re: What Does Tennessee Need to Return to Glory?

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Other than Clowney, who loafed around, who has been an exciting player for SCAR recently? Nobody. You're just a good team. The star of the program is Spurrier, so you don't really need one.

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So other than that one guy who was really exciting, who else has been exciting?

If Shaw was more of an attention whore, he'd have been a household name; Sanders' every punt return was must-see football; Jeffery was one of the best WRs of the last decade; and Lattimore and Davis have been outstanding backs during a particularly talented time period for SEC backs. This doesn't even mention the defensive talent who have all been drafted in the first round.

You may not be paying attention, but there has been plenty of exciting individual talent at USC lately.

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You may not be paying attention, but there has been plenty of exciting individual talent at USC lately.

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For us, SEC followers, sure. But Mike Davis isn't setting the world on fire. We like him, but kids in Texas aren't buying his jersey.

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Your statement wasn't about reviving a program; you called us a boring one trick pony. We've had several exciting players over the years who are currently producing at fairly high levels, or are expected to, in the NFL. How exciting has Florida been lately?

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You've had a number of good, even great players. That's not the point. Notice I included Alabama in that as well. You can't account for the money and prestige Saban brings, which far outweighs what Ingram or McCarron or anyone else did there.

The entire point of this conversation is that while Mike Davis may get you to a conference championship game, Tennessee isn't trying to get to SCAR's level, although I'm sure they'd like to be there at the moment. They're trying to restore their place as an elite program, and part of that means going beyond just being a competitive team or reenergizing your unwavering supporters.

To do that with Butch Jones, who isn't going to be Spurrier or Saban anytime soon, I think the fastrack would involve high profile athletes that can get people's attention very quickly. And, to the extent you have had premier players in Lattimore and Clowney, that has certainly helped SCAR's brand. But I still think most of it is Spurrier.

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So the youth isn't excited about Tennessee football? bullshite. We're recruiting at a top 5/10 level currently and the old blue hairs are slowly being replaced by younger alumni in Neyland. Tennessee football is and always has been a generational bond for our fan base. As long as college football is around we will always be "excited" about Tennessee football. Support is one thing UT will never have to worry about.

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That's a nice brochure summary that isn't apparent in real life. Denying that Tennessee needs an energy injection is ridiculous.

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Support is one thing UT will never have to worry about.

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That doesn't always show up on Saturday's though. Auburn fans were so loud when we played up there you would have thought it was a neutral site game at best. When I was up for TSIO a couple of years ago, I know the place was close to 50% Bama fans.

On top of that, support can only get you so far. You need to string together a few winning seasons and/or have some huge national highlight plays that will get the brand in front of people far outside the base.

I'm not necessarily denying that but it's not like Butch hasn't given us a shot of adrenaline. We are all pretty much united and are looking forward to seeing what we look like when Butch gets his guys in place. Elite recruits are responding to UT just fine right now despite 3 losing seasons in a row.

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I'm not necessarily denying that but it's not like Butch hasn't given us a shot of adrenaline. We are all pretty much united and are looking forward to seeing what we look like when Butch gets his guys in place. Elite recruits are responding to UT just fine right now despite 3 losing seasons in a row.

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Like I said, I think Butch has it going in the right direction. But, I think there is a difference to getting back to competing for the SEC and having bandwagon support in places like Atlanta, like I remember from a decade ago. I'm sure that isn't your top priority, but I'm pretty convinced Tennessee can return to competing for the SEC in time. The bigger question for me is whether they can return to iconic status.

From someone who has watched this program very closely the past 5 years, I can assure you our energy and support going into this season is the highest it has been in that period. Butch jones is an injection of energy. We need 2 more years of elite recruiting and very low coach changeover, and we'll be right there in the east race every year again.

better bagmen, and NOT working in TN. If you gonna frick it up, frick it up right. Car dealership connection in Dallas and ATM card with no limit in Pompano Beach FL.

Time, only time - everything cycles, including your team