Abilene Christian University boasts a quality football program. The Wildcats averaged 52.3 points per game last season, scored 93 points in a playoff win and finished the season with one loss. It was a good year.
Still, Abilene Christian, a fine NCAA Division II school, should not be more represented in the NFL draft than the University of Tennessee. But it happened over the weekend, two Abilene Christian players selected to Tennessee’s one, and now we’re left to wonder what the draft means for the present and future of Volunteers football.
First, we must assess the past. The NFL draft is a fantastic barometer for the state of a program. Miami’s once-dominant program is faltering. Not coincidentally, the Hurricanes’ streak of 14 straight years with a first-round pick ended Saturday.
Continue reading at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
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Comments » 66
murrayvol writes:
I could say I'm not surprised but that would be worng. I am surprised. Once more Hamilton's decision is validated.
Now I'm off (with a couple more idiots) to Camden, TN to welcome the Big Orange Caravan and determine if this will change any time soon.
txsvol#372416 writes:
The Bungles' sixth round draft choice, Bernard Scott, has had multiple arrests and has been enrolled in four schools. However, he won the Harlon Hill award as the best D2 RB. Think they Bungled again?! Johnny Knox, the Bears' 5th round pick WR, has speed, and may stretch the field for Jay Cutler. Robert Ayers will earn more than these two guys combined, so we're still ahead in that respect. Go Vols! SAVol
ethanfrome writes:
More elaboration on the fact that Fulmer went to sleep at the wheel.
Docrok writes:
Thats the idea, shift the blame away from the coach! I mean really how could we possibly expect the man in charge to hold his people accountable for their actions! If Fulmer had managed his assistants better, Parker may have been in better shape and might have actually performed up to his ability this year and been a first rounder himself! Hey if Fulmer had made his players adhere to a curfew like he said he was maybe Colquitt would not have been out at 4 in the morning to pick up ANOTHER DUI!!
jimr07 writes:
The NFL draft is a fantastic barometer for the state of a program......Really? South Carolina, Ole Miss. Alabama and LSU had more players drafted than Florida. So what you are saying is that those programs are better than Florida. We you born a moron or just practicing to become one.
SuwaneeVol writes:
As much as I love Fulmer, it certainly was his time to go. Let's look towards the future and not keep dwelling in the past. GO VOLS!!!
leedsvol2007 writes:
Fact is Briscoe, Taylor, A. Foster, R. Foster and Britton Colquitt almost immediately signed free agent contracts. That means we had 6 players drafted or signed.
The fact the 5 were signed so quickly means the teams looking at them think they have potential and could be a steal.
And Bolden and Parker could well be signed in a few days.
The fact is our offense was so pitiful I believe due to poor coaching on Clawson's part lead to these guys being downgraded.
The same guys under Cutcliffe with Ainge at quarterback were all projected high coming into their senior years.
Lets see how many make it. Sometimes high draft choices fail and free agents have long careers.
JBVols1698 writes:
Weight issues are personal? I'm sorry if you are going to college for free to play a game you had better be in darn good shape and you had better have no problems being in that tip top shape all year round. Some people work to put themselves through college, it may be a game but at this point... its their JOB.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Good luck on your trip MV.
You can not be worng trying to form an opinion about the Vol's future.
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
Thanks Foolmore, yet another embarassment and indictment of your workinlikeheck mentality at the END of your career. And no, Foolmore, you will not be a head coach again.
hilltopper writes:
I find the articles out of the Chatt. paper better than the ones out of Kox. and the Tennessean is as crappy a newspaper as can be when it comes to sports
Pullingguard writes:
As time passes it becomes more evident the program was in worse shape than most had envisioned. Fulmer, evidently had not recognized this decline, staying loyal to his friends sourrounding him in the coching staff, and his reluctance to make changes and bring in new staff. Fulmers comfort zone exceeded his vision for change, therefore, a decline in the program and developement of talent, as many had ranted about for couple of years. Give Hamilton credit, he made a chnage when it was questionable about the popularity of it within the doner base at UT, but, Hamilton was correct. As the inner core of erosion becomes more evident within the program it will probably affect the goal of Fulmer getting back into the big time of college football coaching. Fulmer was and is a good person, just too loyal in this particular case.
JBVols1698 writes:
lets hope its not THAT good cuz that means Berry leaves and goes in the top 10. The top 10 part is a no brainer whenever he comes out but lets just hope its 2010
JBVols1698 writes:
let me clarify... 2011 draft after the 2010 season...
JBVols1698 writes:
Def a top 10 pick, def a top 3-5 talent when he comes out whichever year it is. Just depends on team needs in the first couple of picks.
JBVols1698 writes:
I agree. I'm excited to see him playing under Kiffin, I think 2 years under Monte Kiffin would be a great help for his future pro career. And I take back what i said about top 3-5 talent... top 1-5 talent. There is not a single player out there that is better at their position than Eric Berry is at Safety.
jimr07 writes:
yes. mr. moron. i was complimenting florida. it is clear they have a superior program to the schools i mentioned. i would hope that your reading and comprehension skills were above the fifth grade level.
tdforvols writes:
This is much ado about nothing. Other Schools with only one draft pick:
Notre Dame
Miami
Florida State
Arkansas
Virginia Tech
Oklahoma State
Kansas (0)
Kansas State
UCLA
Washington
etc...
Docrok writes:
I think you are pulling for 2011, because nexts year's draft is the 2010 draft. However I am reluctant to wish for Berry to stay. It would be selfish as a team to ask him to say because if has a season similar to the past two, he will undoubtedly be a top draft pick, no lower than 3 or 4 and most likely 1. Why ask him to risk injury or a bad year to return to UT! Any coach that would recommend that or ask that is a terrible college coach! Kiffin should be and I think is pushing Berry into media hoping to increase his chances at the Heisman this year and then push him to go pro as his earning potential is too great to pass up!
illinoisvolfan writes:
TD, I'm not trying to stir up a major hornets nest, but most of the bloggers on this site are only concerned with what Tennessee is doing, especially in connection with our SEC rivals.
Many of us remember the "Wide Receiver U" days of the 90s and some of us can remember or have heard about the "Linebacker U" days of the late 60s and early 70s. The reason this is such an issue is the large number of players that have been sent to the pros and their performance once they got there. The connection between the Vols performance in two of the last four years and this year's draft is no coincidence. That's why changes were made.
Let's hope things return to the standards that we Tennessee fans are used to.
As always, Go Big Orange!!
TommyJack writes:
Leeds is always a "glass is 3/4 full guy". lol
Colliervol writes:
Excuses, excuses. Sorry but that dog won't hunt. It's a bottom line business. If Phil gets the kudos for the late '90's then he gets the blame for the program floundering in the last few years. Can't have it both ways.
golfballs03 writes:
Fulmer didn't have to? He was getting fired! That's why he left. This draft is just another example of how bad Fulmer had made our program.
Colliervol writes:
I don't know about comparing other schools but I can certainly see the difference between what we were putting in the pros in the late '90's and what we are doing now. One year we put nine in the draft in the first three rounds and other years around that there were numerous draftees. Now we put ONE in the entire draft and are out-numbered by Abilene Christian. Would that qualify as a barometer?
Docrok writes:
I think the CTFP refers to Chattanooga Times Free Press and I think he was referring to BJ Coleman left and didnt have to!
19SEP09 writes:
Nice to see a poster here able to give the Gators a compliment.
Personally, I don't think players in the NFL is a perfect correlation to success on the field in the NCAA, especially on offense.
Teams with pro-style offense will put more guys in the NFL.
Where you will see a lot of guys from UF heading to the NFL is on the defensive side of the ball. Good for us that most are still not seniors.
jimr07 writes:
i see your point but you did not see mine. the guy that wrote this article is comparing draft picks with how far a program has deteriorated. my point was that the schools i mentioned had more drafted than the national champions. by his standard, those schools programs are above the defending national champs.
jimr07 writes:
as bad as i hate to admit it, florida, and southern cal are the premier programs. this is from a man who saw his first tennessee game in 1940. I do remember a couple of years that WE had three in the first round.my hat is off to florida but i still hate you guys coming on here dissing our program and our enthusiasm for a new coach and his staff. you would not dare come into my home and criticize my furniture and how it is decorated.
tdforvols writes:
That's Cool ....I was just pointing out that there are a lot of other major schools in the same boat as the Vols. If you let this stat trouble you there is nothing I can do about it. The future will be much much brighter, of that I am sure!
volhallathunder writes:
Here is a taste of what next year holds for your guys in the NFL:
http://walterfootball.com/pro2009tteb...
ColeTrickle writes:
I was surprised to see so many gators return for their senior year. you guys have a ton of talent on defense right now. If Spikes went he would've been a first rounder for sure. However I dont see Tebow being a hot commodity.
feathersax writes:
Concise observation! Also, UConn had 4 players drafted the first two rounds, while Oklahoma, Penn St., Florida & Michigan had a total of 3! How's that for perspective?
illinoisvolfan writes:
Thanks for understanding, TD. And yeah, it does trouble me, just because of the the state the program is in. I agree with you, I think the future is brighter. I guess it's always darkest before the dawn, right?
volhallathunder writes:
Word is that Fulmer applied for a grad assistant job with Abilene Christian and was turned down
jobrando#216494 writes:
It's amazing so many people refused to acknowledge a problem in the program for the last 10 years. Ok 7 years. I dont think fans will be so forgiving in the future. I guess they were just stuck on the home boy at the helm mentality.
illinoisvolfan writes:
Agreed 19Sep, Florida has a excellent defense coming back. Much speed and a good mean streak defenses need.
You know, we all can agree to disagree (and occasionally, complement) without everything getting out of hand. You've made some civil comments today...see how well it's gone over so far.
volboy81 writes:
well said. Who is this Epps guy? He sounds like that Paschall person that thinks Chattanooga is in Georgia.
RJ_Vol writes:
Yawn. Doldrums out in full force w/ this article. I wonder how many KNS writers would be "drafted" onto the staff of a major newspaper? On a positive side, UT had a first round pick...from the much maligned defensive line. Does anyone really think "one and done" is a trend or that it will develop into a trend? It's one year. If a kid wants to come to UT to play in front of 100,000 people, get a good education, get great coaching, and get drafted...UT has been(and will continue to be) one of the top three places in the nation to get drafted. Please don't make me list the staggering numbers of Vols in the pros. The sky is not falling, it's just getting ready to turn our favorite color of orange.
mbible1utk#324980 writes:
The saddest thing about this is that it's actually called "news"... I've seen that disconnect for years, dating back to when Cutcliffe left and Randy Sanders took over on offense. All you had to do is look at our playing freshman and then look at them as seniors... they NEVER got better, best case scenario they stayed the same.
Our defense generally does get better with time though... Eric Berry, Dan Williams, Dennis Rogan, Nick Reveiz... our defensive players have improved, it's the ones that Phil and his "offensive coordinator" messed with that never got better. Had it not been for combine numbers, there's no way Meachum would have been drafted so high
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
now thats a real koolaid drinking stretch to try to paint it as less worse than it really is--------1 is what we gotdrafted , you act like others are not getting some of theirs signed as FA also
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
good point-- not that it takes that much to make it to a bowl game anymore but it shows results with average talent which speaks well of the coaching
Volunatic writes:
Georgia not only had twice as many first rounders as UT had, it also had twice as many first rounders as UT had in the entire draft.
To add insult to injury, while Robert Ayers' selection in the first round was good news (I'm definitely happy for him), he never performed like a first-rounder when he played for UT. It seems like he wasn't well-coached until the Senior Bowl practices, and he didn't train well until just before the NFL combines.
Volunatic writes:
A lot of fans think a National Championship gives a coach a 10-year "pass", and it seems Hamilton agreed with that. Apparently Fulmer didn't notice that the 10 years was up until well after it was too late.
jimr07 writes:
which witch? i was a freshman in 1952. the last year of the general.
Volunatic writes:
He was referring to BJ Coleman leaving, despite not having to do so. "CFTP" is a reference to "Chattanooga Free Times Press".
jimr07 writes:
what are you talking about. this is a volunteer site. why wouldn't we visit it.
Volunatic writes:
What Docrok said.
murrayvol writes:
"Bone never lie."
Are you down to 1 bone Doc? Shall we pass the hat? :)
murrayvol writes:
As long as they can hide behind the keyboard they will criticize your furniture, decor, ambiance, pets, yardwork, and the wife's cooking.
These guys have no respect for their elders.....or anything else I can determine.
gohawks1 writes:
Beat by Abilene Christian in the NFL draft... that'll leave a mark.
Won't happen next year, though.
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