Can Tennessee take advantage of Georgia's attrition?
Cade Mays grew up wanting to be a Tennessee Volunteer.
His father, Kevin Mays, was an All-SEC guard at Tennessee whose top job was to protect Peyton Manning in the 1990s. His uncle, Michael Frogg, was a Vols lineman in the 2000s. Cade grew up in Roane County, about a 45-minute drive from the UT campus. He was a 5-star offensive lineman who played at Knoxville Catholic High School and committed to the Vols in the summer of 2015 for the Class of 2018.
But Tennessee football was a dumpster fire leading into the Early Signing Period in December 2017. The Vols’ failure to live up to expectations in 2015 and 2016, followed by a disastrous 2017 campaign, gave Cade Mays reason for pause. On Nov. 7, 2017, he reopened his commitment. It was a wise move. Five days later, Butch Jones was fired as Tennessee’s head coach. Mays could have gone anywhere, but chose one of Tennessee’s rivals, the Georgia Bulldogs.
It’s hard to question that choice. Georgia was coming off an SEC title and an overtime loss in the National Championship Game to Alabama (2nd-and-26 will forever haunt Dawgs fans). They were building a monster Class of 2018, which finished No. 1 in the recruiting rankings. Mays was a key contributor for the past 2 seasons, starting 18 games and playing all 5 positions on the Bulldogs’ offensive line. Georgia won the East both years — and the year before. Still, Georgia couldn’t climb the last hurdle. And now there are a few cracks showing up in the foundation. Those cracks are to Tennessee’s benefit.
One negative of having great players is they often leave after 3 seasons. Georgia has 3 junior offensive linemen who are entering the NFL Draft. Quarterback Jake Fromm is also going pro early, as is running back D’Andre Swift. Even with all that talent, Georgia’s offense underachieved in 2019. It finished 61st in the nation. And with at least 5 NFL-caliber players bolting, it doesn’t look encouraging on that side of the football in 2020, either.
Whether that played a factor in Mays’s decision to transfer to Tennessee, or it was simply a desire to come home and play with his brother Cooper (an early enrollee in the Class of 2020), or it was more related to the bizarre lawsuit his father Kevin has filed against the University of Georgia, we don’t really know. Cade has yet to meet with the media. But he has enrolled at UT and is now a Vol.
“As a guy with multiple years of starting experience on the offensive line in the SEC, Cade is a tremendous addition to our program,” Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt in a statement. “He’s tough and he’s powerful, and he is a versatile player, who can line up anywhere on the offensive line. He will have an impact on the field, and he will also have a positive impact on our team and in the offensive line room with his leadership ability.”
The Vols are hoping that the NCAA and SEC allow Cade Mays to play at Tennessee next season. If that happens, the Vols’ offensive line suddenly looks like one of the best in the conference. If everyone is healthy and eligible, you are looking at Mays and Trey Smith (who decided to stay in school for his senior year) at the guard positions. At tackles you’d have rising sophomores Wayne Morris and Darnell Wright. At center there would be Brandon Kennedy, who was recently granted a 6th year of eligibility. That’s a solid group, and one that would help Tennessee in its efforts to complete with Georgia for a division title.
The top 3 teams in the division in 2019 were Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. Florida is improving under Dan Mullen. Tennessee has certainly taken a few steps forward under Pruitt. Has Georgia plateaued under Kirby Smart? The Dawgs are 44-12 in his 4 years. Under Mark Richt, who was dismissed for his inability to win a national title, the Bulldogs were slightly better in his first 4 years at 42-10.
Before you start putting dirt on Georgia’s grave, remember that the Bulldogs have the No. 3-ranked recruiting class, 13 spots above Tennessee. Even though Georgia is consistently finding a way to lose the key game they have to win each year, most fan bases would trade places with them in a heartbeat. The Bulldogs have gone 23-5 the past 2 years, and won the East for 3 consecutive seasons.
But the transfer of Cade Mays could be a sign that Tennessee isn’t as far away from competing with Georgia as you might think.
The past 3 years the Vols have lost all 3 meetings with Georgia by a combined score of 121-26.
If the Vols are indeed getting closer to the Bulldogs, their Nov. 14 game in Athens will be a litmus test … and might decide which team represents the East in Atlanta.
You have to admire the passive aggressive nature of this article toward UGA. Hopefully, UGA can manage to get by with what they have left.
Looks like something that was written for the Tennessee football website. More whistling past the Volunteer graveyard. And this year the game is in Athens. Not yet Tennessee. But hope springs eternal!
Agreed.
Hope springs eternal.
I was hoping I would see another NC for us before I die.
Every year. No NC.
But every spring….
Voltrain/TruDawg/Bubbatime forgot to change accounts again.
Yeah sure. Take another big sip of that Orange Kook Aid, spiked with shine? Vols are on the upswing, but you know it-Dogs on Top!
Georgia, never has and never will strike fear w Vols and Vol fans. You guys are losers. Get ready for another decade of us whipping your a..!!!
I was in Knoxville for the 2017 game. I saw a 70yr old something UT fan crying as he left early.
70 huh. He is probably old enough to remember Jawjas last NC…lol. Keep dreaming boy
Looks like a Tennessee fan is still hooked on phonics.
You aren’t making any more fake profiles to troll UGA bryanchip? You’ve gotten over the shame of being a t.u. fan and you’re ready to stop pretending and wishing you could be a UGA fan?
Tennessee is closer to Georgia St. than they are to Georgia.
Another moonlighting homer pandering to the home team.
LOL. No, Mark.
Tennessee is what it is since Mark Richt shut down Fat Phil’s Atlanta Pipeline: an 8-9 win program. Tennessee the state doesn’t have the natural recruiting resources to be able to compete for SEC titles, let alone the division that includes two schools in two of the most talent-rich states in the country.
But sure, give all these dumb hillbillies who frequent here some hope that those 6 wins in a row against mostly terrible teams actually means anything, and that the real Tennessee isn’t the team that got destroyed by every ranked team they played.
*That should be: an 8-9 win program AT THEIR BEST. Of course, for the most part, Tennessee is a 6-6 program overall. They’re nothing special anymore. They’re not a program of national prominence. All those hillbillies in checkered overalls believing the contrary, 5-7, 6-6, 7-5 is what they are.
corch are you predicting another preseason NC this year? Your team does less with more than anybody. Are you still touting how much better coley is than chaney… Oh wait you were calling for coleys head earlier. You are such an idiot. You have no credibility whatsoever. Just another dumba$$ banjo playing pig squealing troll from jawja. I bet you and gatorboy have your own little circle jerk and take turns being the pivot man. put the crack pipe down, get out from under the bridge and get a job boy!
I have never predicted we’ll win a national championship in any year, you hillbilly dummy.
Don’t you have to go get ready for a date with your first cousin? Get to the steel scrub tub and wash up, son!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Fuzzyvol- you are in no shape to make any assessment about anyone in the SEC. Ya’ll have your own problems. Like, oh I don’t know, winning maybe. There is no UGA “attrition” (use google if you don’t know what that means). If anything, they are getting more talented. Sorry bud…. But there is 4 more Cade Mays waiting in the wing down here. Thanks for the laughs though!
Dang Corch, you’re getting smoked on here.
Anything else to add?
Get punked loser.
Inbred hillbilly says what?
Pull yo mamas dyck outta ur mouth if ur gonna speak, son. Cant understand you.
Probably his grandpappies pecker in his mouth.
LOL you Tennessee fans are hilarious. You’re not even one season away from losing at home to an GEORGIA STATE and already running you mouths. Keep your pecker talk in the trailer park where it belongs. Trash
Tennessee has the most returning starters than any other team in the SEC and most of them are still only juniors. Have there been some down years recently sure did we stumble out of gate an lose to GA st. yea, but remember we pretty much had an entire system reboot after year 1 with Pruitt. Replacing both offensive and defensive coordinators is no small task especially with a team that was predominately underclassman. We gave Bama a run for their money when things just started to click. Next year we have a pretty balanced schedule moving Georgia to the end of the year. I would fully expect this upcoming team to take care of the teams we’re supposed to beat and turn the rest of the games into 50/50 games. TN isn’t a team to take lightly next season. Which from our fandom is refreshing.
Returning starters only matters in they are any good. Guess we’ll see. Love Pruitt and I hope he does well at Tennessee…all except the 3rd Saturday in October.
UGA had the highest percentage of freshmen and sophomores on its team in the SEC last year.
returning starters
Thanks for the kind words and factual insight into what is going on here in Knoxville
“Tennessee has the most returning starters ”
You can keep them. Tennessee sucks.
When your most returning starters suck, that means your team sucks.
Have fun, hillbilly!
We certainly have a natty that is more recent than the Dawgs and I do recall a period where Tennesse spanked UGA regularly. The overall series is 24-23-2 in favor of UGA – hardly dominant. Last I looked the Vols have as many SEC titles as UGA. You UGA fans are delusional if you think UT is going away. Pruitt will win his fair share. And, we are not a program of national prominence? Give me a break. Tough period recently for the Vols, no doubt. Bringing back Fulmer to lead the athletic program was the first real move out of craziness. Fulmer hiring Pruitt was the next logical step. I am confident that Pruitt will have UT competing for the East and it may be sooner than most folks think. Your assertion that Tennessee is a 6-6- program overall is laughable. Check your facts. UT currently ranks 10th in all time college football wins. Your Dawgs are not in the Top 10 all-time. I respect UGA, always have. Certainly would not make statements not based on fact about your program. GO VOLS!
Yeah, you keep telling yourself that hillbilly.
Three SEC teams have played in the Rose Bowl, Bama, Georgia and Tennessee, all more than once. Only Tennessee has yet to score a point in Pasadena. Now throw out some more history Midwest.
I recall a period where Georgia spanked UT regularly. It’s called the present.
“You UGA fans are delusional if you think UT is going away.”
UT is Nebraska with a bigger stadium. Old news. Has-been. No SEC titles this millennium.
The Rose Bowl comments are useless. The only reason UGA was there was because y’all made the playoffs, once. It’s just where you happened to be assigned. It also was the only time OU was competitive in a playoff game.
They had a pretty good QB at the time.
A Tennessee story and it sure has riled up the Dawgs. Hilarious.
Tell Fulmer we appreciate him bungling the Mike Leach hire in 2018. Muchas Gracias
Corch sure knows how to rile folks up. (:
Who’s riled?
Nothing wrong with being from the Appalachians. That’s assuming you even know what a hillbilly is… But keep trying to trash talk, it’s entertaining.
Shut down the Atlanta pipeline? What? Even Derek Dooley recruited Jawja. Fulmer recruited everywhere FYI. He could go to California, Canada, or Germany and bring back winners. Problem isnt so much recruiting. Dooley facked UT by not recruiting o-line and left the cubbard bare when he was fired. Jones recruited some o-line but not enough. O-line and QB play is where Tennessee has struggled last 10 years. Dobbs was the only highlight and Jones didn’t develop Dobbs good enough to make a run at the NC. Once Tennessee gets an o-line and a good QB, y’all gonna be in trouble.
Honestly, Kirby is one of THE WORST game day coaches I’ve ever seen. He can snatch a loss from the jaws of victory like I’ve never seen. Kids are wising up to it. Here comes Harrison Bailey, Cade Mays, et all. The reaction to this article is proof….you hear footsteps ! LOL !!
The worst game day coach you’ve ever seen OWNS your vols.
Kirby had the highest rated defense in the country. Yeah…he’s terrible.
23-5 the last two years?! You can’t be serious. The portal and transfers is the new normal. Mays was a bonus player, when TN was scuffling, even more then. You were half right-Kirby SMART. There you go.
I hear ya but we did take the better quarterback (out of Marrieta) and as a matter of fact we have quite a few from north Atlanta. We just dont recruit Macon and Warner Robbins where the real hillbillies live.
Oh but good luck with carson beck or that “super star” from wake forrest… youre gonna need it
uga still has a lot of talent stockpiled and nobody expects them to roll over. Im just glad that the game is not a forgone conclusion anymore. We have a chance. How good depends on a lot of things that we wont know about until after the season starts and a couple games get played. The UT O line should be very good. The D line should be very good. The LB group should be good but not deep . The QB and WR group may be the biggest ? and if you have no QB you wont win much. I like our chances to make some noise but temper that with a wait and see approach.
“Even with all that talent, Georgia’s offense underachieved in 2019”
And still scored 43 in Neyland.
If UGA’s offense “underachieved” in 2019, the Vols had nothing to do with it.
Sorry, didn’t mean you reply to you, fuzzyvol01
Do you feel the overachieved?? Well, they didn’t. Let’s just be honest. I don’t think anyone would disagree with you regarding UT having nothing to do with underachieving.
Jawja wasn’t the same team the 2nd half of the year. Once y’all’s starters got injured the back ups couldn’t produce and even Fromm was off. If Tennessee would of played Jawja the 10th game instead of early in the year, it would of been close.
That’s a lot of if’s and buts
Absolutely can take advantage.
DON’T YOU PEOPLE FORGET!!!
ITS THE dEcAdE of THe vOls !!
your first somewhat intelligent post bluefrank. congratulations did you get paris to help you write that. You should join the corch, gatorboy circle jerk but don’t ask to be pivot man.
Champions of Life and Brick by Brick baby. WooHooo.
Nobody says that anymore.
Live in the past much?
Yeah, 1980.
woohoo? you sound like a little girl.
All the vol fans come crawling out from under their rocks, salty as h3ll with their homemade t shirts. lol!!!!!
SevenT’s little sister
Wow bluefrank you really gonna make fun of a bullied Elementary School kid? Smack talk is fine but don’t drag kids into it. New Low sir.
Frozenhawg at least we win more than 2 games a year.
And here we go…
1.The Media Hypes up Tennessee.
2.The Media “Sources” the fans as the reason for the Hype.
3.The Media criticizes fans when/if the team fails to live up to the Hyped Expectations for having too high of expectations and buying in to the Hype…
4.Rinse and Repeat…
Haha, exactly. Drives the clicks that get the $.
SDS sits on their little fence poking that sleeping dragon. Just enough to get trolls on Tennessee page. SDS doesn’t have real writers, just part time idiots that still live in their parents basement. John Adams types.
Mark, what in God’s name are you wearing in that selfie?
I know, right? Rangers jersey??
Is this whole article based on Cade Mays? It’s one transfer to the Vols? I get that UGA has had several transfers but this article makes it sound like they are all going to UT.
Attrition?!? Really Mark?
We are loaded with depth in almost all positions. I wouldn’t say attrition, though.
Tennessee will be a much better and improved team next season for sure.
Substitute “Georgia State” for “Georgia” and this is spot on.
.
.
Tennessee will continue to close the gap with Georgia State and in due time establish themselves as the better team
TDOW
nuff said, just another uga troll. Joint the circle with your buddies corch, blue and gayboy
August 31, 2019 @ Neyland Sod Farm
Georgia State 38 – University of Tennessee 30
That there is the truth Jethro.
I don’t have a dog in this fight being as UT and UGA use UK as a scrimmage game, and Lord knows “Kroger Field” isn’t the center of the college football universe, but “Neyland Sod Farm” is hilarious.
I disagree Bill. Scrimmage? I have sweated thru way too many UGA/UK games. Take Kentucky lightly at your own risk.
Fuzzyballs
Looky here, UT climbed a couple of rungs this season, can’t nobody be denying that.
November 30, 2019 @ Neyland Cow Field
University of Tennessee 28 – Vanderbilt University 10
For the first time in over 3 years – UT beat Vandy.
Be proud young lady!!!
Hmmm…same Ga State that actually went to a bowl game?
So beating bowl eligible non Power 5 teams is the goal now? Teams that got throttled by Western Michigan to the tune of 47 points? Lost to Texas State and ULM?
How did y’all fare against mighty South Carolina this year. Didn’t powerfully App State beat SC? Huh….wonder how many teams best SC and which ones didn’t….lol
We did pretty well against Auburn and Florida. Can’t say the same for you. We also didn’t lose to a team that we paid $1,000,000 to play at home.
Nothing sadder than trying to excuse one of the most embarrassing SEC losses of the past decade than saying “they made a bowl game”.
Whoa, leave us out of this. Comparing South Carolina Wins and losses this year doesn’t mean much. The Georgia game was an oddity much like the Tennessee game was.
The big thing that I’m interested in the new schedule.
Playing UT in November is gonna feel weird.
UGA returns 9 of 11 starters on defense and I think the Dawgs will have enough firepower on offense to secure a win.
The game is also in Athens this year.
Yeah because y’all suck in November and Tennessee shines. It’s coming boy
UGA has performed extremely well in November under CKS, what on earth are you talking about?
Sounds promising for us. Now if only our QB’s remember how to play the first half of the season. Always headscratching boneheaded mistakes early then play outstanding at the end to make the masses forget the first half of the season.
So their play has nothing to do with a front loaded schedule?
Clickbait designed to rile folks up. By the look of the comment section, it’s mission accomplished.
The comments, for the most part, are more reasonable than the article. Tennessee is on the way up under Pruitt and he’s done a great job rebuilding the roster and bringing in good coaches. Tennessee is not a program to be taken lightly anymore.
UGA has suffered attrition, but has an incredibly strong roster and a good staff of coaches. Of course Tennessee has closed the gap since they’re not the lifeless mess they were under Lyle, and Pruitt will continue to close the gap further. But I do not think UGA’s plateaued at all.
They plateau’d at a high level, why are you dawgs upset over that?
Seeing that Kirby is in his 4th year as HC, my opinion is that he’s going to continue to improve. Now, unless you’re 2019 LSU and can out-muscle and bulldoze everyone, national championships usually require a fair amount of luck (just ask Bama) so coaching doesn’t determine everything. However, CKS is just getting started at UGA. Any talk about plateau are both incredibly premature and wishful thinking. Also, who’s upset?
Yeah ok. New QB, dang near new o-line, new WRs, play makers gone on defense. Are you kidding or just stupid? Plus look who y’all have to play now. Lucky if y’all get 7 wins.
New QB, yes. Not a new OL since injuries forced eveyone to get lots of playing time. WRs will have more aggregate experience in 2020 than 2019. And our defense is absolutely loaded with key players returning. You literally couldn’t be any more wrong. You clearly don’t follow college football enough to be having anything resembling an in depth conversation, so you’re probably best sticking to mindless and lame insults.
Also, since originally posting this the comments generally are no longer more reasonable than the article. People need to chill. There’s trash talk and then there’s idiocy. Let’s just stick to trash talk.
LOL, ^^^^^ This. I could tell by the headline what some of the comments would be, but yet here we are, like moths to the light.
UT won’t make up much ground on UGA til they close the recruiting gap. With the current talent disparity, UT would have to get a huge edge in coaching. They finished strong but they won’t compete for the East til they get elite recruits. There could be an outlier here or there but that’s not UT football historically.
All Tennessee needs is a good o-line and good QB. Then the upsets are gonna happen.
Upsets! There’s the rub. The Vols are so far removed from their historical perch that beating good tms are seen as upsets rather than just good wins. Gotta get some elite recruits in Knoxville to go with the good coaching.
The Georgia offense could go either way in 2020. They did lose a lot of talent, but the positive is that the O under performed largely due to injuries.
Point being, matching the offensive production is not an insurmountable endeavor. There are still 5 and 4 star’s on the O-line. The receiver corps will be more talented and deeper, and there will be a highly thought of Senior transfer under center.
The talent gap between UGA and UT is still very much in GA’s favor.
Another thing against UT is where the game comes on the schedule.
If it was very early in the season, maybe they could take advantage of the attrition. As it will be, the Dawg’s offense will be rolling and they’ll be backed up by maybe the best defense in CFB.
Oh yeah, and it’s in Athens GA. Then, the gap will be measured..
Dude Tennessee never plays good at the beginning of the year, then shine at the end. Y’all are the opposite, play great at the beginning and suck it up at the end. Be worried.
In 2018 and 2019 UGA clinched the East by running through the meat of the divisional schedule in late October and November. Again you are incredibly wrong.
By “shine at the end”, you mean typically losing to Vandy and struggling with Mizzou and South Carolina after being pounded by Bama? That “shine at the end”? Got it!
Tennessee had an 8 win season. A season which included losses to BYU and GA. State. A season which included losses to the three Top 10 teams they played (UF, UGA, Bama) by an average of nearly 27 points. A season that wrapped up with a 1-point nailbiter over Indiana. We’re supposed to forget all this and focus on the Cade Mayes transfer as some kind of indication Tennessee is ready to overtake UGA.
I dont think any Vol fan thinks we’re ready to overtake UGA. Yet.
No but it is more equal. Jawja is gonna have new players on both sides of the ball. First year without a 5 star stud to take over as well. Well see.
LOL, nope.
Corch Invin…I agree with you concerning the Georgia pipeline…Phil Fulmer got some great talent from Georgia…but I have to feel that really bad hires…Derek Dooley & then ole Butch Jones. I wonder what the AD was drinking or smoking when he made those two(2) hires ? Those two horrible hires put the program in the hole it’s in now & also put the athletic department’s funds in a bad place, really low. I lived in Knoxville when Fulmer had his run there and recruits came from everywhere(California included) to play for Tennessee. Not quite the same now. so…Vol Fans, it’ll take a few more years to even begin to crack maybe 8 wins, but have faith…it might just happen.
Afan not many if any vol fans on here are predicting we win the east. TN has recruited from afar forever and done well and will continue to. You really are not doing yourself any favors saying we will need a few years to get to 8 wins. Our 2019 record is 8-5. Not bragging about 8 wins but please if you are going to predict how we will do try to use something more accurate.
Sorry…my bad on the crack 8 wins…I did not follow Tennessee as closely this year as I should have(or I’d
have known the record accurately.) I’ll surely check the record the next time I post on W’s and L’s. I really do hope that Jeremy can build something from this year’s positives…as I do hold some fond memories from Phil Fulmer’s time coaching the Vols…and those heady days of Great Seasons and battles with a Steve Spurrier led gator team. Some Good times in Neyland.
Pruitt can coach unlike the previous hires. Players will come. Tennessee should of had a 10 win season but that was on Pruitt and company as well.
Speaking of trends, trajectories and the future
how many co-eds has Pruitt banged in Knoxville?
I’m guessing none. I mean… they’re still inbred hillbillies. Seems Mrs. Pruitt finally found the town when ol’ Redneck Pruitt won’t be tempted by the local females.
Definitely not like Tally, Athens, and to a lesser extent, Tuscaloosa.
Look at you two teaming up! And here I thought that y’all saved your turbodouche idiocy exclusively for articles about your beloved Florida Gators.
Ah look, queef-boy chimed in
Intelligence (brainpower, like horsepower, but with that thing behind your eyes) can be assessed in part by vocabulary (the words you know). You’ve dropped “hillbilly’ almost more than pronouns and prepositions (you can look these 2 words up). I suspect you are devoid (without) of the cognitive fortitude (look this up too) to comprise a compelling argument.
I do feel sorry for you, but if you try reallllllly hard you could probably still get your GED.
Oh, and GFY.
GFY? You french kiss your cousin while copping a feel with that mouth, Hillbilly?
French ya Mamaw’s fart box while you watch in the corner. Gimp.
Let’s stay off mamas cuz I just got off your’s.
@lesstalkmorevol: you pretty much nailed it. The thing is, these two chuckleheads don’t actually reflect badly on UGA, because there’s absolutely nobody on this site who believes they went to school there.
TDOW called somebody a “creteen” recently. Case closed.
“Before you start putting dirt on Georgia’s grave”
Lol, thanks.
See you in Athens.
“Even though Georgia is consistently finding a way to lose the key game they have to win each year”
Unlike, for instance, losing to Georgia State.
LMFAO
“But the transfer of Cade Mays could be a sign that Tennessee isn’t as far away from competing with Georgia as you might think.”
Yeah, a backup O-Lineman will definitely make up that 29-point differential in Neyland from last year.
You are delusional my man.
Also, it seems Mark here subscribes to the idiot notion prevalent in the college football medial echo chamber that a big game is defined as the game Georgia loses.
So you know, beating Auburn three of four in three years, and beating Floriduh three years in a row… those aren’t big games.
Winning the 2017 SEC Title. Not a big game.
Winning the 2017 Rose Bowl and CFB Playoff Semifinal. Not a big game.
Winning the 2019 Sugar Bowl. Not a big game.
None of those games were big games, because Georgia won them. Most of them in convincing fashion.
Yeah Mark, Georgia just can’t seem to win any big games. You dumb hillbilly.
you are just to stupid to understand what hes saying and you are in denial you banjo pickin pig squealer
Hey Fuzzy, your cousin down in the holler won’t wait for you forever! I said get to the steel scrub tub and wash that pig crap out your hair, get on your best pair of overalls, and take that gal out for a good time like only a family member could!
You dumb hillbilly!
Awww, look! It found how to use the internet. Fun!
I’m surrounded by Vol fans and I was actually more optimistic about how their team would perform this past season than they were. But they’ve finally bought into Pruitt.
Tennessee has a ways to go to catch Florida and Georgia, but they have some solid talent on their roster, a good coaching staff and excellent facilities. Pruitt is rebuilding the team from the inside out on the lines of scrimmage. While they don’t look to have quality replacements for Callaway and Jennings waiting in the wings, they should have a pretty effective running game next year.
While Smart walked into a 10 win roster at Florida and Mullen had considerable talent to work with at Florida, albeit with a broken culture, Pruitt took over a broken culture AND a depleted roster. Looks like he turned the culture around this year.
But he will probably need at least five recruiting classes to restore roster balance and get his roster into the top 10. He’s at a geographic recruiting disadvantage against the top six teams in the SEC, but so is Clemson. They’ve managed to build a pretty decent program. It can be done.
I think they have a good shot at going 8-4 next season if they beat Kentucky and South Carolina. They won’t be favored against Oklahoma, Florida, Alabama or Georgia.
What the heck does “broken culture” mean? I mean, jeez, I could say that Smart walked into a “broken culture” of mediocrity and 9-10 win seasons.
“Broken culture” in Florida’s case means players basically quitting in a couple of 2017 games; nine guys thinking it was OK to get involved in a credit card scam; and guys going off campus to commercial gyms and private trainers for strength and conditioning training because McElwain’s S&C staff was that pathetic.
In Tennessee’s case it means players refusing to listen to coaches and basically just not buying into Pruitt’s program in 2018.
As for Georgia, while it’s wonderfully aspirational that you consider 9-10 win seasons “mediocre,” 9-10 win seasons are quite good. They just aren’t great.
Smart has unambiguously improved Georgia’s recruiting, but his win-loss performance isn’t really any different than Richt’s when you factor in the fact that the CFP didn’t exist until the end of the 2014 season. Only 2 of Richt’s 15 seasons. Smart should hardly get credit, in comparing him to Richt, for getting to a playoff that only existed in the last two years of Richt’s coaching run, especially when you take into account that Florida had imploded in 2017 and Georgia was able to dodge Alabama in the 2017 SECCG, thanks to Auburn.
I completely understand Georgia making a coaching change to try to go from good to great. But to suggest that Georgia was “mediocre” under Richt is ridiculous.
“Smart should hardly get credit…”
Very much disagree. Richt was famous for always beating the teams he should and almost never beating teams with equal or greater talent. If Richt was still the coach I promise you UGA’s last SEC championship would still be 2005 and the program still wouldn’t have even sniffed the playoffs. That Smart is 8-4 against top 10 teams is a cold, hard fact about how much CKS has done with UGA that Richt seemingly never could. 10-win seasons are good and that was Richt’s ceiling (minus a few aberrations). Richt had also lost institutional control by the time Pruitt was DC with the entire program divided into pro- and anti- Pruitt camps in response to the changes (and the attempted method of implementation of those changes) that Pruitt was trying to affect. The program was horribly stagnant and Richt had lost the ability to scout, recruit, and develop QBs. The teams consistently lacked grit and toughness and mental resolve. Going from a season of 10 wins to one of 11 or 12 is very difficult and was something that after 15 years Richt showed he was ultimately incapable. What Smart has done is amazing and people make far, far too big of a deal about the questionable on-field decisions he’s made. There’s a veritable ton more that goes into being a head coach than on-field decisions and for the most part Smart has greatly elevated UGA. Nash, you consistently have good takes but your opinions about Smart miss the mark big time.
I actually don’t disagree with most of what you say. The program had gone stagnant and I do remember the Pruitt controversies in the final season. Like I said, I completely understand the coaching change.
I think Richt won more than 10 games three or four times. With two SEC Championships. What’s interesting is that he produced these exceptional seasons during the first third of his coaching tenure. So Smart has definitely exceeded Richt’s performance during the later years, proving without question that the change was warranted. But what many observers have brought up is the striking parallels between the first four seasons for both coaches.
The only point I really disagree with you on is quarterbacks. The incoming quarterback recruit when Richt was asked to resign was Jacob Eason, the #2 pro style guy in the nation, so I can’t agree with that point.
I don’t attach much significance to Kirby’s in-game decisions. That stuff’s going to happen and to some degree he’s just had some bad luck. He’s a great recruiter and an excellent defensive coach. If he has any weakness, it may be his intransigence in philosophy (run first offense). We’ll see.
The original point I was responding to was that Georgia’s 10 win seasons were mediocre. Consistent 10 win seasons are not great, but they are good. Not mediocre.
That said, I totally understand Georgia fans and the administration believing that a change was necessary.
I think we’re all more or less on the same plane here except perhaps with regards to our schools’ respective coaches’ future. From what I can tell, you think Smart isn’t out of the Richt-woods yet since Richt shared similar success during the first part of his tenure.
I still think acting like Smart was gifted a playoff-ready team or just lucked into the 2017 playoff is a very foolish notion. That team mutilated the entire East, so the division’s weakness or whatever never really came up as an issue. Smart has an excellent “big-game” record so far, but unfortunately the ones he’s lost have (mostly) been the biggest.
Both he and Mullen still have a ways to go at UGA and Florida before we starting laying down final judgments. However, the bar is certainly even next year, and any talent disparity excuses from now on, such as Florida’s o-line or UGA’s pass catching department, must be laid on the shoulders of the respective coaches.
Nash, I agree with you about Smart’s philosophical intransigencies and I will anxiously await to see what, if any, changes are made this offseason.
I also agree that Smart isn’t out of the Richt-woods yet fully, but I do think key details muddy the drawing of any strict parallels between the two.
KS, you cut right to the point that CKS’ losses to top-10 teams have unfortunately been some of the most crucial games. His biggest flaw so far is his big game losses. But you are also very right that time is still needed before any proclamations about him, or Mullen, can be made.
“While Smart walked into a 10 win roster at Florida …”
Lol – it really sucks when you are trolling one team and try work in a zinger for another team – and you screw it up!
Run along crackhead – cojones has his gimp suit on, he’swaiting for you.
Do you know how to do anything other than hurl empty insults?
Jawja has possibly more talent than anyone in the country…..yet can’t win a NC. Jawja fans keep talking. Don’t worry, if Tennessee beats Jawja this up coming year I am gonna troll on y’all’s site 24/7. I will let y’all know how much a sucky Tennessee team beat your precious bulldogs. It’s coming. Y’all know it. Fact is, Kirby Smart isn’t as good a coach as y’all hoped he was. He can recruit, but so could Butch Jones. Mark Richt recruited good too but that wasn’t enough. If Fromm, Eason, or Fields couldn’t win y’all a Natty…..no one will. Fields knew he had a better chance at Ohio State that’s why he transfered. Same as Cade Mays. Mays knew Jawja wasn’t gonna do it. Truth hurts boys. Deny all y’all want to. Tennessee is trending up while Jawja is going down. Jawja still has 50 times the talent that Tennessee has that’s what is gonna make it soooooo sweet when UT beats Jawja. Y’all keep guard on y’all’s bridges after the win. Gonna be some jumpers.
Dumb hillbillies really believe crap like this. Before the game this year they also said similar things, and then we waxed them in their own ugly, erector set stadium, with about 35,000 Dawg fans in attendance.
This hillbilly literally stays up at night dreaming about what he’s gonna say and to whom and how much fun he’s gonna have.
When reality comes crashing down on this dummy in November after we wax them again sending their record to 4-6 or 5-5, someone please check in on this dumb hillbilly and make sure he doesn’t do anything rash.
Your mom still has my UT shirt, btw. She can keep it though.
I work with your cousin Lurleen. She said she’s pregnant and you’re the inbreeding daddy.
And the family tree continues to prune branches!
Lol yours too?
Don’t worry. I will remember you babygirl.
Oof, what a stupid comment. Holy smokes I’ve read some pure stupidity all over SDS but this one is easily top-10. Congrats.
How’s that Natty trophy case going?
It’s great, thanks for asking. The 21st century SEC championship trophy case is also doing well.
Lol keep dreaming boy. What did Ricky Bobby say about winning……If you ain’t 1st your last. Sleep tight with that boy.
At least I was alive when my team won a NC. Keeping asking old granpappy to retell those stories when Jawja actually won one.
It’s not deaming to assert that Tennessee hasn’t been relevant this century. It’s also not dreaming to take a wait and see attitude about Pruitt. It’s still not dreaming to not be impressed with a winning streak over lesser opponents capped off by a 1 point win over a middling Big 10 program. I’m not sure where your overzealous confidence is coming from, but I guess I’d be jazzed over Pruitt’s pedestrian accomplishments too after 20 years of being a speed bump in the East. And before you start predicting wins over UGA let’s first see Tennessee even show a competitive pulse against Florida rather than immediately faceplanting. And you can chirp about 1980 all you want but that doesn’t erase the fact that Tennessee has lost every semblance of prestige and national prominence it enjoyed in the 20th century due to how thoroughly they’ve become an after-thought. Tennessee is a tune-up game for Bama, Georgia, Florida and any other team with actual aspirations. So please, keep talking hollow trash and giving fumbling attempts at analyzing football.
Not sure what’s worse the moronic smack talk or the fact Butch Jones won in Athens………….
It is hard to believe that these are all grown men…I guess.. calling each other pigs and hillbillies…over college football…I’m a huge fan…but come on…and yeah… And yeah…it does give me indigestion just thinking that not only did Butch Jones win in Athens…but so has Chump… enough to make any UGA fan want to puke…I was at both and they were both equally painful
“Can Tennessee take advantage of Georgia’s attrition”
Really???? It’s time to pump the brakes. Or – in hillbilly parlance – it’s time to stop pumping ur cousin.
UT is not even the top team in the State of Tennessee; Memphis finished the season 12-2 and ranked #17. Memphis mops the floor with UT in a head-to-head match-up. UT is 1-3 against Vandy over the last 4 years. UT is not even the best “Sunbelt” team in the region – App St at 13-1 finished the season #20; head-to-head App State mops the floor with UT. And we all know what Sunbelt team Ga State did to the hillbillies.
Before we get to UT playing at UGA’s level let UT prove they are the best team in the State of Tennessee; proving they can consistently beat Vanderbilt and hang with Memphis.
Once UT is the best team in Tennessee and can beat their Sunbelt cousins (App St., GA St. etc) the next rung is consistently beating SCar, Mizzou, UK and UF.
Pruitt will shag another teenager or get in a fight with fellow coaching staff member before that happens.
Will it happen in 2020? Probably not. But all the Georgia fans talking smack seem to be forgetting they lost to South Carolina and Tennessee bear them. Before anyone says “Georgia State” my point isn’t that Tennessee is somehow better. My point is, anything can happen on that field.
BYU
With all the negative GA comments about TN, it sounds like, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
Me thinks they insecure.
Very fitting comment with respect to TDOW, the Conflict Pup.
They know what’s coming.
That’s what your first cousin said when you walked down the hill to her house in the holler.
You getting poor reception in that mobile home boy or is the tires you have on the roof not doing their job?
That number three class will be the number one or two in a month. And to answer the question: no.
Yeah ok. Bet y’all drop out of top 5.
What?? You continuously show that you have no idea what you’re talking about.
Chippy, I know you like nothing better than to throw hand grenades and duck, but are you really that freakin’ ignorant about recruiting?
Not in 2020.
If the article was asking this about Florida I wouldn’t have a problem with it. Even with the attrition Georgia still has way more talent than Tennessee. Some of you dawg fans need to simmer down in the comments. We all know this is a pointless article but it’s the off-season so what do you expect. SDS just decided to get a head start on trying to out do everyone with pointless articles.
They all fell for the trap…the article has done exactly what it was meant to do…get under their skin and get this response… mission accomplished..
Or we’re just having some fun, shootin’ up hillbillies before they leave for the First Cousins Meet’n’Greet.
Vol fans reading this are thinking of those immortal words of Lloyd Christmas, “So your tell me there’s a chance? Yeah”
LOL
Unfortunately we don’t get an easy win by playing State this year. Oh well.
Looks like this story was run to ensure the fire is stoked on the rivalry. If so, mission accomplished. An impressive level of insults hurled back and forth.
Anytime the lowlifes like corch, the dumva$$ of wad, ugarmy… get into the ripple at noon and then get on a UT article you can bet on lots of stupid posts. They are all probably wearing the same dress too.
Well Mark, you did it. You got every simpleton’s jimmies rustled. Pretty funny how many UGA fans act like you incinerated a certain Arab holy book whenever Georgia is mentioned in less than praising tones.
Creates for some entertaining posts though.
In all the images Fulmer is clapping. Now Pruitt. Just an observation.
Nagi got em barking at this one. #nobody does less with more
Anybody get banned yet?
Just FYI Crokett…..I ate the truck stop on the way to Bristol for race……not impressed.
Gotta come to TN to see a good race we appreciate your cash.
Besides al the BS,,, We had a great finis to the season,,, and overall it is good to be above .500… Ghat said,, next year is next year,,, time will tell..Georgia is top tier right now and I respect that… But your performance in SEC title shows your not close to being champions,,, Dawgs choked against Bama 2 years running,,, choked!!!!! That’s facts my friend,,, and got embarrassed by LSU this year,,, Nice run and still very talented,,, pull out the tapes of Herschel,,, and the redneck Larry Munson and reminisce,,,!it is about all you got really!!!!!!!
Lot of hate from little boy. I love listening to Larry and watching Hershel run over your team. Some of fondest memories. Thanks for reminding me. Meantime, try to relax. Its just football.
Trash talk is one thing…but F*** you when you talk sh** about Munson… keep your stupid sh** talk between you living idiots…and have a little respect punk
Munson let his daddy poke his booty hole…lol
What a true sad piece of Sh** you are…why don’t you grow up you little Bit*** …you are not a football fan…you are just some scub bag piece of Sh** living in his parents basement with nothing better to do…the sad thing is you think your better than others on here….why don’t you and your girl friend 98 thekid grow up….get a life you human rectum…
You’re a walking trash can bryanchip. Way to represent your fanbase. I’m sure they are all very proud. I mean nothing is funnier than joking about raping kids right? Effing sleaze ball
Only UT could produce this kind of trash.
So is it that you don’t know the difference between a comma and a period or that you’ve never been in a scenario where you’re forced to care?
This is a period. And this is a comma,…I can understand why a lot of people give UGA fan sh** on here. Someone disrespects a UGA legend and you worry about the grammar of a UGA fan defending him. Every fan base surly has their share of pricks on here.thats for sure
Whoa, my comment wasn’t responding to you. It was meant for 98THEKID. But thanks for calling me a prick.
Hey Crock…..your right. Bristol at night was amazing. Would love to see Ga-TN game at Neyland. 98 kids comment aside I’m sure would have good time. That and Jax is on list. As for 98 kids, ok. Don’t know why you pour the hate on but all is settled on field.
The GA backlash on this article alone shows you boys ain’t happy with where your at.A state that puts out so much talent but so heartbroken.
I think it’s the legion of delusional and obnoxious UT fans more than not being happy with where we’re at.
Vols fan here
I’m not sure where my fellow fans are getting their information. TN still has no team or coach for being any better than what they are, not anytime soon. Not all TN fans are ignorant, just the uneducated ones who never attended the school and happen to just live there.
With that said, GA is still a powerhouse with the new replacements coming in. I want to see GA beat bama this next year! Hope you guys can do it. This is obviously GAs decade so run with it and make the SEC east proud!
Lol…nice try
SevenT is that you?
Just like we beat the Volunqueers in basketball last night, UGA will curb-stomp the mouth breathers from Knoxville on the gridiron in November.
This trash talk is cheap guys. Get some class.
Poor Dawgs. Heard their quarterback has a peg leg and an eye patch- ARRR they gonna be able go play with the vols?! SMDH
You’ve got your rumors wrong. The peg leg and eye patch just arrived in Starkville.
I apologize for the comments about Munson,, out of line… I see folks chopping each other up,, didn’t mean to offend on that level… I sincerely didn’t mean to upset folks that bad.
All delusional UF fans aside… I believe the East is going to be very balanced. UF, UT and UK are very close to challenging UGA for the East.
Does this site have a monitor ? If not…one is definitely needed. Some posters are really getting out-of-hand with the comments…maybe way too many Bud Lites ? Maybe take a chill-pill instead of drinking that tall-boy ?
And the official taking season is off to a roaring start!
Some of you need to throttle back – it’s a long 8 months . . .
*talking season
Yes, but we do have G Day in April.
There is that. And final NSD still awaits.
These comments are just obscene. Tennessee fans are a nasty bunch. I’m glad that you have become bottom dwellers of the SEC. No other fanbase deserves it more. Next time you pay an FCS opponent $1 million to come to that dumpster Neyland… try to actually win the game.
yeah and these uga posters are so classy.
Show me an UGA poster making child molestation jokes
Corch has made every type of insulting post there is. That’s all he does on UT articles. You may be the only poster on SDS that doesn’t know that. I don’t know whose post you are referring to but I agree with you on whoever said that. If you draw the line there then it doesn’t say much for your level of class either. UGA has the vast majority of trolls on SDS and has for a while.
Attrition?!? Really Mark?
We are loaded with depth in almost all positions. I wouldn’t say attrition, though.
Tennessee will be a much better and improved team next season for sure.
Georgia focuses on Tennessee instead of Florida. That’s SMART!
Another moonlighting homer pandering to the home team.