IronBlood

known then that it would be extremely difficult to find qualified replacements after both of them fell flat on their faces in less than two years. After all, look how little he now has to sell.

these numbers back it up. As stated below, a lot of these portal moves were not voluntary - it was suggested they go to the portal. Some players may start to realize that the 'grass isn't always greener', but I think the push from coaches as well as player's, often unfounded, belief in their abilities is going to keep this number pretty high. And the players who are good enough to find a new home are going to create enough of a demand for replacements that there's a pretty high floor for portal transfers every year. It probably will come down as all the extra covid years evaporate.

This guy looks older though.

New Orleans. I like Raleigh - but there really isn't any reason for anyone to go there. And if you're comparing football between Tulane and NC State - that's about as close as you are ever going to get to "Do you really think it matters, Eddie?"

the organizations space and locker rooms under the stadium. The fan experience isn't as horrible as the one at the trop. It's a mausoleum...a tomb. It has horrible acoustics, you get no sun. It's terrible.

The Rays play in the worst stadium in all of baseball, they play during the months where people go Tampa for outside activities. And it's a town full of retirees from New York and New England...people that have been following baseball their entire lives and are only interested in the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets. The Lightning and Buccaneers - which IMO would be much better comps in this regard have shown plenty of ability to succeed and draw fans. The Rays are a horrible reason to use for anything, truthfully.

other thread on the Saber back in the early 2000s. It's a joke. And that somehow, whether VT is in the SEC or B1G, any other school's academic reputation (Vanderbilt, Northwestern) would somehow 'rub off' on VT is an even bigger joke. The value of my degree from VT is not diminished or enhanced by someone else's opinion, much less the athletic conference VT plays in.

home slate. Does Tech sell out a single game in that conference? Now tell me about how much money we'd lose if we were in the SEC. People don't really see the cliff that VT is hurtling towards. I think there's a pretty good argument for us not playing big boy football anymore - but I doubt very many people would want that.

Bottom line is SEC is now dominant. Thinking that's just because of ESPN is incorrect.

not part of the problem too is just sticking your head in the sand or plugging your ears and going la la la.

has an incredibly rich history. None of that has anything to do with ESPN. Saban built LSU into relevance the same way he built Michigan State. You're just spinning the ESPN stuff to suit a false narrative. Yes. Now it is self fulfilling because the SEC schools successfully built and have now marketed the ideal college football environment. But the groundwork was done before the ESPN narrative factory. The other conferences can't replicate it.

wrong with college football. And ESPN does hype them beyond the pale. But the winning on the field is why they are the best. Not the hype.

want nothing to do with us. That's what led us to the ACC. Fortunately, I can't imagine any possible scenario that we would be chosen for the Big 10. If they don't take UVa, they won't take us. And I don't think there is any political will or capital strong enough for UVa to get us in this time.

No one should turn their nose up at any individual 3 star. The problem with 3 stars comes when that's all you have (or mostly all you have).

I've also never pretended the relationship nonsense was meaningful.

Darrell Dickey and Cornelsen were Co-Offensive Coordinators in 2015. I believe that Dickey had previously been the Offensive Coordinator prior to that. Dickey became the interim head coach for the bowl game only after Fu came to VT and eventually became OC at A&M but as I understand it was only ever a HC from 1998-2006 at North Texas. Maybe I'm wrong, but who is this OC at Memphis that you're talking about? And was Corn not up to the task in 2016? That was the best offense VT had up to that point since MV1. I don't understand how people can stand to post demonstrably false stuff over and over be ok with that. ** Edited by IronBlood at 5/4/2023, 12:49:09 PM

play them. I'm amused at the fascination with many Hokie fans comparing VT to UVa as if winning that comparison means anything. We've thoroughly dominated them for nearly 25 years. I do believe it's past time for VT to set it's sights to something a little higher. To that end, we should have had at least one QB, RB or WR drafted in the first or second round in the last 10 years. I sincerely hope that Pry has a vision of correcting that as soon as possible. Let's be competent on O and work towards excelling. Then we don't have to worry about tools like Teel lumping us in with the inferiors.

** Edited by IronBlood at 5/2/2023, 10:32:23 AM

at VT people would have been jumping for joy, but he didn't and couldn't. This past season we looked like a tournament team at the beginning of the year and prior to conference play - then we didn't make the tournament. That's disappointing no matter how you look at it. So do I think that we had a very good season in 2022-2023? No, I don't. You can qualify it however you want, but against the expectations, no, it wasn't a good season. That doesn't mean it was a failure, but I'm not jumping up and down for a team that underachieved.

Same for Paxton Lynch. He forced him to do it his way and turned an inferior talent into a first round pick. Maybe the problem was Hooker didn't trust his coach and teammates enough. Nobody feels sorry for him, he ended up in a great spot. But players almost NEVER own up to their own shortcomings. Especially when there are easy scapegoats. Your mistake is starting with the Fuente is terrible premise and then trying to fit everything to match that narrative. Maybe Fuente is a bad coach, maybe he does micromanage everything too much. Maybe he'll never be a head coach again. That doesn't mean it explains Hendon Hooker.

When his numbers were outstanding. It seems the most fun things for TSL posters is to avoid the evidence that doesn't suit their narrative. I'm happy for Hendon, but I see a 25 year college quarterback who fell into a dream scenario on a team with outstanding talent and an up and coming OC in a league guaranteed to give him maximum exposure. In the end though, he's 25 with 4 years as a starting QB under his belt and still he can't make a second read. The history of the NFL draft is littered with physically gifted QBs who had no business starting NFL games.

every year, the years with the best opportunities are the ones you can least afford to disappoint. The season is done and I'm not going to rehash it, but comparing this past season to say the 2014-2015 season means nothing. With the returning talent that we had, we should have been a tournament team, and we weren't. Hopefully, CMY and the boys can exceed expectations in 2023-2024.

making the tournament 2 out of every 4 years, but as soon as he starts slipping to 1 out of every 4 years, he's no longer the victim, the program is. These next two seasons are pretty crucial. We're pretty much relying on Rice staying and being an NBA baller at this point. That's a far cry from where the program appeared to be headed at the beginning of last season.

phone to Pry. He needs all the help he can get!

feelings and division. We learned that so fast with Fuente that I honestly can't even believe this is a suggestion. You do one of two things, you keep coaches who end up being less accountable to the new coach (Wiles) or you create hurt feelings (Gray) because the new coach elevates 'his' guys above the ones that are sticking around. I also believe it sends mixed messages about the direction of the program. If I took over from a fired or disgraced predecessor, I clean house. I take over from a legend who retires, I clean house. Anything or anyone hanging around from the old regime on day 1 gets the flamethrower. On a related note, this is a small part of the VT problem as a football program. Our program hasn't grown in the last 20 years, because everything we do seemingly has to be an homage to what came before it. We're always doing things halfway because we're always clinging on to something from the past.

then it would be awfully nice to see a little bit more continuity at the QB position. Since 2016, we've started exactly one QB in game 1 in back to back years. If Drones is Tyrod Taylor or Michael Vick, then have at it, otherwise, let him develop.

portal transfers. In any given year you may need to go for one over the other, but I have suggested and will continue to suggest that when you think you have a talented team capable of making it to the tournament, you need to choose portal players over high schoolers. Or more specifically, experienced players over developmental ones. Maybe Buchanan was worth a flyer, but VT really could have used another wing that could be played.

So he could be bad one year and good the next...in actual games. And since that's already happened with him, it stands to reason it could happen again...in actual games. Change.

Are we running the same offense as last year? Or are we switching to more RPO? If we're running what we did, then Wells should be the starter from day 1. If we're running more RPO then they should give the ball to Drones and let him take some lumps this year with an eye on 2024.

Now he practices well but freezes up in games. Brad Pitt said it best in Moneyball. "You don't know." You're presenting yourself as knowing, but 'you don't know'.

** Edited by IronBlood at 4/2/2023, 10:17:16 AM

** Edited by IronBlood at 4/2/2023, 10:17:48 AM

is not the same thing as saying, recruit is following a recruit to a school.

But since 2000, VT has had 19 guys drafted in the 1st or 2nd round. There have been 8 schools with that many or more in just the first round in the same time period. Those same 8 schools have between 25-65 more total players drafted since 2000. So while real NFL material will go to the NFL no matter who they play for, those other schools have a significantly higher track record than VT, especially recently. No player is going to come to VT because of one other higher rated buddy who also decides to, when they can obviously see that VT is not going to the playoff and that they have the same or higher chance of making the pros by going to the better current school.

why? And your two examples are perfect for explaining why Belfort will not be bringing recruits with him. Davis committed to VT and when he couldn't convince others to join him, he went to a better conference with a better chance of making the playoff, same or better chance at making the pros. Maybe the reason he committed to VT in the first place, was that he really wasn't all that highly rated. And Curry - same thing - he was TOLD he could convince other highly rated players to join him at UVa and when he discovered that that wasn't true, he went some place else. The common thread pretty much everywhere is: players don't/can't convince other players to join them. Those players may choose the same school for similar reasons, but it isn't because of another recruit. And I'm sure there are a handful of examples where it may be true, but it isn't at VT and it never will be. ** Edited by IronBlood at 3/24/2023, 12:50:57 PM

let's say I did. Who do you expect will follow Belfort?

guys in the pros. Are you saying they are all just friends of one of another and that's why they chose the best schools that put the most players in the nfl? **** Throw in NIL money too. ** Edited by IronBlood at 3/24/2023, 11:55:33 AM

always. But our first three recruiting classes under CMY netted 9 recruits of which only 3 are still on the roster. Cattoor will be the first VT player under CMY to stay his entire career. Maddox and Pedulla have the chance to be 2, 3 on that list, subject to change always. I'd argue that a 33% retention rate is not conducive to an overall winning program in the long run. I think you get that up to 50-60% and then it becomes a realistic strategy to build a roster from your own recruits first and then supplement with transfers. I believe CMY's system relies on developing/building up players, so I don't think he could employ an only transfers strategy and be effective. I do think that when he has a really good roster, spending capital on the Darren Buchanan's of the world is foolish. VT could have used a 6th guard this year and it could have been the difference between making the tournament and not. But I think if you look at K State, there's a really argument that their strategy is the better one. I don't know the players on their team outside of N'Guessan, but obviously we developed him into the player he is now - K State didn't have to take the early career lumps, they got the finished product. An obviously, he wanted to leave to go to K State - so it was a mutually beneficial decision for both. That said, it may just be they hit on a higher number of transfers than you can reasonably expect a team to do on a yearly basis. They've jump started their program though with an Elite 8. And you can't get to the Elite 8 if you don't make the tournament to begin with.

It's hard to believe we continue to buy in to the other narratives. That's just yarn.

guards two years ago.

of TSL much less 70% of the entire fan base. But you continue to rack up tons of points in the imaginary vendetta game you have going in your head. You shoot everyone and then point out the handful of bad guys among the dead.

disagreed with him on any topic with the exact same brush even when it is not accurate. He's not an honest poster on these message boards. ** Glad to hear that Darius' dad is doing much better. Best wishes to him and his entire family. ** Edited by IronBlood at 3/22/2023, 4:21:36 PM

Talent may be off at VT, but a 'lack of combine attendees' doesn't really mean that much. And Talent is down across most of the ACC, but it also doesn't seem to have hurt Duke or FSU or Wake or NC State in the win column.