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Chances on Grobe to Penn State?

Sincerely asking, how does the shape of the TN program when Dooley took over compare to the shape of the Florida program when Zook took over? My gut feeling is that Florida had to have been in much better shape post-Spurrier compared to Tennessee post-Kiffin, but I don't really pay much attention to the SEC. It seems like that has to be considered.
 
KanhojiAngre said:
They weren't this bad last year, and its not like their recruiting is going great -- middle of the pack in the SEC. And recruits won't be an excuse against Vandy.

That "disaster" was better under Kiffin than since Dooley has taken over.

If UT doesn't get rid of him, it will be a mistake because he's never going to be any good in the SEC. Living off his daddy's name.
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You realize that Kiffin was playing with Fulmer's good players don't you? That Lane Kiffin team went 7-6 and had six NFL draft picks, including a first rounder. Fulmer's recruiting fell off significantly his last couple of years and we're witnessing the nadir of UT talent right now. Last year's UT team had two draft picks, a fourth rounder and a fith rounder. This year's team doesn't have more than a couple of third day picks either.

You act like one more year of trying to right the ship is going to ruin the UT program. Programs recover from rough spots, often with the same coach. Personally I'd be thrilled if Tennessee sucked forever, but I know it's not going to happen.
 
Tennessee has the potential to suck for a long time. They rely on regional and national recruiting more so than any other big-time SEC program, which requires an elite coach to pull talent away from other states. It's not a complete accident that UT started to slide after people like Meyer, Richt, Saban, Petrino, Spurrier, and - yes even Butch Davis - started to lock down in-state recruits.
 
Hello said:
You make good points, but I think UT wants some semblance of coaching stability. They'll give him another year. Zook lasted 2 and a half, and UF is way more intense than UT.
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Yeah I'm gonna go ahead an disagree with that. Tennessee fans are freaking insane about the Vols. The gross ass orange color and "Rocky Top" can be seen and heard in pretty much any establishment in the state. Plus their isn't jack shit else to do in Tennessee and their state has little-to-know transplants. UT football is all they talk about.

Tennessee fans are far more intense than Florida fans.
 
TBR said:
Sincerely asking, how does the shape of the TN program when Dooley took over compare to the shape of the Florida program when Zook took over? My gut feeling is that Florida had to have been in much better shape post-Spurrier compared to Tennessee post-Kiffin, but I don't really pay much attention to the SEC. It seems like that has to be considered.
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UF was better, but not at their peak. They had lost 9 games in 3 years, pretty high for Spurrier. Zook was worse, and punished for it. But he recruited highly touted classes that kept hope going.

UT is not recruiting all that well by SEC standards, and has been much worse on the field than under Kiffin or Fulmer.

UT went 7-9 in the SEC Fulmer's last year and Kiffin's well...year. Dooley went 3-5 in the first year...ok not that much different, but is 0-6 this year and a home dog to Vandy. He better hope they win that game.

Tennessee could do a helluva lot better for a football coach. Their problem is the further they become extended from their glory days, the less advantage they have. They already look suspiciously like a program that's going to have trouble making it back -- they have a limited in-state recruiting base and most of the states they typically recruit from have in-state programs that are on the upswing (South Carolina, Alabama, LSU, Georgia if you look at the whole Richt era, Virginia Tech). They pretty much need to hit Florida and Mississippi big time or they're in trouble. They're a lot like Nebraska in that they absolutely must recruit well outside their home state to have any prayer of excellence.
 
DeacinBama said:
Tennessee has the potential to suck for a long time. They rely on regional and national recruiting more so than any other big-time SEC program, which requires an elite coach to pull talent away from other states. It's not a complete accident that UT started to slide after people like Meyer, Richt, Saban, Petrino, Spurrier, and - yes even Butch Davis - started to lock down in-state recruits.
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Yep. TN HS football just isn't as good as the neighboring states.
 
DeacinBama said:
Tennessee has the potential to suck for a long time. They rely on regional and national recruiting more so than any other big-time SEC program, which requires an elite coach to pull talent away from other states. It's not a complete accident that UT started to slide after people like Meyer, Richt, Saban, Petrino, Spurrier, and - yes even Butch Davis - started to lock down in-state recruits.
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And Spongehead Orangepants is not the guy to get people excited enough about UT football to bring in the recruits.
 
DeacinBama said:
Tennessee has the potential to suck for a long time. They rely on regional and national recruiting more so than any other big-time SEC program, which requires an elite coach to pull talent away from other states. It's not a complete accident that UT started to slide after people like Meyer, Richt, Saban, Petrino, Spurrier, and - yes even Butch Davis - started to lock down in-state recruits.
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UT won a national championship in 1998 when Spurrier was nine years into his tenure. Even so, there are plenty of athletes to go around in the state of Florida. Your Alabama argument holds a lot of water. I would probably give the not to Chan Galey and Paul Johnson for locking up some of the excess talent in Georgia, as Richt was going to get his. Western North Carolina is very fertile recruiting ground for UT and I do percieve that Butch has made some difference there. I don't really believe that Arkansas is a major recruiting ground for UT and Arkansas only has 42 players from in-state, with a pretty broad recruiting area.
 
DeacinBama said:
Tennessee has the potential to suck for a long time. They rely on regional and national recruiting more so than any other big-time SEC program, which requires an elite coach to pull talent away from other states. It's not a complete accident that UT started to slide after people like Meyer, Richt, Saban, Petrino, Spurrier, and - yes even Butch Davis - started to lock down in-state recruits.
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Speaking of which, is Spurrier making a prodigal son-like return completely out of the question? You talk about getting people buzzing...
 
HeavyPetter said:
UT won a national championship in 1998 when Spurrier was nine years into his tenure. Even so, there are plenty of athletes to go around in the state of Florida. Your Alabama argument holds a lot of water. I would probably give the not to Chan Galey and Paul Johnson for locking up some of the excess talent in Georgia, as Richt was going to get his. Western North Carolina is very fertile recruiting ground for UT and I do percieve that Butch has made some difference there. I don't really believe that Arkansas is a major recruiting ground for UT and Arkansas only has 42 players from in-state, with a pretty broad recruiting area.
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More to the point...how many in-state players were in the two-deep on that Tennessee '98 team?

Almost everyone is doing a better job of keeping players home in the south. Someone alluded to it, but to some extent it's a zero-sum game for talent in the region and if Tennessee doesn't win it, they've got no fallback other than to coach them up and make them better.
 
It's really more about the cumulative effect of all those neighboring coaches. Besides, Fulmer was past his prime and had begun stale to a large extent, which isn't to be discounted.

Agree that Dooley doesn't appear to be the guy to get UT back to prominence. But I highly doubt that they make a move this off season.
 
KanhojiAngre said:
More to the point...how many in-state players were in the two-deep on that Tennessee '98 team?

Almost everyone is doing a better job of keeping players home in the south. Someone alluded to it, but to some extent it's a zero-sum game for talent in the region and if Tennessee doesn't win it, they've got no fallback other than to coach them up and make them better.
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IDK. Let me go back and check out the two deep roster from 13 years ago.

Keeping players at home is obviously part of the equation, but not everyone wants to stay home and Knoxville is not far from Atlanta or Birmingham. There are enough solid football players in the southeast to go around and to stock the UT football team. The important thing is you get the stars who can really make a difference and those guys aren't always from your state or even your region. For instance, Georgia's backfield of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno were from TX and NJ respectively. Rex Grossman is from Bloomington, IN and Chris Leak is from Charlotte. Jesse Palmer is from Canada.
 
DeacinBama said:
It's really more about the cumulative effect of all those neighboring coaches. Besides, Fulmer was past his prime and had begun stale to a large extent, which isn't to be discounted.

Agree that Dooley doesn't appear to be the guy to get UT back to prominence. But I highly doubt that they make a move this off season.
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Yeah, Dooley may not be the guy, but he will be back next year. If he can't get the recruiting going with the amount of playing time he has available, then he ought to go.
 
BillBrasky said:
Yeah I'm gonna go ahead an disagree with that. Tennessee fans are freaking insane about the Vols. The gross ass orange color and "Rocky Top" can be seen and heard in pretty much any establishment in the state. Plus their isn't jack shit else to do in Tennessee and their state has little-to-know transplants. UT football is all they talk about.

Tennessee fans are far more intense than Florida fans.
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Florida fans are smarter and a better crowd (they know the game of football better, which makes the Swamp one of the top 3 most difficult stadiums to play in), but that doesn't make them less intense fans. They just aren't as obnoxious. But that's my opinion. I think the Athletic Department at UF does not tolerate insolence as much as UT does. I understand your opinion given your hate for the meth-dealing hillbillies as an Alabama fan.

Arguing over which sec fanbase has the most intensity should be reserved for finebaum callers.
 
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Hello said:
Florida fans are smarter and a better crowd (they know the game of football better, which makes the Swamp one of the top 3 most difficult stadiums to play in), but that doesn't make them less intense fans. They just aren't as obnoxious. But that's my opinion. You can have yours given your hate for the meth-dealing hillbillies as an Alabama fan.
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Talk about your subjective statements.^^^
 
"little-to-know transplants" - wow FAILbomb for this guy

And Hello you're right, its a dumb argument. I'm also somewhat biased since my little brother graduated from Tennessee, therefore making me hate hill people even more.

Oh and Knoxville is a freaking dump.
 
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