2012 Tennessee Volunteers

Colonel_Reb

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Since CF started keeping up with them in '06, UT has started 4, 5, 5, 5, 4 and 4 Whites. For the second year in a row, they will have an all black offensive line. They are also reverting back to an all black starting defense. It looks like a drop to an all time low of 2 White starters in Knoxville. :huh:

Some White backups to look for include QB Justin Worley, WR(Z) Zach Rogers, LT Kyler Kerbyson, C Mack Crowder, RT Alan Posey, DT Daniel Hood, MLBs John Propst and Christian Harris, and WLB Channing Fugate.

Offense
QB Tyler Bray
FB Ben Bartholomew or Brendan Downs
 

dwid

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simply pathetic, and I see they are ruining the career of another White halfback Channing Fugate who rushed for 3,000 yards JUST IN HIS JUNIOR SEASON, and still put up 100 tackles as a safety. I guarantee he would do just as well as other highly touted SEC backs. He was considered to be a power runner who "lacked great speed" while someone like Marcus Lattimore who actually fits that profile is considered a great with maybe two or three runs over 30 yards with a ton of carries. I guess he has more of that "shake and bake style" that they said Fugate didn't....wait no, every run looks like he just runs into tacklers and really has to gear down to change direction. Fugate isn't a scatback but he can change direction faster than Lattimore, he had the size and speed to compete as a true freshman but put at fullback.

reading up on him, it looks like Vols fans briefly thought "outside the box" but decided he would probably not be a tailback. Should have picked a different school.

"Fugate is perhaps the most intriguing player in this class due to his versatility and surprising speed and quickness. He has the makings of someone who can tote the rock ala Jacob Hester at LSU or even Toby Gerhart at Stanford this past season. Most likely though, Fugate’s future lies somewhere other than tailback and it will be very interesting to see how his career plays out in the coming years."
 
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For the first time in a long, long time, they are having a hard time selling out Neyland Stadium. The typical crowd this year looks like around 90,000 instead of 100,000 plus. There are 78,000 season tickets available and only 44,000 have been sold, money in hand, at the moment.

The reason is a mediocre or less season is expected, not the racial makeup of the team. Tennessee's DWF's, as I have written previously, hold their own with anybody's.

However, it could be some are growing weary of the situation if it doesn't produce a national championship contender.
 

TwentyTwo

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Not sure what's up with the Vols O-Line situation?? Is it a coincidence they were LAST in the SEC in Rushing in 11' & only averaged 2.8 yards per carry?? hmm

Sorry to see Fugate on defense...but maybe at least he can become a starter & impact player...better than being a Fullback that gets a few token carries?? Last year starting LB-Austin Johnson was a converted Fullback.

I expect the young LB-Christian Harris to be a starter in the future! DT-Daniel Hood started a few games in the past; actually a converted O-Lineman...All Academic SEC as well.

Interesting to see the drop in attendance numbers.
 

DixieDestroyer

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I hope they're the doormat of the SEC East.
 
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Zach Rogers monster game!

Though he is 3rd or 4th in targets for the Vols, who tout their super-athletic receiving duo of Hunter and Patterson, slow-twitch player Zach Rogers leads the team in touchdown catches, leads the wideouts in yards per catch, owns the Vols longest play from scrimmage this year (72 yards), and the two longest receptions among the wideouts (72 and 48). Against the super-athletic South Carolina defense, Rogers somehow managed to scrap, high motor, and smart his way to a 6 catch, 3 touchdown, 107 yard performance. At one point he had 4 catches for 3 scores.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Zach Rogers....that guy is very good and better be drafted in the 2-3 rd! definatly in the low 4.5's to high 4.4's.

yet he's been buried on the depth chart until this, his senior, year, when he's STILL only getting snaps as the third receiver ...

in addition to out-performing his darker-hued peers on the Vols receiving corps when given an opportunity, Rogers was a track phenom in high school.

here is what Zach did in his ONLY year running track (as a senior), since he played baseball until then:


- set school records in 6 track events despite only running for a single season
- was the fastest sprinter in the state of Tennessee at every distance he ran
- had personal bests of 10.74 in the 100 meters, 21.48 in the 200 meters, and 23-8 in the long jump
- 2008 Tennesse track athlete of the year

his coaches rave about how good his hands are, and his teammates rave about his understanding of their offense, too. so i wonder what has kept him off the field?

[video=youtube;NxBKJ9QUKKQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxBKJ9QUKKQ[/video]

and here's a profile on him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prOwyF2CTl4
 

dwid

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Zach Rogers will not be drafted.
He might have a shot at being 5th round or later if he has 100+ yard game for the rest of the season, kind of hard if he is the the 3rd or 4th option for most plays. He would also have to run a low 4.4 at his pro day, since he probably won't be invited to the combine. He will probably end up with 700 to 800 yards if the coaches involve him more in the offense, 800 yards would be more than double what he has now. He would have to average over 100 yards the next 4 games to get 800, so somewhere around 700 is more realistic, and that is with the coaches involving him more.

Two recent examples of guys that finally got chances their senior years in the SEC and had good seasons, Kris Durham who is 6'5 215 pounds
had close to 700 yards receiving his senior year, 20 yards per catch, his best games came with AJ Green out (despite critics claiming he only did anything because Green was double covered all the time), Murray was raw as a passer and would lock on to Green and constantly force the ball, similar to Schaub and Andre Johnson with Walter barely getting anything on the other side.

Durham ran a 4.43 at his pro day, which is kind of hard to ignore with his size. Where did he wind up? 4th round, who many fans questioned, even though it was a steal. They were acting like some pro bowl afflete was going to be drafted in the 4th. Durham given the boot and now on the Lions, I believe practice squad.

Riley Cooper had close to 1,000 yards, the highest in the Urban Meyer era, ran a 4.5 at 6'3 220 pounds and a 40 inch vertical. He went in the 5th round. He is stuck at 4th receiver, despite averaging 70 yards per start when the starters were injured, that would equal out to over a 1,000 yards over a full season. Instead they continue to go with two smaller guys. He should be in Maclin's spot and let Maclin play the slot.

So given those two examples, Id say he is lucky to go in the later at rounds unless he goes sub 4.4, he isn't tall like the other two, listed at 6 foot so his measurables would have to be better. If he does then he goes in the 4th round which seems to be the earliest for most White receivers, the exception being Jordy Nelson who ran a 4.45 at 6'3 217 of course the 10.6 100 meter dash, 122 catches for 1600 yards his senior season 11 tds with two td passes thrown and 2 punts returned for tds. He caught 39 passes the previous season but injures slowed him down and 45 for 600+ with 8 tds and 1 return for a td the year before that. He was drafted all the way in the 2nd! Can you imagine a black player with those credentials not being the 1st receiver off the board? He still had to wait 4 or 5 years before he was featured in the offense and he produced 1200 yards 15 tds. Then it seemed he had to prove himself all over again this season taken at least 4 games before being featured again.

oh yeah, when looking up previous White athletes don't believe the times you see. I just looked up Jordy Nelson whose slowest time at the combine was 4.49, now listed at 4.51. Hillis dropped rom a 4.58 to a 4.62 after his 5 game stretch with the Broncos and then down to 4.64 with his success with the Browns. I remember seeing Dallas Clark, Jason Witten and Jeremy Shockey all losing speed each yearin the 40 yard dash, I mean they might lose speed over the years like when they get to their 30's but they don't run the 40 every year, just when they come out. there is a magazine with all of their times when they came out, not what it is listed on the internet now. They don't want you to realize that these guys are really no different than many wideouts except for the fact that they weigh more and can block. We all know Dallas Clark was split out like a wr often, Shockey was with the Saints, and his first year with the Giants, his best year.
 
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Good Post!

He might have a shot at being 5th round or later if he has 100+ yard game for the rest of the season, kind of hard if he is the the 3rd or 4th option for most plays. He would also have to run a low 4.4 at his pro day, since he probably won't be invited to the combine. He will probably end up with 700 to 800 yards if the coaches involve him more in the offense, 800 yards would be more than double what he has now. He would have to average over 100 yards the next 4 games to get 800, so somewhere around 700 is more realistic, and that is with the coaches involving him more.

Two recent examples of guys that finally got chances their senior years in the SEC and had good seasons, Kris Durham who is 6'5 215 pounds
had close to 700 yards receiving his senior year, 20 yards per catch, his best games came with AJ Green out (despite critics claiming he only did anything because Green was double covered all the time), Murray was raw as a passer and would lock on to Green and constantly force the ball, similar to Schaub and Andre Johnson with Walter barely getting anything on the other side.

Durham ran a 4.43 at his pro day, which is kind of hard to ignore with his size. Where did he wind up? 4th round, who many fans questioned, even though it was a steal. They were acting like some pro bowl afflete was going to be drafted in the 4th. Durham given the boot and now on the Lions, I believe practice squad.

Riley Cooper had close to 1,000 yards, the highest in the Urban Meyer era, ran a 4.5 at 6'3 220 pounds and a 40 inch vertical. He went in the 5th round. He is stuck at 4th receiver, despite averaging 70 yards per start when the starters were injured, that would equal out to over a 1,000 yards over a full season. Instead they continue to go with two smaller guys. He should be in Maclin's spot and let Maclin play the slot.

So given those two examples, Id say he is lucky to go in the later at rounds unless he goes sub 4.4, he isn't tall like the other two, listed at 6 foot so his measurables would have to be better. If he does then he goes in the 4th round which seems to be the earliest for most White receivers, the exception being Jordy Nelson who ran a 4.45 at 6'3 217 of course the 10.6 100 meter dash, 122 catches for 1600 yards his senior season 11 tds with two td passes thrown and 2 punts returned for tds. He caught 39 passes the previous season but injures slowed him down and 45 for 600+ with 8 tds and 1 return for a td the year before that. He was drafted all the way in the 2nd! Can you imagine a black player with those credentials not being the 1st receiver off the board? He still had to wait 4 or 5 years before he was featured in the offense and he produced 1200 yards 15 tds. Then it seemed he had to prove himself all over again this season taken at least 4 games before being featured again.

oh yeah, when looking up previous White athletes don't believe the times you see. I just looked up Jordy Nelson whose slowest time at the combine was 4.49, now listed at 4.51. Hillis dropped rom a 4.58 to a 4.62 after his 5 game stretch with the Broncos and then down to 4.64 with his success with the Browns. I remember seeing Dallas Clark, Jason Witten and Jeremy Shockey all losing speed each yearin the 40 yard dash, I mean they might lose speed over the years like when they get to their 30's but they don't run the 40 every year, just when they come out. there is a magazine with all of their times when they came out, not what it is listed on the internet now. They don't want you to realize that these guys are really no different than many wideouts except for the fact that they weigh more and can block. We all know Dallas Clark was split out like a wr often, Shockey was with the Saints, and his first year with the Giants, his best year.

Rogers has a shot at breaking 4.5 at a pro day, but probably not 4.4. His biggest problem is that he's 4th in targets on his team. Second biggest problem is that he's not very muscular. He will not be invited to the combine. If he completely lights it up for the remainder of the year, he might have a shot at a free agent contract. I just found it humorous that somebody thought he could possibly be drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round.

Kris Durham is on the Lions practice squad, and he might get a chance somewhere at some point. His height and speed are too good to ignore completely. He's a much better NFL prospect than Rogers, but look where that got him. Still the more highlight reels the better, especially when it's in the SEC. Michael Bennett was leading UGA in touchdown catches and yards prior to his ACL injury. Doesn't seem possible with all that hip swivel in the SEC secondaries.
 
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Rogers has a shot at breaking 4.5 at a pro day, but probably not 4.4. His biggest problem is that he's 4th in targets on his team. Second biggest problem is that he's not very muscular. He will not be invited to the combine. If he completely lights it up for the remainder of the year, he might have a shot at a free agent contract. I just found it humorous that somebody thought he could possibly be drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round.

Kris Durham is on the Lions practice squad, and he might get a chance somewhere at some point. His height and speed are too good to ignore completely. He's a much better NFL prospect than Rogers, but look where that got him. Still the more highlight reels the better, especially when it's in the SEC. Michael Bennett was leading UGA in touchdown catches and yards prior to his ACL injury. Doesn't seem possible with all that hip swivel in the SEC secondaries.
Do not forget Tennessee has another freshman wr in the wings who is fast and being a former rb should probably be able to run after the catch in Cody Blanc. They also signed speedy Josh Smith for next year and offered my 2014 top corner pick of the year, Vic Wharton a schloarship. Things may be looking lighter in the SEC. hahaha
 
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Since CF started keeping up with them in '06, UT has started 4, 5, 5, 5, 4 and 4 Whites. For the second year in a row, they will have an all black offensive line. They are also reverting back to an all black starting defense. It looks like a drop to an all time low of 2 White starters in Knoxville. :huh:

Some White backups to look for include QB Justin Worley, WR(Z) Zach Rogers, LT Kyler Kerbyson, C Mack Crowder, RT Alan Posey, DT Daniel Hood, MLBs John Propst and Christian Harris, and WLB Channing Fugate.

Offense
QB Tyler Bray
FB Ben Bartholomew or Brendan Downs

The 1998 National Championship team had only two white starters, both offensive linemen. Freshman DE Will Overstreet played a fair amount as a reserve and was a starter the next year.

Will Overstreet played two years (2002-2003) for the Atlanta Falcons after being a 3rd round draft choice. He left football because of shoulder injuries.

Overstreet went back to school and earned an MBA in finance. He formed and became the CEO of a software company based in Knoxville caled Voices Heard Media (Source, Wikipedia)

Will Overstreet is probably the most successful member of Tennessee's national championship team.
 
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