Professor_Falkon

Is it talent or is it coaching? I think coaching has more to do with it that talent. For instance, the majority of D1 talent in the state comes from middle and west Tennessee. However, this year like every year the majority of teams playing for state championships are from the east. Maryville constantly dominates 6A but has very few players go into D1. Same with Alcoa and Fulton.

+1

Because UT never puts wide receivers in the NFL...RIGHT!.. it's obvious you're not a Vol fan but the fact is, UT has likely put more WR's in the NFL as anyone. Certainly more than the basketball school.

I always heard (rumor of corse) that it was his dad pushing him to ND.

I too pull for him every week. Now I hope Tenn can get in on Rogers, maybe even bring his father back in the fold.

I too pull for him every week. Now I hope Tenn can get in on Rogers, maybe even bring his father back in the fold.

I'm no insider but if my memory serves me, Kentucky was the first and only early SEC offer and Tennessee may have been the only late offer. I don't remember any other SEC teams being involved with him. As you said, this happens sometimes. My original point was UT has missed on very few local players who could have actually helped them with Cobb being the ONE who does stand out. Harrison Smith was ND all along.

I don't think UT necessarily overlooked Cobb. They did get in late, maybe because of his desire to play quarterback. There is no question he could have helped the Vols.

Again, your opionion vs my facts. Here's my opinion, if he had come to UT and concentrated on WR, he might have been an even better receiver. If I'm not mistaken, UT's WR coach at that time was Kippy Brown who went on into the NFL to coach for several years.

The only thing I stated is what has been well documented. UT recruited Cobb as a WR but he wanted a chance at QB so he chose KY. UT has put many WR's in the NFL. All well documented.

Your opinion... where do you coach?

Yeah, because they've never put a WR in the pros... lol

He chose KY because they told him he could play quarterback and UT wanted him as a wide receiver. He's in the pros now, guess where he's playing?

The only local guys I can think of who went on to excel at other schools are Randall Cobb at Alcoa, Harrison Smith at Knoxville Catholic, and the lineman from Carter who went to North Carolina. Tennessee recruited both Cobb and Smith hard. I'm not sure about the lineman from Carter.

I'm curious exactly which east tennessee players you guys think UT has passed on that would have helped them?

I don't have a dog in this fight but, I hate to tell you guys..football is a rough sport. I too saw the game on TV and other than the personal foul (witch I thought was borderline) I didn't see him do anything wrong. He obviously played with a little mean streak and he played till the whistle blew. Just as I'm sure he's taught and will surely be taught at ut. As for the comments in the paper, probably not the best choice of words for print but I have no doubt those were the very instructions given to the team in the locker room. As mentioned he's 16 and will mature in those regards as he grows. I thought it was a good hard fought game with the best team coming out on top.

From Prepxtra tweet: Site/Time Change: Farragut v Alcoa today -- 430 at Maryville College. http://twitter.com/prepxtra

Very nice site! One thing I noticed, Zak Tait is featured on the recruiting page but not listed on the roster. Has he fully recovered from last seasons injury?

I am a Catholic fan and hope they finally go all the way this year (I was there in 2003 when they lost to BGA in a heart breaker). However, they are not the same team since the Tait kid went down. The running game is way off. AE or Fulton could easily beat them. Certainly not a gimme as some suggest.

Whoa.... if the players are half as fired up as the fans, this is going to be a heck of a game. I have seen both teams play on TV and Catholic looked like the better team. That said, ole Buck always has Fulton playing better as the season progresses. I expect a good clean(relatively) hard fought game. I hope and expect the fans will keep it clean(relatively) in the stands as well. I predict: Catholic by 7 based on their advantage in the trenches, their home field advantage, and of course... the bagpipe lady.. /cool.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="B)" border="0" alt="cool.gif" />

ruse?, Thought you might appreciate that bit of wit. Whether spirited senior prank or motivational message from Fulton coaches, didn't seem to matter as Catholic went on to win the game. Plus: everyone knows, this is not the game that counts. The game that counts is the Playoff game where these two fine teams generally manage to meet again. I have been to a couple of those and there is some serious pad popping in those games. I think I'll catch this weeks game on TV and if they meet again in the playoffs this year, I fully intend to be there for high school football at it's very best. I believe this may be the year that the Irish finally break through and make it all the way to the state championship. We shall see, still a lot of football to be played and Catholic has already suffered one serious blow losing the Tait kid for the year.

Yes I believe that was last year. I am certainly not an insider but. believe I also recall there was some speculation that the Fulton staff may have pulled off that "ruse" themselves as a motivation tool. Just speculation, I'm sure..

How does everyone see this annual war stacking up?