You knew they had their guy last year? I mean he did get beat by 3 TDs in Gainesville right? Napier hasn't even finished his first year, so it's not exactly a fair comparison today. I believe you can give them credit on a great season without going as far as saying they are the new power in the east and we are doomed to the cellar.
Tennessee's offense will attract QBs. If their next QB is inaccurate or cannot run the system, of course they will slide. But good QBs are going to commit to Tennessee now. Sucks for us because we have an uphill battle to find great new QBs.
Sadly, I agree. Whether it's sustainable remains to be seen but like it or not this is the best UT team since they won the national championship in 1998.
I live near the nuclear waste dump that is Knoxville. You are absolutely correct that the Vols are experiencing something rare, akin to the Burrow LSU championship run. Nico Iamalevea is the Vols new 5-star QB that will be on the roster next year. His high school stats are unbelievable and the hype is real. Iamalevea looks to be in the same no-huddle, high speed offense and I'm willing to guess (based on his spring enrollment) that his transition will be seamless and he'll likely be the starter next season. Richardson is simply not fit to be a quarterback. I don't care how many runs he can pull off or how many fastball throws he can make that go 60yds with total ease; he is not a good quarterback at all. Napier does not run a fast paced, high tempo, effective offense. Billy run the outdated pistol offense and there is absolutely no schematic wizardry of finesse to it. We could have all 5-star recruits next year in all offensive spots and we'd get the same result we have now.
It is odd to me people make such definitive statements about an offense whose qb is not performing well by any measuring stick. You can't sell me inconsistent qb play is because of scheme, yet. We've only had one constant input from the qb position. Still, this offense doubled up on UGa's season point average and had 50% more yardage over their average, most of which occurred in one half.
It is a good system, but it is VERY reliant on the QB. Watched the UCF years closely, talent declined and defense was an afterthought to say the least. Will be alot of track meets, that's fairly certain
I miss the preseason Heisman and top-10 draft pick talk about Richardson. Whatever happened to that Heisman trophy talk and the high draft pick talk? It's almost as if many of the UF fans had, dare I say it, unreasonable expectations. Has that ever happened before?
UT is having a great run. I don't think they'll win any championships this year, but at least they'll have fun during the year. They have a good home schedule this year. It is tough to maintain any offense year over year, but this type of offense is a bit more difficult than most, IMO. Plus, teams will come in and raid assistants, which hurts as much as trying to replace players. (see LSU) It seems to take about a year for the game to slow down enough for the qb to start making the right reads. The challenge for UT is in a rough spot geographically for recruiting. They pretty much have to go outside the state which puts going into the backyards of the bama, uga, clemson, LSU, etc for recruits. They'll grab a few for sure but I suspect they may have to live and die by the portal. Time will tell.
I don't think that talk initiated from UF fans. I know I was surprised to hear it before the season. Its the talking heads and NFL draft guru's who began touting his potential. Then, uf fans may have picked it up from there.
There is no scheme. Napier runs an outdated, bland, sub-par version of the pistol offense. Whether folks want to admit it, NFL is the standard and high flying, high scoring offensive schemes are the gold standard there; video game numbers. Tennessee Volunteers coaching and the AD get this; number one in all areas of offense, the Vols are high flying, high scoring with dazzling aerial throws. Napier is a great recruiter, but not a head coach. You can't step into role as UF coach and use jet sweeps and bubble screens to nowhere and expect to keep your job. If the few wins he's gotten have shown anything is that Billy likes to score maybe 21 or 24 points and then sit on the lead rather than try and keep scoring.
Coaches have strengths and weaknesses. Nobody is perfect. Napier is an organization, culture and recruiting guy. Heupel is an offensive savant
Remember we beat Burrows and LSU his first year starting. I was at that game in Gville. Deafening sound when UF had the pick 6 at end of game to win. It was not till the second year that everything clicked for Burrows and LSU. We still gave LSU acgame in Baton Rouge the next year. My daughter was at that away game with her friends.
Napier actually runs mostly NFL concepts.....he is much closer to the pro game than the high flying video game you seem to think occur there. Out of curiosity, what do you think is the average score per game for an NFL team? Guessing it's gonna shock you if you are complaining "Billy likes to score 21-24 points and sit on the lead" (which is total nonsense)
I would like to know how Napier has attained “great recruiter” status? We have a Top 10-ish recruiting class setting up for 2023. Considering the current depleted roster, a Top 10 class should be a given at the University of Florida. If you took an average of the last 25 years worth of recruiting classes, UF is probably in the Top 10. What has Napier done to distinguish himself as a “great recruiter”? When he delivers a Percy Harvin, THEN we can refer to Napier as a “great recruiter”.
He will still be a high draft pick. It’s only UF fans that are down on him. Evaluators can see the weakness in the offensive scheme. NFL offenses fit AR much better
Not even close. His passing game is high school install. We run limited routes beyond the LOS and damn near zero coverage beaters. It’s the opposite of a NFL passing attack
