I just wanted to start a post and get thoughts on Justin Worley (I am a Gamecock fan, so I don't follow UT football to the level that all of you do, although I am pretty knowledgable for a non-fan). I am the voice of Northwestern High School (Justin's school) on the radio (volfanjo does the color) and spent the last three years watching Justin light up the scoreboard. so I know what he is capable of on the high school level and how that should transition into the college game. I have called play by play for games involving phenomenal quarterbacks over the years including: Chris Leak, Derek Ross, Willy Korn, Syvelle Newton. None of them are even in the same ballpark as Justin Worley..he can make the throws needed, he is a born leader, and his knowledge of the game is 2nd to none. I know all Vol fans are excited about Bray...but from seeing Justin for 3 years, I assure you there will be no drop off when #14 takes over (or #17 as we know him).
Brinkley's good people. But it was awkward how he got a half chub everytime he saw Worley on the sidelines Saturday.
He's in a much better situation then Bray last year as he can red-shirt, immerse in the playbook and work on strength and size and will have a much more mature team around him. He should be good to go in a couple of years.
It will be interesting to see if he sees the field. Peterman is rated higher coming out than Worley was
the only reason Worley wasn't rated higher was because they thought he was a "system QB" and amassed all of the yards because Northwestern throws 95% of the time out of the spread...yes..his numbers were inflated for that reason..but he still completed 73% of his throws...only threw 6 picks (incredible considering he had something like 580 attempts)...so that tells you he can make the throws...and then take into count that he was throwing to receivers who will not be moving beyond high school football, coupled with an offensive line that only one player moved on to a Division II school...and you can see that Worley is deserving of much more than a 3 star...he was named Gatorade National Player of the year...everyone on that list, for the most part, was a college star and many are now stars in the NFL....Worley will not only see the field, but he will go down in Tennessee history as a star before all is said and done...I assure you of that...I just hope its not at the expense of my South Carolina Gamecocks...
I think very highly of Bray and find it hard to imagine Worley being better, but what you say is very encouraging. Based on the teams situation, he could have more success.
I don't think for a UT quarterback to be successful that he has to beat South Carolina all the time...I know UT fans look at Carolina more like a Kentucky or a Vanderbilt, but the bottom line is USC is catching up...a lot of that has to do with recruiting...USC is keeping most of their talented South Carolina players at home...for 4 straight years..USC has kept the top player in state...2008 Stephon Gilmore (#1) Alshon Jeffrey (#2)..in 2009 it was Marcus Lattimore (#1) and in 2010 it was JaDeveon Clowney (#1 in the nation)..and for next year..USC already has the state's #1 player Shaq Roland commited...so the Gamecocks are doing a good job beating Tennessee in an area where UT used to pull the state's top players... going back to 2005, when Spurrier arrived..the series is tied 3-3...USC has really closed the gap in the games: 2005: USC 16, UT 15 Knoxville 2006: #8 UT 31, USC 24 Columbia 2007: UT 27, #16 USC 24 OT Knoxville 2008: USC 27, UT 6 Columbia (the end of the Fulmer era) 2009: UT 31, #22 USC 13 Knoxville (Kiffin's black jersey night) 2010: #20 USC 38, UT 24 Columbia so if you look at the scores...every games was competitive for Carolina minus the Black jersey game....for UT...the Fulmer game was the lone blowout....all of the other contests came down to the fourth quarter....so the days of South Carolina being counted as automatic win are over...you can still count Kentucky (until they manage a win once every two decades) and Vandy..but I think Carolina has to be viewed as a toss up every year...Spurrier has done an excellent job changing the mindset in South Carolina that you don't have to go out of state to win games, play in bowls, get drafted, etc...but UT isnt alone, South Carolina has beaten Georgia 3 out of the last 5 years, including 2 straight...and beat Flordia convicingly in Gainesville last year...so the gap has closed somewhat...by no means am I saying as program USC is better than those three mentioned..but South Carolina is doing the right things and with the talent being assembled in Columbia...will be competitive in the SEC for years to come...
USCe has beaten TN in 05, 08 and 2010. Those are the 3 worst teams Tennessee has fielded since the late 80's. I wouldn't say USCe is necessarily "catching up" so much as Tennessee has fallen to USCe's level. And I say this not trying to be a condescending [penis] about USCe either.
Call it whatever you like...but if thats the case...then Tennessee, Florida, Georgia have all dropped to South Carolina's level....however I am sure on some level, whatever you want to call it...South Carolina dropping to UT's level...or moving up to UT's level....I am certain that South Carolina's stranglehold on keeping our best in state has both helped the Gamecocks and hurt Tennessee...Fulmer, Richt, Meyer used to OWN this state..for years....Haynesworth was a beast here...how about Carlos Dunlap...or even AJ Green....you don't see that happening much anymore...I think that is where South Carolina is "catching up"...and you can say UT is dropping back..but I think its South Carolina's catching up that is causing the others to drop back...South Carolina used to be prime area for those three programs..but not so much anymore...
You have to understand, Tennessee has been BAD lately. Really bad. Your recruiting example shows how far we've fallen in terms of getting top players regionally. It isn't that I think USCe is Kentucky. It's that Tennessee expects to be winning the division when it is on it's game. We won't be winning the division if we are losing to South Carolina, given we have to play Alabama every year and who else is in the East.
How many wins against UF has USCe had in the past 20 years? UGA is on a slow decline to mediocrity. It's true that teams can't cherry pick the state of South Carolina like they used to. You guys are 2-2 in the last 4 against Vandy. Does that mean Vandy is on the rise?
USCe has had back-to-back HOF coaches with national titles on their resumes and they have an SEC East Division title to show for it. Have they raised their level of play? Yes. However it's also silly to ignore the fact that UGA's coach is close to being fired, UT fired Fulmer, lost Kiffin after a year and has had three losing seasons in the last six years. Before '05 it had been 16 years since our last losing season and then we have 3 in 6. My take is USCe is benefiting from UT and UGA being down and adding a Spurrier equals getting more recruits than you did in the past. When Spurrier leaves my belief is you take a step back.