I avoid posting a couple days, and a shizzle storm erupts...but on Hurd

[BanditVol]

It sounds to me like he was a big problem in the locker room.  I truly hate it for not just the team, but certainly for him.   It's astonishing...he was such a huge part of Butch's first big recruiting class and contributed so much to our comeback these past few years. A player of his stature leaving is almost unprecedented.  I mean, we have had talented players leave, no doubt, but not such high visibility players that have contribued.  I mean, he was set to become our rushing leader.  Unreal.

With the exception of a couple games this season, I appreciate everything he has done for UT and wish him no ill will and in fact luck and success wherever he ends up.

Having said that, if the problem in the locker room was as bad as it seems, then we are better off without him.  And...this is important....it may just be that this will rally the team.  IMO we played so much better after Pig left last year, it's not even funny. 

Things like this can be cathartic for a team, and thank goodness we have a scrimmage this weekend to recover a bit. There is yet a lot to salvage in this season.   

[VinnieVOL]

We looked incredible on offense vs Texas A&M, the week Hurd didn't even make the trip.

I'm with you, if we can get lucky enough for UF to lose a couple I think we can circle the wagons and end this season on a high note.

[Creek Walker]

Given what we know, or at least what we think we know, about the Hurd situation, it is inevitable that he was a locker room cancer. So many thing make sense now. He played dreadful against Alabama and South Carolina, and the offense played its best game of the season (minus the giveaways) at TAMU when Hurd was in Butch's dog house and didn't make the trip.

So, yes, I agree that the team will play better without him. We have two very good options, so we won't miss Hurd's ability, and the team's mentality should improve.

However, I would caution against believing that this is suddenly going to make everything hunky-dory the rest of the way. If the team's play was being negatively impacted so much by one guy's attitude, that is a sign that Butch Jones has/had no control over the team. If these guys were playing to anything less than the best of their ability because they were pissed at their coach for giving the other head case too many touches, Butch has an issue that Hurd's departure will not fix. And it seems like it's only a matter of time before some other issue crops up. If not this year, then next year. There are a lot of head cases in college football. It's a coach's job to keep them in line and keep a cohesive team mentality in place.

I hope he's able to work it out. I really do. Obviously Butch isn't going anywhere before the end of next season, and the cost of a coaching change will be tremendous no matter when it comes. As of now I'm 100% off the Butch wagon. I was cautiously optimistic when the season began, somewhat pessimistic but hoping for the best by the time we went to TAMU, teetering after the USCe game, and he lost me completely with yesterday's press conference. I do not think he can be a winner at Tennessee. But I would love to be proven wrong.

[Cobbvol]

I would love to know what Dobbs said to Hurd on the sideline after #27 knocked the ball out of his hands. Whatever it was it was short and probably to the point.

[volsboy]

All I have to say is while I am not a Jones fan, a coaching change is bad too. I just wonder what the real story is with Hurd. He was one of my favorite Vols in the last 10 years. He seemed like such a great kid and a great teammate. I thought he would have a breakout year this year. But it just didn't materialize. OL is a part of it. He just hasn't been used well.

[BanditVol]

i'm just not going to go full negative because we lost to USC jr.  It's not the end of the world, nor is it the end of Jones. I want him to win out, go to a good bowl, hopefully win that and lock down an amazing recruiting class with some momentum from the end of the season. Then he will be judged on how well we do next year, which has been my expectation all along.