one of my buddies told me he left the program
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one of my buddies told me he left the program
I don't know if it's true but if he did it is because his 1st team reps got shortened this week in practice with Simms and Bray getting an increase because of their productivity. In the last scrimmage Bray is the only one who completed higher than 50% and he was 8 for 13. Jim Chaney is gonna give it to the one who is most accurate in the end so that probably won't be Stephens, he just doesn't have it. Wouldn't surprise me or upset me if he did leave
It is true, he asked for his release today. He was worried once his reps were backed down and didn't want to risk sitting for his senior year. He is a 5th year senior so I am guessing he is gonna drop divisions to play this year
He will make a great D2 QB, would have been just another QB at UT but down a level will really stand out.
Stephens never really showed me much during his time there, even when he was "sharing" time with Crompton. Simms and Bray were getting most of the reps in practice also becasue of Stephens' bad showing during the scrimmage the other day(3 of 6) for nine yards.
I think the starting job should go to Bray. He has 4 years of eligibility as Simms has 2. Sure Bray will take his bumps and might struggle this year but Tennessee really isnt going to have a good year next year anyway. Might as well use this as a throwaway year instead of having to bring in an inexperienced Bray in 2 years, when Tennessee could have a good year
see i think the exact same thingQuote:
Originally Posted by TheBeast
he doesnt have the talent to stand out at the SEC level, but in a lower division he could really be a force.
I agree 100%, you are gonna have a freshman qb, 2-3 freshman on the line, just let them get their experience and gain from it in 2 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fifty_One
shew, thank goodness Kiffin turned away Tahj Boyd...what a mistake that would've been
but if Sims is playing better, start him for a couple of years, then let Bray take over after getting accustomed to teh system and SEC ball and such.
Yeah if thats the case and Simms is CLEARLY better, play Simms. But from what i can tell and i have read they are about on the same level. 2 years from now id rather have Bray with SEC game experience than not start til his JR year. Clausen and Ainge did good starting 4 years. Crompton didnt start til his Jr year and we all know how good he was. Granted that wasnt the only reason Crompton struggled.Quote:
Originally Posted by Biggin
I really believe that Simms is only there before of who his dad is. Bray has the frame and arm to be really really good.
Bray will have a much more productive career than Taj Boyd.
Yes, and not keeping Boyd wasn't the problem. It was losing Casey Kelly to the MLB draft, having Mike Rozier quit, having BJ Coleman quit, ect., ect., ect.
Bray and Simms will both see playing time this year imo
losing Casey Kelley was huge IMO, I thought he would be a really productive player.
if Bray is clearly better than Simms, start him now. if he can handle the pressure and produce as a frosh, no reason not to start him. Screw Phil Simms, if his son cant cut it, then i would not lose sleep over it if I was DD.
Bray has potential, no doubts about it. He has great size, a good QB frame, and a good arm, so he has the tools, but it will just take time for him to get accustomed to the speed of SEC ball compared to HS ball.
QB is a really hard position to come in as a frosh and start, especially in the SEC against some of the best defenses in the nation, BUT if a kid can do it, he will be battle tested early and be really great as he matures.
In the 2nd scrimmage before the Orange/White game Simms goes 8 for 25 after a mediocre 2-9 in the 1st. That's a grand total of 10-34 (29 percent) and Bray so far thru 2 scrimmages is 10-19 and 8 for 13 for a total of 18-32 (56 percent). The spring game next will tell a tremendous amount but if Chaney says he is gonna go with the most accurate we definitely know who that is so far and it's not even close.
So far, Tauren Poole is averaging roughly 10 ypc so far this spring which is awesome.
Austin Johnson appears to be making the move from FB to ILB rather easily.
He was awesome in high school. He had over 200 tackles his sr year. I hope it translates to something positive in college.Quote:
Originally Posted by 1inStripes
Hey Lung any news on how our boy Fugate is doing this spring?
I haven't heard anything. I think he's gonna be a player though. He might have to wait a year or two though behind Cooper.
Beast you should be able to see him a good bit this Saturday, he is starting for the orange team at FB. Below are the teams that the seniors drafted for the Orange/White game.
ORANGE TEAM
QB
2 Matt Simms
15 Matt Fromke
HB
27 David Oku
33 Toney Williams
FB
46 Channing Fugate
WR
4 Gerald Jones
10 Marsalis Teague
40 Chris Cates
82 Cory Eichholtz
85 Todd Campbell
OL
60 Carson Anderson
65 Joseph Ayres
71 Dallas Thomas
73 Chase Phillips
75 JerQuari Schofield
77 Cody Pope
TE
86 Matt Wegzyn
88 Luke Stocker
89 Daniel Adderley
DL
57 Gerald Williams
86 Willie Bohannon
95 Arthur Jeffery
97 Chase Nelson
98 Rae Sykes
LB
34 Herman Lathers
35 Robert Nelson
39 Grant Jessen
42 LaMarcus Thompson
48 Greg King
53 Jake Storey
DB
12 Naz Oliver
18 Tyler Wolf
22 Rod Wilks
23 Prentiss Waggner
24 Eric Gordon
26 Tyler Wills
38 C.J. Fleming
ST
26 Daniel Lincoln K
56 J.R. Carr DS
85 T.J. Marrs DS
WHITE TEAM
QB
8 Tyler Bray
19 Nick Lamaison
RB
28 Tauren Poole
41 Sam Edgmon
FB
45 Kevin Cooper
WR
5 Ted Meline
6 Denarius Moore
9 Matt Milton
13 Geoff Courtney
83 Zach Rogers
TE
12 Chris Eggert
39 Ben Bartholomew
90 Ben Lehning
OL
52 Victor Thomas
63 Kevin Revis
67 Caleb Leonard
70 Ja?Wuan James
74 Jarrod Shaw
76 Daniel Hood
DL
55 Jacques Smith
58 Marlon Walls
80 Corey Miller
84 Chris Walker
90 Steven Fowlkes
93 Montori Hughes
LB
9 Daryl Vereen
30 Shane Reveiz
37 Nigel Mitchell-Thornton
40 Austin Johnson
46 Charles Karlosky
47 Jerod Askew
DB
3 Darren Myles Jr.
7 Mandela Shaw
15 Janzen Jackson
21 Nick Jackson
27 Nick Branum
29 Stephaun Raines
36 Anthony Anderson
ST
47 Chip Rhome PK
59 Nick Guess DS
96 Chad Cunningham P
Im glad they are going back to this type of scrimmage. I hated the old D gets points for certain things, and O gets them in normal fashion.
Does anyone know if the Tight End Ben Bartholomew is any relation to Will Bartholomew that played FB on the 01 team?
I'm not crazy about it for this year only. That OL needs to be together as much as possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by 1inStripes
Brothers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fifty_One
Sure they need to be together, but I don't mind it for a day, plus it may lead to some surprises and IMO may help build the depth by splitting them up. Its just too rare for a group to stay together for the entire season anyway.
I hated when they would run 1st team O vs 2nd team D and 2nd team O vs 1st team D. I wanna see equals going at it and not just trying to go big every play to make a highlight reel.
practice? we talkin' about practice? :)
Not a game, not a game!!! Practice!!!
After 1 half Bray's team is ahead 10-0. Bray has looked really good. He missed a fade at the pylon that would have been a td that was about 1 yard too far for Milton. He was about half a step too quick on a slant that could have went for a td. He's looked best when they're in the 2 minute drill/hury up. Milton has looked really good and is going to be a nightmare to cover at 6'6". Beast's boy Fugate from Breathitt Co. caught a pass and looks like he belongs there. Tauren Poole has looked REALLY good. He might be UT's best player this year. Matt Simms hasn't looked bad, but is playing with the less talented offense. He had 1 INT on a good play by Jackson. It wasn't the best thrown ball either.
Milton has been bragged on quite a bit by Blaggett (I think thats how you spell his last name). Comparing him a lot to Plaxico other than being a lot more raw at the WR position. Lets hope he doesn't shoot himself in the thigh at some nightclub too.
Bray wasn't as sharp in the second half although he had his moments. He ended up going 14-37 for 155. A majority of the misses were in the second half and a lot of the misses were situational type stuff. His team got two FGs in the second half. In a regular game he'd have probably went about 50%. Neither really had a running game (outside of Poole's 13-59 yds) so they basically threw every play. Simms had a good drive after half and I think went 5-7 for about 60 yards and got a td pass. He was picked off 3 times though. Simms was around 50% for 124 yards. The White team won the game 16-7.
Victor Thomas went down with a knee injury. It didn't look too serious to me but he couldn't put any weight on it and was helped off the field. I didn't notice any other injuries.
Beforehand a lot was said about fan apathy and nobody showing up, it ended up being the 3rd largest crowd for a UT Spring game.
An edit on the stats. Bob Kesling is a dolt and that's where I got the above stats from during the telecast. Below are the actual stats.
Bray - 18 of 40 for 200 1 td yards
Simms - 12-of-26 for 125 1 td 3 ints
Poole - 12 carries for 43 yards and 3 catches for 58 yards
Gerald Jones - 6 catches for 84 yards and 1 td
Matt Milton - 6 catches for 47 yards and 1 td
My thoughts are as follows:
Tyler Bray is the future and should start his freshman year. After about 4 more months of the strength program and then more experience in fall practice has got to be our starter. He has a cannon and is more accurate than Simms. He hit Milton on a dig route right in the little dot on the 9 of Milton and it bounced off his chest. Milton is gonna be good too, he just needs to sharpen his route running.
Tauren Poole is gonna be good, he is one hard dude to bring to the ground. He should be fun to watch this year.
I also like the switch of Austin Johnson to LB, he looks natural there and should help this fall. That is one position we will be deep at due to all the youngsters getting PT last year when the 3 starters went down to injury.
And I wish Palardy would hurry and get on campus
didnt get to see the UT spring game, did you guys watch the Bama Crimson and White game?
AJ McCarron is gonna be a stud. He looked great. Hitting tough throws, making the right decisions, he is gonna be great. Sims looked okay, Star Jackson is prolly gonna transfer.
McCarron outplayed McElroy
The defense was very very good. Lost a lot of starters, but dont expect a huge drop off. Marcel Darius could be an All-American this year.
Dre Kirkpatrick looked good as well, him or BJ Scott are gonna have to step in and play corner with Robbie Green being in academic purgatory.
the offensive line and WRs scare me, neither looked really good, but the OL looked terrible in last years C&W game and turned out great.
the LB corp will be excellent again this year. Hightower will be the MLB this year, he was only 80% healthy but had a good game. Nico Johnson, Jerrell Harris, LB and DL will be strong, so will FS with Mark Barron who is now the leader on defense and will be even better this year.
All in all, the team looks to be stout again. The running game will be great, the passing game HOPEFULLY will have some more big plays and deep passes, JJ has to have a great year.
I dunno about the #1 ranking, but dont expect 7-6.
I turned it on after UT's game ended and it was late 3rd quarter. It looked like Ingram was averaging about 10 yards a carry. I saw a DT or LB take kind of a cheap shot at him and pushed him when he got up and I think they pulled him after that.
Jackson was never going to play QB there anyway. No big loss.