Wes Walker

ScGold

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Read an article where he said "no disrespect to tech, but everything around here is just more professional." I guess the "culture" changed after the ut kicker transferred to tech. Funny he said the same thing about tech vs ut. Sat down south is the page. Definitely slanted toward the $ec for most articles and subscribers.
 
Vespidae

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ScGold said:
Read an article where he said "no disrespect to tech, but everything around here is just more professional." I guess the "culture" changed after the ut kicker transferred to tech. Funny he said the same thing about tech vs ut. Sat down south is the page. Definitely slanted toward the $ec for most articles and subscribers.
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A friend sent me his tweet and I was literally, just about to post this.

I'm fairly close to the UT sports program. I visit monthly and know some of the administrators, former players, coaches etc.

This is my take ... Tennessee runs a professional operation and they do it extremely well. It's one of the few schools where athletics is part of the school itself and not a separate athletic association as we see at Tech. Funding it is not a problem ... massive merchandising revenue and ticket sales fuel just about anything they want. Changing coaches means $5 a seat price increase. They have excellent PR, media and communications not just in Knoxville, but across the state. Facilities are Top 5 in the country.

The BIG PROBLEM UT has, and has always had, is the power concentrated in the hands of a few boosters ... namely, the Haslams. They call the shots in return for the hundreds of millions they have pumped into the program. It was a 12 year descent into hell after Kiffin quit and ultimately the Butch Jones debacle, and Pruitt's negative influence on the program (along with the cash stuffed into McDonald's bags) created a hostile internal environment.

All that is gone now. Heupel is doing very well under the new Athletic leadership, the baseball team is rocking it, and the general feeling on campus is positive and upbeat. I was just there for a game and you can feel the old UT is back.

By way of comparison, Auburn also suffers from the influence of 3-4 key alumni. THEY are the ones making the decisions, not the AD and not the coaches. Everyone at Alabama (which used to operate the same way), agrees that Saban's legacy is that he "professionalized" the Alabama AA by kicking out all the boosters. "Hire me or fire me, but I'm in charge."

Tech will always find it challenging until they do likewise. The AA didn't even have a strategic plan until a few years ago. If there is ONE THING that Cabrera could do that doesn't involve state funds it would be to professionalize the AA. IMO.
 
DaDodd

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Makes a lot of since. Collins' "culture" may be fun for the players but it hasn't seemed to be effective at instilling discipline and developing players on the field. I honestly think he just wants to players to like him and he's scared to use too much "tough love" to develop them. He worries too much about not pushing them to hard and how the players feel. Growth is painful. I think his great love for his players makes him too protective of them which hinders his able to fully develop them. I say this as an outsiders point of view but I'd be hard pressed to say there isn't some truth to it.

In the end, I know we are all frustrated at him but he is human too. We all have failures in life and they are hard. I truly think he has a great heart and love for this players and wants nothing but the best for them. That doesn't always make you a good football coach but it still means you have a good heart. I bet he is equally as frustrated. I know I've been very critical of him and I am not vouching for him to stay but at the end of the day I need to remind myself that he is person. Some will say well he has millions of dollars so he'll be fine. But I believe that money cannot buy happiness. I hope he can move on from Tech and go the Saban Coach Rehabilitation School.

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

Tennessee DB calls Vols ‘much more professional’ than former school Georgia Tech

One Tennessee defensive back who transferred in is pleased with what he's transitioning into.
www.saturdaydownsouth.com www.saturdaydownsouth.com
 
DaDodd

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Vespidae said:
Tech will always find it challenging until they do likewise. The AA didn't even have a strategic plan until a few years ago. If there is ONE THING that Cabrera could do that doesn't involve state funds it would be to professionalize the AA. IMO.
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How do you "professionalize" the AA? You already said it is separate from the school.
 
Lotta Booze

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ScGold said:
Read an article where he said "no disrespect to tech, but everything around here is just more professional." I guess the "culture" changed after the ut kicker transferred to tech. Funny he said the same thing about tech vs ut. Sat down south is the page. Definitely slanted toward the $ec for most articles and subscribers.
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The difference between Cimaglia's and Walker's comparisons of the programs could very well be due to the coach change at UTK. Cimaglia was there under Pruitt, Walker is there under Heupel.
 
GTLorenzo

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www.knoxnews.com

Tennessee football, Wesley Walker turn out to be the correct match

Defensive back Wesley Walker transferred to Tennessee football from Georgia Tech in March. He has made four tackles in two games.
www.knoxnews.com

“I wanted to come in and be coached hard and held to a standard of a pro,” Walker said. “So far, this is exactly what I wanted.”

Walker’s desires ran deeper, however, into how he would be coached.

“I want to be held to a standard where even if I felt like I had a good day that I am told I didn’t do something right,” Walker said. “Just feel that pressure of being held to a standard every day. Being a pro because that is ultimately where I wanted to go. Just listening to the coaches and having them hold me to the highest standard. That is what I wanted.”

Walker saw a professional attitude and approach to practices.

“The whole feel here is professional,” Walker said. “This is no shot at Georgia Tech because they are a well-ran program. It is different here. They trust the players to want to be great for themselves. It is not as tense in terms of always being on the players’ backs. They expect you to want to be great.”
 
Vespidae

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DaDodd said:
How do you "professionalize" the AA? You already said it is separate from the school.
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Cabrera is also the Chair of the Georgia Tech Athletic Association BoT. He hires the AD and fires the AD.

How to professionalize? Start with the strategic plan. Is it relevant? Realistic? Achievable? Is there a vision to create a fully professional operation? Look at Staffing ... review the qualifications of every one reporting to TStan and one skip level down. Make sure they understand the vision/mission and agree to support the Plan. Create metrics that are tracked weekly. Meet with the AD monthly (I suggest Sunday breakfast) to review. Insist on accountability and results. Be involved in fundraising, advocacy and facilities.

I can assure you that Randy Boyd as President of the University of Tennessee, is intimately involved with the athletics department. My guess is that Cabrera might meet with TStan at a periodic GTAA meeting and that's it. That's why donors are quoted in the newspaper rather than the GT guys with the responsibility of making it happen.
 
CuseJacket

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Another data point from Jahmyr Gibbs in the interview below.

Question: "What's the biggest difference in the culture between the Alabama program and Georgia Tech?"

Jahmyr: "It's not really a huge difference because there's a lot of coaches that were at Alabama that are at GT right now, so they brought that culture there, so it's basically the same thing."

 
TooTall

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It seems that the news that ADTS rebuffed a few boosters who wanted to fire CGC after last season show that we do have an AD with a backbone. Right or wrong, he is not letting someone with money tell him what to do. Yet he was bashed on this platform. Should we be like auburn or Nebraska and owe millions upon millions to have coaches not be here? We've been there and for the first time in a long time, were not paying a coach not to be here. We are able to take that money and reinvest it in our programs. ADTS is doing a great job imo.
Now in relation to the interview, anytime some one says "no disrespect...", it can be interpreted the same as "I not racist, but..."
And UT fans are quickly becoming the most annoying fans in the nation. Still have a rough test in being more annoying than the brown men who bark are each other, but the gap is shrinking.
 
iceeater1969

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DaDodd said:
How do you "professionalize" the AA? You already said it is separate from the school.
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Great point
Gt has gtaa in a separate little corne.
I think make a strategic plan should be made by the Prez . It's stated goal should be to make gt football highly competitive.
 
Vespidae

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MonroeJacket said:
What difference does it make who is signing the check? They’re getting paid to play football. Period. And some of these kids get massive deals because they are delivering/expected to deliver. You sign a big NIL deal, the check signer wants to see results. You don’t deliver?
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There's the flip side. A student came to see me yesterday. Plays for Auburn football. He's failing the class and when I asked him what's troubling him, "Man, I just have so much going on!"

He's cashing in. But he's not focused on school OR football. I predict he will be out of school by summer.
 
JoJaTeck

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ScGold said:
Read an article where he said "no disrespect to tech, but everything around here is just more professional." I guess the "culture" changed after the ut kicker transferred to tech. Funny he said the same thing about tech vs ut. Sat down south is the page. Definitely slanted toward the $ec for most articles and subscribers.
Click to expand...
I guess all the professionalism went to the football team as the baseball team lacked any semblance of civility.
 
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