Tennessee football SURVIVES first portal window & looks to revamp Volunteer's receiver room I GBO

[@JPatt86]

I would love to see these highly touted freshmen be given a chance to play. Matthew’s shoulder have been playing a lot more this year, targeted a lot more

[@timgilley2488]

Huepel has done an incredible job🍊🧡🎊 ! We Made the PLAYOFFS!!!🎉 A season well played! I thank ALL PLAYERS for choosing Tennessee! Stay & you become a VFL!! 🍊🧡🎊 our Climb continues to Good Ole RockyTop!🌄

[@donaldvandergriff2196]

Happy New Years Eric, Brent and Austin. Hope you have a great New Year in my favorite city of Knoxville. Donald E. Vandergriff (class 84)(US Army retired)

[@HG-pj2ik]

Happy New year guys! I Listen every Tuesdays and Thursdays! Vol from Northwest Ohio.

[@davidbaldwin4917]

Hubbers is almost always spot on. Be careful at the Zaxby’s AP lol

[@bosstalk]

Brent’s point in the development of boo Carter was gold. They have to develop young WRs the same way

[@THEKIDWISCONSIN]

At some point it's either Heupel and staff are whiffing on recruiting or they just can't develop certain positions

[@Ryan-mx2kr]

Any news on Matthews? Still can't find him on the portal list.

[@tennesseetalk7898]

He's staying

[@chrissinclair6916]

I'm one of those that the NIL and transfer portal doesn't bother me at all. I see the Dalton Knecht, Billy Amick, Chaz Lanier, and Bru McCoy and I am thrilled! I don't want any changes to the current system. Nick Saban was kicking players out of his program, limiting where they could go, and taking 32 new kids until every year until they "limited" scholarships to 25. Coaches will exploit any rules or laws ro curtail the current system.

[@michaelpalmer8669]

The difference in the Boo development and with some of the young offensive players is the lack of development shown from all the offensive coaches except maybe RB coach

[@chrissinclair6916]

Brent, the answer is yes. There will be star WRs jumping in the portal down the stretch here. If Jeremiah Smith doesn't jump in the portal to test his real value I will he shocked and there will be more.

[@Alabaster245]

Transfer portal season has basically come and gone. Everyone else did what the needed to do in the TP and Tennessee was basically asleep at the wheel. The loos 6 deep on the DL, every OL except for one. The WR room was evidently no good, so we need 2-4 WR’s. In addition to needing 2 IOL, possibly one Tackle we also need an RB, DB and a DL. Knowing all this we got one gaurd and out bid by LSU for a second. Outside of that we basically have not been in on any other players. Now we are scrambling for the one remaining WR. Totally asleep at the wheel

[@tennesseetalk7898]

Still don't know why we didn't try an keep csm Seldon hes a freak athlete

[@HG-pj2ik]

Hubbs talking about cheez its and pop tarts 😂

[@davidspeaks9259]

If not the NCAA, the conference commissioners need to set transfer portal and NIL rules to keep from the free agency chaos. At the end of day, it's a school not a sports franchise. The goal is to get a degree. Very few are NFL players and that NIL money won't last long for most of the players after football.

[@BG-1970]

Who was the player AP said has to play safety next year?

[@chrisferrell8692]

Rodney Garner might be the only one earning his pay in football.

[@Volgolfer74]

Really? We have won 9 games, 3 years in a row for the first time since 93-95 and our second 10 win season since 2004. I’m not saying everyone is a great coach but to do what we have done the last 3 years means most coaches are doing their job. It’s pretty obvious getting rid of coaches doesn’t work.

[@chrissinclair6916]

The flip side of teams having all this time to discuss the portal and NIL before bowl games is that it's a lot of time for agents and family to nag them and inquire about other opportunities.

[@MarkFerguson-u5u]

GBO

[@cbrentv3]

How about the line coach develop a guy. Why can’t he develop a player?

[@jackdowdy5771]

Is Mike Matthews staying

[@chrissinclair6916]

How realistic is a Donovan Greene? His game looks a lot like Cedric Tillman and he gives you that big WR that we've been missing.

[@nicholaswhitson3225]

I just find it hate to believe we land Zach Branch tho. We’ve taken swing at big portal targets before and haven’t landed any. I don’t have the confidence that’s all the sudden gonna change with Branch. We need to keep Mike and move from there

[@chrissinclair6916]

Is it realistic for me to think Brame can play as a big WR?

[@roberthowell7814]

Until somebody forces transparency about exactly how much every player is making at every school, this chaos will ensue. When squirrel white can look at a spreadsheet and see what every slot receiver in America is making at every school, he can make a better decision about leaving or not. Also, it would give the fan base the information they need to know if they are supporting the school to the level it is needed or not. Speculation about how much what school has is pointless, clear knowledge of exactly what everyone is paying everywhere would make things much better.

[@johnw3952]

You can try to sugarcoat it all you want, but Squirrel White has been a very reliable receiver for the Vols and he is a big loss for the Vols...NEVER EVER would you think he would leave...I wonder why he gave up a sure-fire starting job at WR to go elsewhere, that's just strange???

[@raynardwilliams9522]

The only thing I see, Squirrel is a father and the opportunity to play closer to his child is probably more attractive than being in Knoxville. 🤷🏾‍♂️ I haven’t a clue, but for him that’s all that makes sense to me.

[@johnw3952]

@@raynardwilliams9522 Okay, now it makes sense...props for putting family first. Thanks!

[@emenem6131]

I don’t even know if we should still be calling them scholarship players…..🤣🤣 this new era is hard on a 50 year old man.

[@tkpomht]

2024 SEC Football Offensive Statistics: UT #1 in rushing offense, #2 in scoring offense, #2 in offensive yds., #2 in offensive yds/game, #2 in offensive plays, player of the year in the conference, and a playoff team. Might not be the offense of 2022, but pretty darn good. Being the 9th seed in a 12 team field isn’t backing in. Some folks need to get a grip. The more they bitch, the more they reveal their lack of knowledge.

[@mm-oq5bo]

Wait, you're saying we scored the second most points in the sec this year? Really? That can't be right. Surely someone scored more than 17 pts per game.

[@theonlytennusee]

Those offensive stats are inflated by the Kent St type games where we scored 50-60 points. Going scoreless in the first half of multiple games is not a #2 offense. Stats aren't always honest.

[@tkpomht]

⁠we scored 25/game in SEC play

[@tkpomht]

all teams played 4 non-conference games with a chance to pad their stats. What team would you have swapped offenses with? I can think of only 3 to consider - Texas, Ole Miss & UGA. Would you have preferred to have Florida’s offense? How about Bama? Missouri? Arkansas? A & M? Oklahoma?

[@mm-oq5bo]

@@tkpomht that is a good point. Most of the sec struggled at offense this year. However, I think most of us can say with confidence that we have to do better. The defense was the reason we won most our games. We cannot rely on that going forward. Our run game was solid but our pass game was not. Overall I was expecting better. I think most people were. Despite the stats I would not label us a great offensive team right now

[@corybraswell510]

Lack of development at certain positions is a much larger issue than the portal imo

[@StoVol70]

Being lectured to on how to be a fan

[@BG-1970]

Someone needs to! We have the biggest idiots in CFB!

[@TNDRIVER]

I think NIL has changed the perception of the players. We, as fans, no longer look at them as amateurs; we see them as pros, and expectations are that they perform like pros. So we look at everything as just money grabs from the fan's view for the most part. So produce.

[@juliustucker9663]

Yeah just let it play out by that time everybody will be gone and no one left then you won't have to worry about there no one left

[@gsmith8403]

The challenge is elerbee needs to get our OL in shape & skilled up. Stop trying to see who steps up & put some fire under their ass...all of them! Same with our LBs. They should never look like they're out of position & lost!!! I'm not questioning training but if they need some one on one development then the assistants need to step up. #GOVOLS

[@juliustucker9663]

You say you get it But undoubtedly you dont Think about tenn. History and those games they shouldn't loose but they do

[@joeycarroll8089]

Now with the portal I will no longer celebrate getting kids i will be pulling for the power T only

[@DarrenProffitt-bz5zp]

I looked every player we lost was a 3 star Players

[@THEKIDWISCONSIN]

1) I appreciate you guys being professional reporters and not The Fan Police 2) I certainly don't want a change at Head Coach...but I do want Heupel to change (assistant coaches, play calling, etc) because what worked 3 years ago doesn't work today in this landscape 3) No offense to the young man but...Gibson in the portal would not bother me 😉

[@drew7099]

Those sort of posts with emoji are just immature kids doing what kids do for attention. Let’s never forget these are not matured grown men, they are still kids, so don’t be surprised when they act like it. They will grow up in a few years and grow out of old childish behaviors. We shouldn’t be too hard on them, after all, I’ve seen what looks like 30, 40 and 50 year old fans act a little childish over the past several days.

[@jonsolomon4814]

These are 18 year old kids that are looking for the bag! I don’t like it and something needs to be done! GBO 🍊🏈

[@joeretired4552]

It’s ALL about the money. Don’t you get that? Make what you can while you can.

[@wesleychoplin4823]

If they don't bring in an offensive lineman. Nico will be running for his life again. Young lineman can't protect Nico.

[@tadhensley8153]

To much Drama Saben was right the portal has destroyed the College Game

[@dannysmith1033]

No loyalty in players anymore seems like.

[@justingarrison1337]

Carnell Tate???

[@TennesseeTicketMasters]

Be transparent about the real issues! Play calling on the offense and defense units has been atrocious. Developing freshman and giving them playing time. Next year better have a great playbook. All SEC teams have improved their rosters, it’s going to be even harder to win games.

[@robertwomack1411]

College Football is so screwed

[@BG-1970]

It hasn’t happened yet but the players are gonna end up killing the sport! Fans will get to a point where they are just done!

[@juliustucker9663]

You pay for what you need

[@a-fox]

Is all this a result of Tennessee sueing the NCAA? Ironic. Looks like fans thought UT had a lot of rich alumni.. As far as universities go UT is a small fish. The Haslems moved on to the NFL so looks like we need to be more frugel. This means rather than pay 3 million a year for a "Elite", (yet to be seen) QB we need to look for a stable QB so we have some budget left to get other possiions fielded. 20% of our budget for a single player isn't going to work. Increase the budget??? Not going to matter. There are schools out there that have many, many more alumni. That have many, many more wealthy alumni. The Bad news is that there are schools that currently don't have great football programs but that have the money to now compete. It's no longer about the program it's the money money money. Make no mistake these players are not making decesions on their own. They now have agents right out of highschool.

[@juliustucker9663]

You better spend some money and what you need too Do you think other people think the same way tennessee does

[@chrissinclair6916]

They need 4 WRs out of the portal.

[@Bigtime1972]

No way.

[@chrissinclair6916]

@Bigtime1972 Who are Nico's Top 3 WRs and what production do they have? I heard NO last year when I swore we needed Evan Stewart on top of what we had. They don't all that to be 5 stars out of the portal, but they need at least one guy that can be a No.1 and that isn't Branch. You need at least one big WR that Nico can throw jumpballs and back shoulder fades to. They could even target two guys that have had injury issues like Donovan Greene, but you cannot go into this season relying on players with no skins on the wall.

[@mm-oq5bo]

Maybe we should just not use receivers and throw all linemen and tight ends out there and go power. Lol

[@juliustucker9663]

Well you have waited so long is there any body left

[@mm-oq5bo]

Just the Branch Bros. People saying we're waiting for after playoffs to get players from the good teams but I'm skeptical. We usually shop on the discount rack it seems.

[@chrisferrell8692]

Comparing Heupel and Barnes is comparing a bad coach with a HOF coach. Don’t do that again!!!!

[@diesel8067]

I’m a fan and you guys are wrong. I see why players would leave. Yes we made the playoffs but we got demolished. Players know we are still far away from being a contender

[@benhall3888]

Can we stop calling them “kids”? They’re young adults who can serve in the military and go to war. They’re adults now, demanding the money they are, it’s time for them to act like it and media to nit infantilize them

[@dexculpepper-py1jr]

NIL and transfer portal will destroy college football watch and see folks. It's just getting started wait about 3 more years. I'm done with it. I use to go to ever game home and away. Spring game to. Now can't stand to watch it BB row 1 seats 10 and 11

[@chrissinclair6916]

Boo is Hyper-competitive. You want him to keep working? Just put on the OSU film and the statements before that game that they felt they could attack him.

[@DavidJones-jv9vs]

Why does a receiver have to be slot or inside, why can’t they be both? I mean good grief, how difficult can it be moving inside out or vice versa? I would love to see the tight ends used more and then use a crossing route and then a fly route and then a planned check down to a someone out of the backfield and so on and so on., and maybe some of it is happening. Maybe the current receivers are just not living up to the stars they were given. NIL - well I don’t mind them making something but multi millionaire. Just to much when you add their education, which no one brings up. These days that’s well over a hundred thousand dollars. Transfer portal - is crazy, let them transfer once in four years and when they are graduate transfers, with one option if the coach bails. That’s enough. It’s actually worse than the NFL, which is why I don’t watch the NFL. Things that make you go hmmm 🤔!

[@juliustucker9663]

Dont forget tennessee has a history, not that good

[@paulstruxness2043]

Money destroys culture. Playing time equates to money. Plus, Huepel created an offensive monster in ‘22. He needs to duplicate that exact offense regardless of wins and losses. It’s entertainment now. Entertain me or loose popularity. The comments reflect this growing dissatisfaction with a run dominant offense. Disney Dan can’t build an entertainment district with a boring offensive scheme. Excite the fans or else. Bubble team isn’t going to get it.

[@juliustucker9663]

LOOK YOU HAVE RUIN FOOTBALL AS WE KNEW IT

[@juliustucker9663]

No we don't like new

[@juliustucker9663]

You have taken away the tradition

[@cmbteng6005]

IDC ABOUT any of these transfers, they needed to leave, I don't want SR's on my team that wasn't good enough to go to the NFL.... they means they're not good enough, the truth hurts some times.... i only care about MM. You dropped the ball, every fan knows it... WE CONSTANTLY ASKED ALL YEAR LONG, why isn't MM playing, why isn't Staley playing, you just kept trotting Nimrod and those other trash WR out there when there time was up... it was about the new WR NOT THEM.... You did it to yourself.... let's see if you learn your lesson when it comes to Smith,Dodson, Jackson.... play the young men from the opening snap, they didn't have to start, but you better play them every game, and play them a lot, or they going to leave as well....

[@markowenby4237]

I’m putting college football on notice, I’m getting sick of you. Fix yourself or I’m out

[@ut_punkn1859]

Why would any fan buy a players jersey if they are going to be gone after the season or quit in the middle of the season.

[@chrisferrell8692]

Probably should raise the tickets again. I’d put a 100% tax for talent, that’s all you are lacking, Danny. Lol

[@chrisferrell8692]

Never going to happen, these sorry coaches hate freshmen. Boo should have been playing both ways from the jump. Heupel is not our answer. Great player, subpar coach.

[@chrisferrell8692]

Well, UT needs a different coach. Heupel has never fired a coach and he has about 5 he needs to fire. I want a winner, has got nothing to do with new. It took Tony V seven years, but he has had continued growth and never seemed to go backwards. Heupel goes backwards. It is what it is, and Heupel isn’t championship caliber. Backing in the playoffs is the same as Fulmer backing in to those last 2 SECG’s. No one thought we deserved or was going to win either of those games. And we didn’t. Heupel will never sniff the playoffs again, bank on it.

[@chrisferrell8692]

We all wish Nico had gone to Miami. He isn’t at all what was promised. Not worth 2 mil a year. Of course, our AD and HC aren’t worth 12 mil plus either!!!

[@timgilley2488]

Why don’t u go to Miami!👏

[@BG-1970]

Congrats the stupidest post I’ve seen this year!

[@gsmith8403]

Naw we all didn't wish that 🤦🏽‍♂️. Who we gone put in....Merklinger??? You can't be serious! He definitely not ready.

[@chrisferrell8692]

Ole Danny made Barnes move this basketball game today because of….he thought we would be playing football…lol Danny Boy, why would we be playing football? You hired a fraud with a gimmick, buddy. I’d be more than worried if I were you. UT doesn’t have a real coach, and from where I sit, the UT AD is riding coaches coattails he didn’t hire.

[@timgilley2488]

Huepel has done an incredible job🍊🧡🎊 ! We Made the PLAYOFFS!!!🎉 A season well played! I thank ALL PLAYERS for choosing Tennessee! Stay & you become a VFL!! 🍊🧡🎊 our Climb continues to Good Ole RockyTop!🌄