Posted by BigVolinCarolina on April 27, 2008 at 7:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I wish you both the best and that you make the most of your NFL opportunity. Work hard and stick to fundamentals!

Posted by smashmouth98 on April 27, 2008 at 7:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i'll be interested to see where these players sign. same with Karl Good Luck Vols

Posted by jcvet on April 27, 2008 at 7:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Only 3 players drafted. Look back and see what the 2003 and 2004 recruiting classes were ranked. I guess the NFL is getting tired of poorly coached players not ready for the NFL. This doesn't speak well for the shape of TN football. How many Div II teams probably had as many or more?

Posted by hglover40 on April 27, 2008 at 7:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

jcvet - Check your facts before posting -

2004 recuiting players drafted
1 USC 10
2 LSU 7
3 FL ST 3
4 Miami 3
5 Michigan 6
6 gEORGIA 4
7 FL. 2
8 Oklahoma 4
9 Ohio State 3
10 Texas 5
11 UT 3

Does 3 seem bad to you now?

Posted by VolPride_13 on April 27, 2008 at 7:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wow, i am surprised that those two did not get drafted!! Good luck to both of them!!

Posted by BigVolinCarolina on April 27, 2008 at 8:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Though jcvet's stats are off, I think the point he's making is that the UT's draft trend over the past few years hasn't been that good. We've had a quite a run through Fulmer's career, but the past few seasons have raised eyebrows, to say the least.

Folks can say what they will about UT's program, but the statistics don't lie (for once!). UT is averaging 4 losses per season this decade. That's not upper-echelon football--the facilities certainly are, and the fans have been generally faithful.

But the product on the field (and off) has fallen well short of what's been invested into it.

Posted by BigVolinCarolina on April 27, 2008 at 8:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Though jcvet's stats are off, I think the point he's making is that the UT's draft trend over the past few years hasn't been that good. We've had a quite a run through Fulmer's career, but the past few seasons have raised eyebrows, to say the least.

Folks can say what they will about UT's program, but the statistics don't lie (for once!). UT is averaging 4 losses per season this decade. That's not upper-echelon football--the facilities certainly are, and the fans have been generally faithful.

But the product on the field (and off) has fallen well short of what's been invested into it.

Posted by rabidvol1998 on April 27, 2008 at 8:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

hglover - quit spoiling jc's negativity with the facts.

Posted by vtvol on April 27, 2008 at 8:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

In retrospect it seems as though Jonathan Hefney sacrificed a LOT to return for his senior season. I believe he was 1st team ALL-SEC at the end of the 2006 season and was projected to go late on the first day of the draft. Thanks Jonathan for all that you achieved in the orange and white.

Posted by yemmusdarb on April 27, 2008 at 8:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm not surprised at all that Hefney wasn't drafted. He should have came out after his JR season when everyone was fooled, because last season he was clearly outplayed by his freshman counterpart who WILL be a first rounder in 2 years.

As for Young, he never really lived up to his high school recruiting stars. Even when he played his best, he didn't rank among the top 15-20 tackles in college football. So with the injury, he stood no chance of getting drafted.

Posted by mparker on April 27, 2008 at 8:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

you guys just friggin' don't get it do you?? This isn't the 'old day' of last millenium.

The competition for talent is ultra-fierce. This talent is now going where it can play early, it just doesn't hang around waiting for a UT or UGA to decide it's time.

As for 'poorly trained', what a load of crap. Why do you think so many free agents are signed out of UT?? Why do you think there are so many vols in the pros???

I've said this for yeas, that to some large degree UT spends more time on training players for the nest level and less about winning games than is maybe good for it. However, that is part of CPF's recruiting tactic: "look at our track record of putting players in the pros".

We are a good progarm tha occasionally cracks the top 5, sometimes makes a run for no. 1. It's been that way for ages, probably not going to chanbe.

If you can't hadnle that, go front-run with whoever's that years darling team.

Posted by UTfan4life on April 27, 2008 at 8:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

3 isnt bad at all, did you notice our rival ALABAMA HAD 0. Jerod,Brad and Erik will have successful careers

Posted by yemmusdarb on April 27, 2008 at 8:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

hglover40: you realize of the stats you posted UT is at the bottom with 3 players drafted right? i mean, you can say "well Ohio State and Florida..." etc. but Texas, USC, LSU, and Michigan had more players drafted. plus you have to look at the round and overall choices for each team. Mayo was huge, and I think Cottam did well to be picked in the 3rd but Ainge was being talked as a 1st rounder after last season and went in the 5th. USC had more players drafter in the first 28 picks than we did all weekend.

what you SHOULD post is UT's # of draft picks from 1995-2001 per year. i'm pretty sure we had more than 3 every single year in our glory days.

Posted by BigVolinCarolina on April 27, 2008 at 8:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

mparker, I agree with you.

On another note, you make my point, indeed. Competition for talent is fierce and there is much more parity in college football today.

The fact that teams are more even now than ever PUTS A PREMIUM on COACHING. Coach Fulmer has the experience and the brains, but he's left a lot of plays on the field this decade. Not only that, a good majority of the games we lost were games in which we were simply outcoached, outprepared & outhustled. Those areas belong to the man at the top.

I don't know why, but something happened in our coaching staff's mind when we lost the 2001 SEC Championship to LSU...ever since that game, we've never been the same.

Posted by GerryOP on April 27, 2008 at 8:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)

OK hglover40, add these to your list:

Cal - 5
UCF - 3
San Diego State - 4
Arizona - 4
Arizona State - 5
Arkansas - 6
Auburn - 5
Ga Tech - 3
Kansas - 4
Kentucky - 4
Louisville - 5
Texas A & M - 5
Vanderbilt - 3
Virginia - 3
Va Tech - 8
Wake Forest - 3
W Va - 3
Wisconsin - 4

And your point is?????

Posted by hglover40 on April 27, 2008 at 8:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

GerryOP - My point was to post that jcvet made - he implied that our # of drafted players should be higher based on our 2004 recruiting class. I just pointed out that several teams with higher recruiting classes had similar draft days.
yemmusdarb - UT is last on the list because I only listed UT and the teams that had better recruiting classes than us in 2004.

Posted by bigbluevol on April 27, 2008 at 9 p.m. (Suggest removal)

hglover, your point is well made. If you watched the draft today you might have heard Kiper talking about a d tackle from Texas A&M. Coming out of high school, he was believed to be a no doubt first rounder. He was taken in the 3rd or 4th round. All this recruiting and projecting is inexact. Last year Brian Brohm was a sure fire franchise qb and top 5 pick. This year he's in the 2nd round. Mayo is a 3rd rounder when he declares, yet works his way up to number 10 overall. He's drafted by a coach who is believed to be one of the greats. That coach then says that Mayo played at a top program, was well-coached and played at a high level.
The point is: to the detractors, it's not as bad as it seems. To the enthusiasts, it's not as great as we would like it to be. However, to say that this is evidence that we have slipped is not true. Look back to, I believe the 05 draft. The first player we had selected was Dustin Colquitt, in the 3rd round. We didn't have an offensive player taken until about the 5th. Since then we have had 3 straight years with a first round pick. Brighter days are ahead.

Posted by hglover40 on April 27, 2008 at 9:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

BigVolinCarolina - Nothing happened in our coaches mind in 2001 - but it good to know you can read minds.
Here's what happened since 2001 -
average recruiting by team in SEC
1 - Ga
2 - LSU
3- FL
4 - UT

Hard for any coach to win the conference when you average the 4th best talent in the conference.
I think we've done about as you would expect in the SEC, but my disappointment comes from the bowl games; that is where we seem to lay down to teams with less talent.

Posted by bigbluevol on April 27, 2008 at 9:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)

One more thing, regardless of the number drafted or not, let's see how many UT alums wind up in the NFL and for how long as compared to the players from other schools. There are a lot of guys from UT who last a long time, doing a good job and are around longer than some of the standouts from other schools.

Posted by GerryOP on April 27, 2008 at 9:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

So, hglover, I guess your conclusion is that UT ranks right up there with those traditional powerhouses like Wake Forest, UCF, Vandy, and San Diego State? Is that to imply that these powerhouses had recruiting classes that ranked below ours yet still equaled or exceeded our draftees? Recruiting class rankings don't mean diddly!

Ahhh, mparker, trying to read your post it indicates you are either suffering from extreme angst or you are having trouble focusing on the keyboard!

However, you are absolutely right -- "occasionally cracks the top 5, sometimes makes a run for no. 1" When was the last time we cracked the top 5? Except for 1998, when was the last time we made "a run for #1?" Mediocrity indeed!

And, yup, yemmuswhatever, let us indeed talk about our glory days. When were they? Or are you talking about the '50s and Gen. Neyland?

C'mon, guys, the number drafted in any given year is not a true indicator of program success. However, lest we forget, our #1 draftee this year was a Junior and our second draftee was a guy who hardly played at all! Guess the pro guys can see raw talent when they see it!

Posted by Phowell23 on April 27, 2008 at 9:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Actually recruit stars doesn't matter to Draft Picks. Look at the first round. Only 5 stars were part of the 1st round, most were 4 stars, several 3 stars, some 2 stars, and I believe one or two unranked recruits got drafted in the 1st round of the NFL draft this year.

Posted by GerryOP on April 27, 2008 at 9:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

hglover40 - 9:01 PM, and whose responsibility is it to recruit? If the best UT can do is rank 4th in recruiting since 2001, perhaps we need a better recruiter. Mediocrity indeed.

Posted by movol77 on April 27, 2008 at 9:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You are all brilliant. You should be coaching Vols and Titans at the same time with all your brilliance! No one could beat you because you would only pick the best players ALL the time. Go genius go!

Posted by et_vol_fan on April 27, 2008 at 9:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hefney was constanly out of position and always got burned. Did anyone think he was going to get drafted?? He'll get a invite and a chanced to make a team but to think that a team would burn a draft pick on this guy is smoking crack. I wish him the best and hope that he represents UT well at the next level

Posted by hglover40 on April 27, 2008 at 9:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

GerryOP - MY post was to say that our recruiting class of 2004 and draft day results this year didn't seem to be much different when compared to those schools with similar 2004 recruiting classes. you see jcvet had implied we should have more players drafted based on our 2004 recruiting class. Do you follow?
Also, For most folks under 40 - the years we remember as glory years of UT football happen to be the first 8 years with CPF as head coach.
His second 8 years we have been maybe the 3rd or 4th best team in the SEC and that almost lines up perfectly with the recruiting rankings. what a coincidence.

Posted by pdhuff on April 27, 2008 at 9:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

In all seriousness, I wish them well.

How about we get back to the issue at hand!

Winning the Damn SEC Championship!!!

Lets talk about the Vols effort and results under the current HC. NINE years of NO RINGS!!!

10 wins in last 28 outings versus top 25 teams!!

When are free passes and warm and fuzzies going to be over and face facts? NO RINGS!!!

Accountability?????

Soon to be TEN years. If this is acceptable to you, fine.

For me, ENUF!

Posted by KnoxVol_in_TX on April 27, 2008 at 9:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

BigVolinCarolina....that is probably the first coherent critique I have heard in 2008. I appreciate the perspective. I must also suggest that some of it may simply be the cycle of football, although some facts may provide evidence to the contrary.

I still believe we can be an 11 or 12 win team...but this next season will be telling of where we stand.

Posted by hglover40 on April 27, 2008 at 9:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

GerryOP - TN doesn't have the near in state talent of FL,GA,LS,NC,SC,BAMA, or MISS, but CPF and his past staffs have kept us near the top of the SEC recruiting battles. I beleive his new staff will do even better. When you considering the changes CPF has made this year, and consider the talented guys coming back - can you not be excited and hopefull for next year? You seem so angry and negative; being a "fan" must be to much for you. Have you thought about giving it up?

Posted by KnoxVol_in_TX on April 27, 2008 at 9:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

btw...Hefney probably would have at least been drafted last year, had he decided to enter. But a terrible senior season among a decent draft of secondary players proved to be his undoing.

Posted by mparker on April 27, 2008 at 9:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

gerryop, it's the eyes, man, and I can't type all that well. sorry about that, it happens to me all the time (sigh).

Posted by mparker on April 27, 2008 at 9:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

back to football, my point is that we don't get the talent that we once did, for various reasons. I think CPF and staff DOES coach them up, as we get a lot of guys playing as free agetnts. Rashad Baker and Jamari Greer come to mind as good examples.

Posted by GerryOP on April 27, 2008 at 9:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Sorry I got carried away hglover40. I tend to get a bit irrational when folks attempt to rationalize how well the UT football program has done in the 21st century. I few weeks ago I voluntarily opted to STFU until the season starts on Sept 1. Think I had better revert to that stance! I believe that the 2008 season will be a pivotal year in the career of Coach Fulmer.

Oh, BTW, the tradition of excellence in UT football was established long before the '90s. Sorry you younger folks missed those days.

Be well my friend.

Posted by GerryOP on April 27, 2008 at 9:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Nope, hglover40, I will never give up being a fan of UT athletics. I truly do not like what is happening right now with UT football, but, it too shall pass. Be well....

Posted by Ironcity on April 27, 2008 at 9:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I am surprized about Young. I thought he was pretty good. I think he has a real opportunity as a FA to pick a good spot for himself. Good luck to all the Vols trying to get to that next level. This draft also shows us why these guys should never lose sight of why there at UT. Get that diploma and everything will work out.

Posted by hglover40 on April 27, 2008 at 9:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

PDHUFF - I count 11 wins out of the last 22 games
against top 25 teams. (top 25 when we played them)
07 3-3 lost to #1 and #3 team in country
06 2-2 lost to #1 and #3 team in country
05 1-3 lost to everyone
04 3-2 lost to #2(twice) lost to #6
03 2-1 lost to #6 in
please recheck your #s.

Posted by pdhuff on April 27, 2008 at 9:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

GerryOP. stay the course! Enuf of this covering up facts.

Sad, but true. NO SEC championships in nine years.

Pour the koolaid!

Posted by pdhuff on April 27, 2008 at 10:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

hglover40 - I'm glad you're happy with no rings in nine years and that's your right.

Maybe you enjoyed 141 point to Cal-Fla-Bama. That's your right!

One top ten since 2001!

Some of us don't accept that as ok.

That's our right. Good post!

I guess some Vol fans suffer more than others.

Posted by nnease15 on April 27, 2008 at 10:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

GerryOP - Tennessee's football program is not mediocre at the current time. Tenn's record in the 2000s is 71-31, that 69.6%. So Tenn has won 70% of their games in the 2000s and we're simply "mediocre?" Tennessee is not mediocre. They are good. Not excellent, not great, but good. Not mediocre, not bad. Just a consistent top 15 program. Now, I'm not saying that that's good enough, b/c by our standards (and mine) it's not. The point I'm trying to make is that while we aren't at the top of the heap, we are not a mediocre program just spinning out of control in the world of college football. My baseball team in high school my junior year finished the season 14-16. We were a mediocre baseball team. We went on to finish 1 out away from advancing to the TN state tournament. Before you call someone mediocre, make sure they are actually that before doing it.

Posted by GerryOP on April 27, 2008 at 10:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

pdhuff, September 2008 will tell the story. I will try to restrain myself until then. Maybe if Coach Fulmer would stick to teachin' and mentorin' and leave the coachin' to the experts the season might turn out to be a success.

Posted by hglover40 on April 27, 2008 at 10:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

pdhuff/GerryOP -
SEC is tough!!! In 2003-04-06- and 07 to win the SEC you had to win the NC.(I count Auburn as CO-NC in 2003) In 2002 Ga was SEC champion and finished 3rd in the country. It's not like winning the big 10.
Not winning the SEC, I know it is frustrating; but what can we do? I think CPF will be here till he is ready to go, and I beleive too much negativity on these post hurt last years recruiting. On the other hand, I guess the frustration people displayed here may have lead to the exciting changes CPF has made. You are right next year will be pivotal, I'm excited - it may be a great year or a big downer !!!

Posted by movol77 on April 27, 2008 at 10:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Tennessee forever. Fulmer forever. Whiners forever.

Posted by Couchdummy on April 27, 2008 at 10:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Just logged on. Seeing all the bickering and negative charge here, I think we all need to take a deep breath, realize that Fulmer is here til he wants to leave, recognize that we have some good potential for next year, and THANK GOOGNESS THAT CUT IS GONE! We have a chance to redirect the ship with a more robust team, and get back to being a real offense again!! The defense is fine, I think! Give things a chance to unfold. GO VOLS!

Posted by movol77 on April 27, 2008 at 10:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Couchdummy, don't come on here and attempt to be reasonable. You are wasting your time.

Posted by awhill00 on April 27, 2008 at 10:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Vols did well in the draft. Young had injury issues and Hefney had too many question marks, period. I think Mayo, Cottam, and Ainge will have stellar careers. Mayo, especially. Young may come on strong as a free agent, but Hefney still has a lot to prove to make it in the league.

GO, MAYO!! GO VOLS!!

Posted by GerryOP on April 27, 2008 at 10:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Good post nnease15, however, 14-16 is not mediocre, it is a losing season!

See pdhuff's post at 10:07. A lack of recognizable championships in the 21st century is mediocrity. I guess some of us have standards and expectations higher than yours.

BTW, on the surface, 71-31 does indeed sound good. Until you check and see who the Ws were against and to whom we had the Ls.

Posted by movol77 on April 27, 2008 at 10:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Coach Gerry for President too.

Posted by LargeOrange on April 27, 2008 at 10:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

GerryOP - Were you alive to enjoy the General Neyland era? I am not being sarcastic, it is feasible if you are in your 70's you could have been a teenager in the 50's When the General had his final run with the Vols. If that is the period you are referring to that us younger folks missed, we surely did and you are right. Those were the days when a tradition of excellence was established. After the General died, we didn't exactly keep up that tradition for the next 40 years. The second period of what could be considered "the glory years" would have to be in the late 90's with Back to Back SEC championships and, of course the 13-0 National Championship in 1998. Please clarify if you disagree.

Posted by invisiblekid on April 27, 2008 at 10:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

With the injury to Parker and the horrible year by Hefney, I don't think anyone should be suprised. I hope they both get free agent deals and make a career of it in the NFL though.

As far as recruiting versus NFL success, there isn't much of a correlation that I can see. If there were, then USC's entire graduating class would be drafted every year since they rarely sign less than 3 star guys and tend to have more 4 and 5 star guys.

In talking about the talent dip and number of NFL draft choices for the Vols, Pennington covered that ground a couple of years ago. My ultra-shorthand version is that the talent has been way down from 2002 on as compared to the glory days of the late 90's. Here are a few links for anyone so inclined:

http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2005/n...

http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2006/a...

http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2006/a...

People always slammed Pennington for the song quotes and the fact that he had his tv show stating he wasn't a true journalist. Those were usually the same folks offering up excuse after excuse for 2005 and wanting to keep their heads in the sand in lieu of the facts. Like him or not though, he did a better job of compiling data and offering some interesting analysis than what we have seen lately.

Posted by pdhuff on April 27, 2008 at 10:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

hglover 10:18 "What can we do"?

We can wish and hope for a change from "stay the course"!

We're all Vol fans, but some of don't blindly support Phil regardless.

Some of believe the fire is out. Think about recruiting, 35th!!! 58th in run defense- 84th in pass defense per NCAA!

That's what you'll see the next two or three seasons.

Losing record vs 6 of 11 SEC coaches!

Other than the anomolies vs Ga, what big game have we won lately?

Be well.

Posted by invisiblekid on April 27, 2008 at 10:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Does WI count as a "big win" pdhuff?

Posted by GerryOP on April 27, 2008 at 11:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

No, I do not disagree LargeOrange and, yes, I did experience the glory of the Neyland years. And, yes, the '90s were good years. Where I have a problem is the 21st century. We could have and should have done better. The downfall of the '50s and '60s were not of Neyland's doing, whereas, the downfall of the 21st century is of Fulmer's doing. In retrospect, I feel that the best thing Fulmer could have done was to take his wife's advice after the '98 NC!

Posted by TurboFan on April 27, 2008 at 11:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Didn't Hefney come back for his senior year so as to play CB instead of Saftey? Taking one for the team may have hurt his chances. I hope he gets a fair shake with somebody at CB but that position is difficult to get via the free agent route.

Posted by foreverorange on April 27, 2008 at 11:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm surprised Hefney did not get taken, not because he was great, but good enough to get drafted over these smaller school players who didn't have to defend against the size and speed that Hefney did for 4 years.

Posted by yemmusdarb on April 27, 2008 at 11:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

mparker: Can you tell me the last time we cracked the top 5 without google'ing it? My guess would be 2005 pre-season, and we all saw where that went. Feel free to prove me wrong.

Posted by yemmusdarb on April 27, 2008 at 11:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

GerryOp: Our glory days are the mid-late 90's. The 90's was the decade of our highest winning % and we won the NC in 98. Since 2002, I think we've gone down hill. 2004 and 2006 were fair seasons, but we haven't been to a BCS bowl in 10 years. That is where the "elite programs" play, not Citrus, Cotton, and Outback.

Posted by LargeOrange on April 27, 2008 at 11:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

GerryOP you were truly blessed to have lived in those times, my grandmother was Gen. Neyland's secretary and the treasurer for UT Athletic Department under the General and knew him very well. And my father also was alive (and still is) during the late Neyland years, but he will tell anyone who asks (and a lot of people who don't ask, LOL), that he still holds the "perfect season" and his trip to Tempe in '98 as his fondest memory. I think it is clear that since 2001 we have dropped below our standards, and I agree that things have changed and it is much more difficult to win the SEC, but I think we have turned the corner now and the next decade will be much more to our liking, I hope we both are still here to see that, my friend.

Posted by GerryOP on April 27, 2008 at 11:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

yemmusdarb and LargeOrange -- be well. Let's see what September brings. There is always hope!

Posted by General_Watermelon on April 28, 2008 at 12:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hefney's senior season was a bigger bust than Fulmer fat arse falling on ice. The truth hurts, but he couldn't defend ny Grandmother last year. Scouts saw the same thing.

Posted by Laydbakvol on April 28, 2008 at 12:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Current players in the NFL
Miami 53
Ohio St 50
Oklahoma 32
USC 40
Georgia 51
Florida 42
Tennessee 41
LSU 40
Auburn 38
Alabama 25
Ole Miss 24
S Carolina 21
Miss St 21
Arkansas 19
Kentucky 9
Vanderbilt 9

Posted by txsvol on April 28, 2008 at 12:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Think that Eric has a shot at being on the practice squad of some team as a free agent, while they observe his rehabilitation from his knee injury. Jonathan probably has a chance to catch on as a special teams player with a team that for whatever reasons didn't sign him. He's too small to have them take a chance on his becoming an every down safety. (There's only one Bob Sanders, and he's injured quite often.) Too bad both missed out on the signing bonuses, though. Thanks to both for giving their all for the Vols! Go Vols! SAVol

Posted by nicksjuzunk on April 28, 2008 at 1 a.m. (Suggest removal)

foreverorange,

I agree. We all know that Hef could have gone last year and stuck around for UT. It ended up biting him in the butt but we should appreciate him even more because he may have cost himself a career to give his all for UT one last time.

Posted by newtonrail on April 28, 2008 at 1:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Gerry, I was there for most of the 50's also, and Neyland does have to take a part of the hit as AD who hired his student. That, I no one was going to tinker with the Single Wing while he was alive.

Posted by sjt18 on April 28, 2008 at 1:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Young will probably make a team and do well. Hefney, Reynolds, and Mitchell were basically good players with marginal pro potential to start with.

UT lost 9 contributors off last year's team: Cottam (well, would have contributed), Young, Brown, Ainge, Hefney, Reynolds, Mitchell, Mayo, Mapu (kinda), and Karl.

Three of them were drafted. Young, Hefney, and Brown will have a shot at free agency.

If the losses had been greater maybe more guys would have gone in the draft... Would that have suited you guys better?

Posted by sjt18 on April 28, 2008 at 1:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

pdhuff, why is it that you come back with that "I'm glad you're happy with no rings in nine years" strawman?

No Vol fan is happy about that. Some of us though are willing to see how the very significant changes made over the last 3 years work out. Some of us realize that program saviors are few and far between. Some of us realize that getting one of those saviors to UT isn't the "snap" many seem to believe.

I'd much rather see if CPF can get it turned around then turned over to Clawson within then next few years than jump on that coaching carousel.

What exactly does "35th in recruiting" have to do with it? You'd be one of the first to say the rankings don't mean anything if someone used it to support Fulmer. I said during recruiting that several of the guys were underrated. Hubbs admitted as much concerning Poole... then toss in Morley, Faison, and maybe Warren who didn't count on the rankings... the class would have easily been top 15.

Posted by pdhuff on April 28, 2008 at 6:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)

sjt18 1:39 ?? Who would use 35th in recruiting to support Phil's effort? Lost me there.

Shoulda-coulda-woulda. Guess I've lost my orange glasses over the side and my boat has taken on too much orange kool-aid. I just see us as a declining (overall) program that can't crack the top 10, much less a BCS game.

And not bringing in a top 15 recruiting class (yes, its a necessary crapshoot) leads to more non-BCS top-10 years. It's here, its real and we can't spin it away no matter how much we worship the HC. Results -11th ranked SEC defense!!

We can talk about how hard it is to recruit, etc. etc. but this is the hand we are dealt. And we're losing.

And no, I don't consider Wisconsin a "big" win in an AM played game. Nice, but no cigar. We'll all pull for them come Sept 1, but some of us see a vastly different trend from others.

Selah, I digress.

Posted by sjt18 on April 28, 2008 at 6:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Sorry. Used recruiting generally. It is widely accepted among "gurus" that Fulmer is a top 5 recruiter among college HC's.

Posted by sjt18 on April 28, 2008 at 6:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Declining program? UT has played in the SEC CG 4 out of the last 7 years. They have most recently gone from 5-6 to 9-4 to 10-4 with a CG appearance and quality bowl win. What does "AM played game" matter?... it is a NYD bowl with a very nice payout. Did you have a bad weekend or something? Eat some bad Mexican food? Seems like you are more intent than usual to find something to compain about.

You could possibly make a case that the program has plateaued or is ascending after bouncing off the bottom... but in terms of wins and losses there's no case to be made for decline... yet.

Posted by sjt18 on April 28, 2008 at 6:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Excuse me. UT has won or tied in the East 4 times out of the last 7. One year they lost the tie breaker.

Posted by pdhuff on April 28, 2008 at 7:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)

sjt18 - no, had a good weekend, just think the ship has veered too far into "feel-good" bay and doesn't see the "possible" perfect storm (to quote HCPF) on the horizon. You know my reliance on defense.

Reality can be a hard taskmaster. Kinda like the guy who makes $800.00 a week and then looks at his net the week they take out family healthcare premiums.

Be well.

Posted by Volalumnus on April 28, 2008 at 8:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Funny to me the rational used by some.
If we are in a cycle then so be it, but when pointing out how all teams go through cycles, don't forget to note that those cycles come back on the plus side after coaching changes. The real history of cycles in football is coaching changes.

Dont think you can just sit back and you will be due for everything to fall in your lap.

Posted by UTfan4life on April 28, 2008 at 9:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

this wasnt our most talented year, ok.... Why does it matter, we had 3 drafted ALABAMA HAD ZERO. This is nothing bad, we had a top 10, for godsake. You are all crazy this draft was a decent one for us. Im sorry but i didnt see a UGA, UF player in the top 10. This argument is dumb, atleast we have players drafted ***ALABAMA****. Good luck Vols.

Posted by waterskier3 on April 28, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

hefney didn't get drafted because he couldn't tackle or cover in the sec plus his size is an issue at the pro level. he was the most overrated player at UT in a long time and not sure why everyone thought any different... just watch the cal, fla or ala game!!!!!

Posted by UTfan4life on April 28, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Yemmusdarb. If teams like USC,Michigan, OSU, Oklahoma, Texas, WVU etc.. played in the SEC, they would be like a UT in the SEC. We won the SEC east this year, a hard fought battle, but dammit we deserved it. Sure it will be hard for us to be great like we were, but we arent far off. If you win 9 games in the SEC thats BSC elgible, just as if Texas wins 11 they are BSC elgible. The Vols are doing fine and looking forward to a fun year. SEC is outright toughest conference, just ask OSU...GO VOLS!

Posted by pdhuff on April 28, 2008 at 9:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

UTfan4life 9:10 am - good point- makes me think what if Bama had draftable players. Would it have been 61-17 instead of 41-17?

Just a thought......

Posted by johnlg00 on April 28, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Agree with most posters here--surprised Young wasn't drafted, surprised anyone thought Hefney would be. I don't like to criticize college boys unless I think they are lazy or otherwise have bad attitudes. I don't think Hefney had a bad attitude; in fact, I thank him for coming back for his senior year when a lot of people thought he would have been drafted if he had gone out as a junior. However, I never saw him as outstanding in any way. He was at least a step slow for his position and not a good tackler. I have nothing against him as a person, but I just never saw the talent some apparently saw.

Posted by GerryOP on April 28, 2008 at 10:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Let's all get together October 1st. By then, the need for babble, suppositions, analysis, stat quotes, flag waving, accusations, etc may be over.

Posted by pdhuff on April 28, 2008 at 11:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

GerryOP 10:39 True.

And then, maybe not.........

Posted by marc_ash on April 28, 2008 at 12:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

hglover40,

One more fact you forgot to mention regarding the number of players drafted from a particular school:

Alabama-0

Posted by marc_ash on April 28, 2008 at 12:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

yemmusdarb I get your point in regards to players drafted that have fallen from last season, but you have to look at the trend of things. It isn't just UT players falling. Ainge did suffer some I believe. He was a non-factor in his scrambling ability and definitely not a first round pick. But don't forget about other players that had first round potential talk from last year. Dixon fell with his knee injury. Rice from Rutgers as well as DeSean Jackson were talked about as potential 1st rounders last season. There are many players that had the "hype" that didn't pan out. It isn't just at UT guys.

Posted by QCVol on April 28, 2008 at 1:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Geesh! I guess if you get the chance to turn pro early, you better go ahead and take it. Hefney seemed pretty solid overall, but I guess his senior year was worse than what I can remember. Just shows me that if you have the chance to go get the money, you better go get the money! Fans dont give a damn about you anyway. This guy coulda left early and got PAID, but he decided to come back for whatever reasons, and now most of the so-called fans here are talking bad about him even though he sacrificed his own personal future for loyatly to the program. Hopefully he'll catch on with a team and turn out to have a great NFL career!

Posted by orangebloodgmc on April 28, 2008 at 1:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

So, if 15 other teams* had 10 or more wins last year as we did, and by y'all's lists, 27 teams had 3 or more players just drafted by the NFL, then ... did our coaches over-achieve with a relative lack of talent, or does this mean that our team was carried by youth, suggesting even better things for the upcoming season? Just wondering.

*Florida, Auburn, Penn State and Michigan were not among them, of course.

Posted by invisiblekid on April 28, 2008 at 3:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

sjt18, I believe pdhuff was responding to my sarcastic question of whether the WI win was a "big" win with his AM comment. The Outback Bowl was a nice win but they blew their chance at a truly big win in Atlanta IMO.