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| Surprises and Disappointments In Camp | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 23 2014, 10:19 AM (149 Views) | |
| *TennesseeTuxedo | Aug 23 2014, 10:19 AM Post #1 |
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Every year there are players who surprise everyone with their play and effort in camp. They bring an intensity that was not expected and use it to get into the mix for playing time. Here are some of the surprises from camp. Top Surprises * The biggest surprise is the play of Jashon Robertson. Robertson was a last minute signee, who switched from Vanderbilt to UT at the stroke of midnight. Robertson, who is among the strongest players in the team as an 18 year old freshman, is said to be very physical, has great footwork, due to his excellence as a wrestler in high school, and asking all the right questions to learn to take his play to the next level. * Jacob Gilliam is another surprise. He has held off Dontavius Blair for the LT spot on offense. * Pig Howard. How is even still on the team? Most people wrote him off, after he struggled with grade issues in the spring and was not even on the roster heading into camp. In camp, he has a new commitment to his team mates and to the future. * Nathan Peterman. Peterman has put the Florida debacle behind him and has had a very good camp. He has distanced himself from Josh Dobbs in the QB race and is in a secure 2nd place as the back up QB and looks to have an edge on being the QB in 2015. * Alex Ellis. The tight end has worked his way into the TE mix and should see playing time this fall. Disappointments * Dontavius Blair not taking over the LT spot may be the biggest disappointment of all. He came in as a highly recruited and celebrated JUCO transfer and was expected to start immediately. * Drae Bowles has not done much of anything since coming to UT. He is a good person and a good athlete. He just has not been good enough to play at UT. * Marques Pair. Another guy who has been in the program a long time and has never made any noise. A good person, who has stuck it out during his time at UT. * Woody Quinn. No more needs to be said. * Von Pearson. Pearson is not a failure by any stretch of the imagination. Too much was expected out of him. He is not CP nor is he CP II. He is Von Pearson and he will contribute to the team. * Derrell Scott will contribute to this team at some point. Ankle and foot injuries have kept him from showing more of his abilities. When he has been healthy, he has impressed big time. * Aaron Medley. If George Bullock beats him out for the kicking job, we have problems. |
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| *OrangeRev | Aug 23 2014, 10:32 AM Post #2 |
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Tree hug'n, bleed'n heart, lazy luv'n, global warm'n token liberal
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Lots of good observations there, Tux. However, I don't see any way that Pearson can be listed as a disappointment. He's going to be starting in the slot, and he has been nothing short of spectacular. Additionally, Scott has been impressive in camp. Again, not a disappointment. One addition to the surprises is walk-on CB Michael Williams (track transfer from the MD Terps). It is looking more and more like he will start at CB. One addition to the disappointments is FS LaDarrell McNeil ... he might not even be on the 2-deep. |
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| *JollyVolly | Aug 23 2014, 11:30 AM Post #3 |
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A Very Manly Man
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Medley is a protégé of James Wilhoit and he'll be very good. He's just struggling to be consistent in a new environment. My guess is that he'll do extra points and field goals while Bullock kicks off. Neither is very consistent right now. As a side note....my nephew also is pretty close to Wilhoit and is the starting place kicker for his high school team in Louisville as a freshman. He's maybe five feet tall and looks pretty funny out there as a sapling amongst the trees. As you might guess, while he can kick it very accurately, he's not kicking it too far yet...... |
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| *TennesseeTuxedo | Aug 23 2014, 12:45 PM Post #4 |
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The disappointments -Scott is due to injury as I noted and with Pearson it is not in him, but that others have unrealistic expectations of him. Great observation on Williams and McNeil. |
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| BJVOL III | Aug 23 2014, 02:28 PM Post #5 |
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Awesome
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Where does Henderson fit on these lists? |
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| *OrangeRev | Aug 23 2014, 02:49 PM Post #6 |
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Tree hug'n, bleed'n heart, lazy luv'n, global warm'n token liberal
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I haven't seen much either way on him ... seems like just another brick in the wall. |
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| BJVOL III | Aug 23 2014, 03:28 PM Post #7 |
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Awesome
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Thanks. I appreciate all the information you provide on this site. It's really great! |
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| *OrangeRev | Aug 23 2014, 03:38 PM Post #8 |
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Tree hug'n, bleed'n heart, lazy luv'n, global warm'n token liberal
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Thanks, but I just read a lot. ![]() This site is sort of like the Readers Digest of Vol information. There's tons and tons of pointless minutia written about the Vols, and it takes hours to both know who is a reliable source and what information is actually relevant. When I see something that is relevant, I post it. And, from time to time I summarize a bunch of stuff I've read. Tux does the same. |
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| *Zippy | Aug 23 2014, 03:41 PM Post #9 |
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Burning Man, 2009 FOREVER
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Jacob Gilliam is really more disappointment than surprise. Nothing to do with him, it's just that he's there b/c Blair hasnt been very good. Gilliam probably is not an SEC quality RT. PIG. That's the one I'm most encouraged by. He was one of the very few bright spots on offense last year, he and North were the only two players we had that were even in the ballpark of being playmakers. Really happy about his development. By far my biggest surprise as Id completely written him off. Peterman. Glad for him and all, but I do not in any way trust him at QB after that monstrosity at Florida. He may be practicing like an all pro, or, it may just be that Dobbs has flat sucked being why Peterman is number 2. This one is a bit like Gilliam: more a disappointment w/ Dobbs. I'll be happy as hell if Peterman proves me wrong. Drae Bowles: He needs to learn how to play LB, or earn his keep on special teams/practice squad and be happy getting his degree. Any WR on the roster last year, that did not see any meaningful playing time, is just not very good. IIRC, he was a pretty highly rated recruit. Bust-o-rama. Quinn: This should be in the surprise category....we should ALL be surprised he's still on the team. Pearson has been very good. Saying he's a disappointment because he isnt CP just isnt fair to the kid. There arent many like CP anywhere, even in the NFL. That's an absurdly high standard. As for Medley, is Bullock that bad? I have no idea. I'm somewhat disappointed we have two placekickers on scholarship though. The biggest surprise for me though is that it appears this freshman class may actually be as good as advertised. Been a long time since we've had one of those. |
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| LonzoVol | Aug 23 2014, 03:41 PM Post #10 |
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+1 Everybody gets a look in August. We don't know what Pearson can do until next Sunday night. Scott needs a red-shirt year and what was he supposed to do anyway. Don't need him this year for that matter. Rev, you are spot on about Williams. He has basically come out of nowhere and it looks as if he has won the job. One other player who has had a marvelous August is Josh Smith. |
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| Student Radical | Aug 23 2014, 03:41 PM Post #11 |
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Good info and no drama.....an excellent combination! |
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| *Zippy | Aug 23 2014, 03:46 PM Post #12 |
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Burning Man, 2009 FOREVER
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Very true. I'm pulling for token whitey. Really. He's got great potential. If he learns to catch I would not at all be shocked to see him in the NFL in a few years. He's not an olympic sprinter but he's plenty fast, has good enough size, and runs great routes. There's a place for a WR that runs great routes and blocks on any team. They dont all have to be shifty playmakers like CP. So if he's gotten over his drops curse, he'll play a lot. |
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| Hermitagevol | Aug 23 2014, 05:55 PM Post #13 |
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Unfortunately, he's playing at LT. Makes me even more nervous about our OL. |
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| VolMafia | Aug 23 2014, 06:37 PM Post #14 |
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Master
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M Williams at CB is my biggest surprise, also Coleman who is flourishing as nickel back... |
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| VenomousVol | Aug 25 2014, 07:26 AM Post #15 |
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Pearson placed those expe tations on himself. Did you miss the quote where he said he could play to the level of CP? He said that a week or two ago. |
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