesn't even understand why and who we are recruiting....

 

[clarencepeabody]

There are a lot of idiots who live among us. Anyone predict we would be #1 in the first CFP announcement? I didn't think so. Anyone think we could be this successful with 30 or so players gone before Heupel came onboard? Er, no. Some ppl aren't ever satisfied. Be thankful for the coaches, players, and the season we've had so far.
All indications are we're getting better and should have a solid season next year and the coaches are recruiting to fill needs first and building depth. And to all those pessimistic fans, stop f_cking complaining/whining! Be positive & supportive & we don't need those stupid freaking nonsense polls to stir ppl up.

Man, this all day. Getting better is all we can hope for, and I certainly didn’t expect to have this much hope this fast.

 

[clarencepeabody]

Are you for real w/this ish?

Here's what we had.

A 1-7 finish to the season with 3 different quarterbacks starting the last 4 games.
2020 Tennessee Volunteers Schedule | ESPN

Over 30 transfers out of the portal including starters at both Middle Linebacker positions, the Left Tackle, Left Guard, Running Back (+backup), and every QB on scholarship
2021 College Football Transfer Portal

Unknown future sanctions, including the former Coach attempting to blackmail the UT athletics program with a threatened lawsuit that would "cripple UT's athletic programs for years"
Jeremy Pruitt lawyer threatens to cripple Tennessee athletics in suit

A mere 2-seasons after that, we're at 10 wins, a NY6 bowl, a victory over 'Bama for the ages, a Top 10 recruiting class w/a 5-Star QB that realistically may be the best recruit in the country.

So yeah...this is what we have after year 2.

Nailed it. I’m not surprised you’re a Wilco fan (assuming that’s what the screen name means)

 

[EZE]

Missed my point! When we played both of them it was expected. We were not expected to blow out LSU or get blown out by SC!

Alabama was a double digit favorite.

 

[swampfoxfan]

Good point(s), SJT. I was referring to the sustainability of this offense.

Will it be viable five years down the road or will defenses be able to start defending against it next year or the year after.

Knowing how to defend it isn't the problem. Being able to defend it is the hard part. About the only defense is outscore Tennessee.

 

[EZE]

You described it as being the "status quo," .... which means a continuation of the current state of affairs. A Tennessee win over Alabama definitely wasn't that at all.

... and although Tennessee was a slight favorite the week of the game, I would hardly treat Tennessee snapping the 15 game losing streak as having been "expected."

Tennessee was a double digit dog in that game. Not even close to favored.

 

[EZE]

There are a lot of idiots who live among us. Anyone predict we would be #1 in the first CFP announcement? I didn't think so. Anyone think we could be this successful with 30 or so players gone before Heupel came onboard? Er, no. Some ppl aren't ever satisfied. Be thankful for the coaches, players, and the season we've had so far.
All indications are we're getting better and should have a solid season next year and the coaches are recruiting to fill needs first and building depth. And to all those pessimistic fans, stop f_cking complaining/whining! Be positive & supportive & we don't need those stupid freaking nonsense polls to stir ppl up.

Post of the millennium here!

 

[swampfoxfan]

How CJH does in recruiting is still an unknown but he took a team with a depleted and mediocre roster to a 10 win season by getting the most from which he had to work and in my mind that's the true measure of a great coach.

Recruiting will always depend on salesmanship to some extent but the NIL money is now a huge factor. In fact it may be as important or even more important than salesmanship and/or whether a particular player likes the coach and the program.

CJH is young enough to relate to the young men he is recruiting, being a former high quality player he knows what recruits want and expect most important what they need. I believe recruiting will only get better and this year was pretty good. I really like how he targets specific needs and qualities, not just throwing a cast net at stars.

 

[tennesseeduke]

Alabama was a double digit favorite.

.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

When the CFP expands to 12 teams, Heup won’t miss the playoffs. Also,if we make it past the first round of the playoffs, expect to see us in the championship game regularly. One week is not enough time for other teams to prepare for our offense. Heup is leading us to a golden era of Vol football. Get ready to enjoy it!

While we did almost sneak into the playoff this year, one week was plenty of time for the Georgia defense. And other top level defenses with the gaps between playoff games should see a week to ten days as having enough time as well.
We will need to consistently have top level offensive talent to consistently win at the top level. Not saying we aren't on that path presently. But by no means did our offense confound Georgia. The splits didn't trick 'em. The quick snaps didn't throw 'em off. None of that mattered. They were bigger, faster and stronger and they handled us quite well.
That's the standard that will have to be faced and overcome for us to win the league or the national title.

 

[swampfoxfan]

While we did almost sneak into the playoff this year, one week was plenty of time for the Georgia defense. And other top level defenses with the gaps between playoff games should see a week to ten days as having enough time as well.
We will need to consistently have top level offensive talent to consistently win at the top level. Not saying we aren't on that path presently. But by no means did our offense confound Georgia. The splits didn't trick 'em. The quick snaps didn't throw 'em off. None of that mattered. They were bigger, faster and stronger and they handled us quite well.
That's the standard that will have to be faced and overcome for us to win the league or the national title.

I doubt crowd noise in Miami will be nearly as disruptive as it was in Athens.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

Crowd noise is not a valid reason for any shortcomings in Athens (or anywhere for that matter)..