Who you callin a cheater?

I would be shocked if Meyer were unaware the kid was on an official visit......I would expect most coaches are clued in to who's visiting who. That said, it is also possible that he did not.....in any event, if he did know the kid was visiting, imho, it's a punk move. I'm sure he believes it to be quite clever, but I think there are a certain percentage of kids that would be turned off by the behavior....just my two cents worth.

 

I have been following this thread with no real interest one way or the other, as many of the remarks are based on some hearsay and some fact.

It does pain me to see fellow skyboxers starting to generate some hard feelings on both sides.

Maybe we all need to step back and not be too rash in our assessments and comments.

Food for thought?

Don

 

Good points Bill.

I have seen a couple of criticisms of Meyer on this but I doubt Richardson called up Tenn and asked for a visit. I think Tenn was most likely pretty aggressive about calling a player already committed to Florida.

What does it all mean....squat.

As long as no NCAA rules are broken then all kinds of tactics can and will be used by all concerned. I find it very amusing that anyone here can place their school's tactics as above others ethically because I just don't think we have any Division One coaches on this board who have the inside scoop as to what what their school's recruiters do or don't do in the recruiting wars.

 

You're doubting my inside connections?

Don's right at this point we're all splitting hairs and conjecturing on stuff we are far removed from except the rumours on internet message boards!

Terry

 

That's a good point, Don and has somewhat been my point all along. I don't think Kiffin's comments were intended to harm the integrity of the University of Florida and I don't have a problem with the University of Florida beyond the fact that I hate them every September with a passion. I think they run a great athletics program and I've even come to the defense of many Gators on this board when they were involved in disputes with fans of other schools. My thing is, that you have to consider Kiffin's comments within the context he made them. IMO, it's the same thing with the whole fax thing involving the Pahokee coach as well. Kiffin was simply trying to make himself look good in front of a group of fans and boosters who have their doubts about his abilities. Tennessee had a nice little recruiting class but Marlon Brown spurning Tennessee for Georgia hurt and I'm sure it hurt Kiffin and Co.'s pride. Kiffin obviously made some ill-advised and uninformed statements that I can see how they would upset some. However, I don't think this is quite worthy of the outrage it's swelled into. I think Richardson was somewhat the jewel of this class for several reasons and Kiffin played it up to the utmost how much his staff had to overcome to get him to sign the dotted line. In doing so, he made a false accusation and he probably even lied about the whole fax fiasco. I'm not going to sit here and say that I think those two things are OK because I don't think they are. However, I understand Kiffin's reasoning for doing so. It's kind of like the prize bass you catch that gets bigger every single time you tell the story and the difficulties you overcome to reel him in get exaggerated each time but in reality it was a a nice fish, to be sure, but it wasn't quite the state record that you had to fight for an hour while wading upstream over boulders either. Maybe that's a poor analogy but I think that's kinda the direction Kiffin went with this for better and apparently for worse.

Now, there have been alot of assertions made about the direction Kiffin and Co. are going to steer the Tennessee program and it does remain to be seen if he can back up even half of his trash talk. However, I think as an outsider, you have to understand a little perspective in this instance as well. I like Phil Fulmer and up until I saw that Tennessee was no longer competitive with Florida and Bama, I was a supporter of his. However, for the last 10+ years, Tennessee fans have sat back and had to listen to Spurrier's jabs, watch Meyer run up the score and obviously love doing so, and see the cockiness of guys like Saban, Richt, and Miles while the big man in Orange just simply stood on the sideline with his aw shucks attitude apparent on his face. I have a lot of respect for Fulmer and how he ran his program and the heights to which he made Tennessee fans get accustomed to. But it was painfully obvious that Tennessee football had fallen behind the times in a league in which the teams kept getting tougher, the coaches kept getting brasher, and the wins kept getting fewer. All the while, Fulmer seemed to be content to sit on his haunches while his players' off the field behavior made him the laughing stock of the college football world and the fear and respect that the rest of the league had for Tennessee football continued to erode. Fulmer seemed content to let his capital that he had built in the mid to late 90s carry him through. The two years Cutcliffe was at Tennessee gave Tennessee fans some hope but this past season was flat-out painful and I realized that Fulmer couldn't do it without Coach Cut. Now, I don't think anyone loves their university as much as Fulmer did but that only gets you so far. I truly felt sorry for the man at the press conference announcing he was done. It was like the man was beaten down and suffering the most painful divorce imaginable. It was sad.

In steps Lane Kiffin. He isn't quite as good as the other coaches in the SEC at brash statements and having a cocky air but he sure does try. He's a little awkward in front of the mike and slips up but he makes sure everyone knows that he doesn't take anything off of anybody. He has a clear plan and some of the things he did during recruiting (telling a 5* QB and a 4* RB that they would sit the bench if they came to Tennessee) left me scratching my head. But he's different for Vol fans. He ain't Phillip Fulmer and that just might be a good thing.

 

I tend to agree Aquila and I have said so that Kiffin is more or less whistling through the graveyard...trying to show how he will instill new swagger into a Vol program that has lost a lot of it in the past few years.

While I understand it...it is a pretty thin line he walks before he has even seen his team in one practice.

I would think he would want a little of that under his belt and maybe a surprise win or two before he declares all out war on the team that has won the National Championship 2 of the last 3 years and has 22 players in the two-deep coming back on defense and an offense run by Tim Tebow with many weapons returning.

It's one thing to be brash and confident etc. but it's another to be foolish and place even more jeopardy and hardship on your team....which IMHO he has done here.

Nothing Tenn showed last year makes me think they have will have the second coming of Stafford and Moreno and dance in the UF endzone in the Swamp no less.

So why keep poking the dragon when you have lost your sword?

 

Look guys, LK was mistaken in his assumption that what Florida did was a violation. Where was the same disgust for the comments accusing Kiffin of the violation of contacting a recruit before taking the exam? If I had seen it then, I would condone your lunacy now.

Bill and I see eye to eye on most things here but today, we are in opposite corners. You gators are just getting a small dose of what your beloved spuzzie spewed for years. You were on the sidelines reveling in the joy of him attacking anything that was Tennessee.

DEAL WITH IT!!!

 

I sure have to agree with that one and am dealing with it just fine.

 

And to that I say....it's been all over the news media in every outlet.

It's not just a Skybox phenomena.

But in any event I am glad he did it absolutely.

No way UF sleepwalks through another hot September game this year now that LK has declared his little war on the the rest of his rivals.

 

It’s been a long time in Knoxville since the football coach did anything to stir up the team, the fans or the other schools. It’s time one did. And it’s nice to see that the other SEC coaches that have owned UT with Fulmer as coach, are now feeling a little threatened by him. Yes, I said threatened. And unlike the other posts I see here, I’m not going to cast aspersions on your coach’s tactics, cause I don’t know the reality, just stories that are passed around. This is not the first coach in the SEC to fire potshots at other coaches, just the latest. I’d much rather listen to this than every day to see that another player is in trouble. As I have said since moving to management, “the more the staff focus on me the less time they have to fight with each other and cause trouble”. As for Kiffin, let’s let him run til we see what he can do on the field. Lot’s of folks talk, just look at this topic alone. But, not everyone can back it up though all deserve the chance to try.
As for Spurrier, just because a reprimand was never given does not mean he was not out of line. The SEC seems to be “taking a stand” with Kiffin.
I wasn’t going to answer this, but I’m dang tired of the insults and put downs of MY COACH and his efforts to change things with OUR fans. We may not win lots of games this year. And that’s all right as long as the team believes they can win anywhere, anytime and play to their potential.
Oh well. I guess I need to just go do something else. If my coach is bad, everybody mouths off. When I get a new coach that tries to stir the pot, as others have done in the past, lots of people complain. I guess Tennessee and their poor little football coach just can’t win this year…. But they will in time, yes in time.

See ya

 

GET 'EM BOSS LADY (VOL)!!

 

And BTW....since some of you over zealous skybox creatures (I'm counting everyone here, because AJ loves a full attentive audience) are so hung up on facts & stats, I'll lay this little diddy on ya;

During Dr. Tom Osborne's career as the head coach of THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS, his average recruiting class was ranked at 17. That's seventeen for those of you that need to see it in another language.

Can't tell ya right now what Devaney averaged, other than his '71 team is consistantly ranked #2 all time behind the legendary 1995 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS.

What's my point?

We got a guy that has Devaney's balls, football smarts and Coach Osborne in the office next door...THERE'S A TRAIN COMING YOUR WAY, AND MY HAPPY ASS FACE IS GONNA BE ON THE FRONT OF THAT MONSTER...IT'S COMING, JUST LIKE THAT SILVER STREAK TRAIN.

I want to thank those that have reminded me of the Marine in me that has always existed.

Tick Toc, Tick Toc....choo choo...can you hear it?

:twisted:

 

Make sure that tick tok isn't a time bomb AJ.

 

Fair enough Tom and Cindy. I've known both of you a long time and met both of you and very much hope to do the same sometime in the future. During that time I've known you all didn't care much for Spurrier and have accepted that.

I guess we are kind of on the same page now where you all don't care that much for Spurrier and I freely admit that Kiffin baffles me with his actions and really feel he's headed on a road that's going to cause him trouble not us.

But the point is let's just remain friends knowing you don't like Spurrier and I don't care for Kiffin.

And with that I hope I'm done with this topic and hope it will die soon.

 

I blame this whole blow up on Nick Satan!!

 

As I said...I have no problem with what Kiffin is trying to do.

I do think he is a little premature about it and unwisely so....but that's his business and that of his fans.

However.....he accused Meyer of outright cheating on a recruit that had been committed to Fla and he was way off the mark and was rightly reprimanded for it.

The part about Meyer not forgetting it is quite alright with me..... 8)

 

Here is some Gator fan backlash getting revved up already and it exemplifies the general feeling about Kiffin and Tenn that he generated with his comments:

( I pulled the link because of a couple of less than flattering comments but suffice to say some big RUTS predictions were being made over on Gatorsports)

I don't believe Kiffin has made anyone apprehensive but rather he has galvanized Gator nation into a unit of one inflamed bunch that will now get excited about playing the Vols and that is not so good for LK.

 

As far as I see things the only thing left here is to have more hard feelings. I don't want that and don't think any of you do. I'm locking the topic. If Tom or Terry disagree they can start a new topic. Otherwise let it be.