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Author Topic: Do Tell.....Putting players in right position.  (Read 2492 times)
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Tnphil
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« on: March 09, 2018, 05:59:33 EST »

Is this even allowed?


KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s Jeremy Pruitt is going back to the future this spring, experimenting with players moving from offense to defense, and vice versa.

 Among the players changing positions for the start of spring drills:

• Junior Tyler Byrd moving to defensive back from receiver

• Junior Carlin Fils-aime moving from tailback to cornerback

• Redshirt sophomore Jay Blakely moving from defensive end to tight end

 Vols athletic director Phillip Fulmer commonly used players on both sides of the ball when they arrived at Tennessee, looking to see when and where position changes made sense.

 NFL All-Pro Jason Witten was recruited to Tennessee as a defensive end, while other future Tennessee NFL stars like Fred Weary and Scott Wells changed sides of the ball successfully.

 Pruitt said Thursday has the same intentions as Fulmer once did, to maximize the roster talent.

“We actually have several guys that probably are going to work in different spots the first half of spring and then see where it’s at,” Pruitt said on Thursday, “and then we’re gong to give them an opportunity to play another spot if we don’t feel comfortable with where they’re at.”

The Vols open spring drills on March 20 and will hold the annual Orange and White Game on April 21.

 Pruitt said Blakely will work at tight end the first seven days of spring practice, and likewise for Byrd and Fils-aime.

 Pruitt was no specific with which defensive back position Byrd would play.

 Position alignment

 Tennessee redshirt freshman defensive end Ryan Thaxton recently announced on Twitter he’d be playing linebacker, but Pruitt explained that’s not really a position change.

“A 4-3 defensive end,” Pruitt said, “is an outside linebacker for us.”

The Vols will be using a 3-4 defense, Pruitt said, but the plan is to stay multiple to there will still be some 4-3 looks


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BanditVol
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« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2018, 06:11:13 EST »

All of that sounds good
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"The speed of our movements is amazing, even to me, and must be a constant source of surprise to the Germans.”  G. Patton
Creek Walker
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« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2018, 06:19:15 EST »

I don't know if I've ever been more pessimistic about the future of our football program than right now. I sincerely hope Pruitt proves me wrong, starting this fall, but I can't help it. Every time I see an article like this, it makes me cringe. It's subtle, but every statement adds up: Fulmer clearly has his thumb back on the program now. I can't help but think that in Pruitt he found himself a coach who will implement his whims and desires and run the program as he sees fit.

Hope I'm wrong. I'm just not as giddy about Fulmer's involvement as most of the fanbase seems to be.
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Tnphil
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« Reply #3 on: March 09, 2018, 06:33:17 EST »

I don't know if I've ever been more pessimistic about the future of our football program than right now. I sincerely hope Pruitt proves me wrong, starting this fall, but I can't help it. Every time I see an article like this, it makes me cringe. It's subtle, but every statement adds up: Fulmer clearly has his thumb back on the program now. I can't help but think that in Pruitt he found himself a coach who will implement his whims and desires and run the program as he sees fit.

Hope I'm wrong. I'm just not as giddy about Fulmer's involvement as most of the fanbase seems to be.

You and me are in the same boat.....I do think we are lacking at several positions which he is trying to improve with upperclassmen. Byrd has been wasted so far....Way too much talent to get the ball a average of 2 times per game. IMO he should have been on defense from the get go. The Fils thing surprises me after Kelly leaving early....beside Fils and Chandler I don't know much about the RBs we have.

And....it seems every article you read about the football Vols Fulmer's name is in the article somewhere.....Hope I'm wrong but so far it seems Fulmer is going to be the Jerry Jones of UT football.
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BanditVol
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« Reply #4 on: March 09, 2018, 07:18:56 EST »

You and me are in the same boat.....I do think we are lacking at several positions which he is trying to improve with upperclassmen. Byrd has been wasted so far....Way too much talent to get the ball a average of 2 times per game. IMO he should have been on defense from the get go. The Fils thing surprises me after Kelly leaving early....beside Fils and Chandler I don't know much about the RBs we have.

And....it seems every article you read about the football Vols Fulmer's name is in the article somewhere.....Hope I'm wrong but so far it seems Fulmer is going to be the Jerry Jones of UT football.

I am a bit surprised at Fils-Aime myself.  He was impressive in whatever touches he had last year.

I could GAS about Fulmer.  Not to re-ignite the long-running debate, but the criticism heaped on Fulmer was off the hook.  Look at it this way, his last five years, when he supposedly was at his worst, were actually better than Butch Jones five years, which is the best we have done since.  The Kiffin/Dooley years were clearly worse overall than either of those cases.

So Fulmer at his worst was still better than anything since.   This is the danger you run with coaching changes of coaches who have had a great deal of success.  You are highly likely to do worse, by definition. 

As for how involved he will be with Pruitt.  Pruitt is not going to be a puppet dancing on the Fulmer strings.  You guys are paranoid or something.  When I read the article, Fulmer is simply supporting Pruitt by saying he did the same thing. Pruitt is his guy and he has his back (unlike Hamilton eh?!?).  That doesn't mean (at all) that Fulmer is whispering in his ear telling him to do things or that Pruitt would allow him to do so.  In fact, I read several articles that stated Pruitt often stood up to Saban during games (as contrasted with Lane).

And for that matter, looking back, everyone also hated Doug Dickey after he left the program in the lurch to go to Florida.  And it's not an exaggeration to say he was an outstanding AD.  Frankly I think our success under Fulmer was probably at least partly due to Dickey being in the wings and being able to offer sound advice and definitely to keep the Board and President off Fulmer's ass.  No AD will understand the HC position as well as an AD who has been there.

Unlike some of you, I am cautiously optimistic about Fulmer as AD.  I agree the jury is out on Pruitt, but though it's early, he seems to be doing some very sensible things.  We did need another QB and he brought in a veteran that at least looks good.  As for these moves, DB is probably the biggest area of concern on D (LB a close second) and he is directly addressing it in a way that seems to make sense.

No issues here whatsoever so far.

I will admit Pruitt was not my first choice for reasons I won't go into in this thread, as I have rambled enough as it is.

But the proof will be in the pudding.  I am cautiously optimistic that we can finish 500 or greater this year, but 2019 will be the true test of Pruitt IMO.  Way too early to fret about. IMO.
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"The speed of our movements is amazing, even to me, and must be a constant source of surprise to the Germans.”  G. Patton
Black Diamond Vol
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« Reply #5 on: March 09, 2018, 10:45:12 EST »

I don't know if I've ever been more pessimistic about the future of our football program than right now. I sincerely hope Pruitt proves me wrong, starting this fall, but I can't help it. Every time I see an article like this, it makes me cringe. It's subtle, but every statement adds up: Fulmer clearly has his thumb back on the program now. I can't help but think that in Pruitt he found himself a coach who will implement his whims and desires and run the program as he sees fit.

Hope I'm wrong. I'm just not as giddy about Fulmer's involvement as most of the fanbase seems to be.

I said the day Pruitt was hired that he's a shizzle sandwich until proven otherwise. I still have many reservations about him. That said, he doesn't strike me as a guy who would take a job just be someone's puppet. If he fails at UT, I don't think it will have anything to do with meddling by Fulmer.
« Last Edit: March 09, 2018, 10:47:02 EST by Black Diamond Vol » Logged

VinnieVOL
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« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2018, 03:25:19 EST »

Wow, debbie downers in this thread too!  What in the world is going on around here, lol. 

We're already down on Pruitt??   
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tshadow
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« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2018, 04:20:37 EST »

There is a coach out there somewhere for this program. I don't think it should even be particularly difficult to find that coach. Considering this last recruiting class is the second one we had after last years collapse.... I'm willing to prescribe Pruitt a mulligan this year. We lose and replace an entire coaching staff and recruiting class and gain a coach who must first close out a championship run at his former school before beginning to brand this program.... Let's try to keep our feet on the ground please.
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tshadow
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« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2018, 04:29:10 EST »

As for Fulmer delving into the team I'm confident that Pruitt probably looked for some guidance after having only marginally addressed the needs of the team in this recruiting cycle. I'm happy that we have slots rather than excess tackling dummies.
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