Per Thamel: Heupel informed team this morning that Vols would move on from Nico.

[ochocinco]

Right now I'm not sure there's too many programs that want to be seen as aligning with team Nico on this one.

Exactly, Maybe some slime like Belichick. Him tampering trying to start with a bang would make sense in all this. Contact and promises from him could shake team Nico enough to make such a stupid decision. There’s more to this story than money. There has to be.

 

[madbamahater]

It is absolutely refreshing to have a head coach that is a no excuses no nonsense guy. After the carnival acts that were coaches before at UT, he is the polar opposite. Thank goodness!!

 

[landscapingvol]

Much like the Ball family? LaMelo is a star who is gonna make more than half a billion dollars in his career, Lonzo had horrible injury luck but will clear over 100 mil, and even the Fredo of the bunch signed a multimillion dollar rap deal.

I was commenting on his meddling and shoe fiasco for Lonzo

 

[LegionnaireOfTheMiserable]

I was commenting on his meddling and shoe fiasco for Lonzo

LaVar didn’t hurt his kids. Lonzo made it, LaMelo made it, LiAngelo never was going to make it. Gives Papa Iamleavin way too much credit to compare him to LaVar Ball

 

[sonofUT62]

I wish during the recruiting process for QBs we would ask them what kind of car they plan to buy. If it’s a Bugatti we can just move on.

 

[TN1111]

Surely that can't be real. That's pretty outlandish.

Apparently it's a parody site. Hard to tell reality from fiction nowadays.

Nothing surprises me anymore.

 

[lastlapuncle]

A Bryce Brown family repeat.He;s gone now-thanks for what you did for us,bur, I think you stepped all on your sexual equipment.Go Big Orange!

 

[rocketskates]

this is a great post by Jack Mac. I'm so glad that the narrative around this is not going to make Tennessee look like a total embarrassment like these things usually do.

Nico is being portrayed as a kind of mid QB who was overpaid by Tennessee and college football is dying in front of our eyes because of NIL. this is great for Tennessee.

Agreed. This is one of the few instances where the national opinion seems to be on our side. And to be honest, let’s say we pony up the 4 million and Nico has another mid year. You know the narrative would be “har har har, stupid Tennessee ponied up all that money for an average quarterback. Typical Tennessee, etc.” I’m proud that Josh and the program stood their ground on this one.

 

[landscapingvol]

LaVar didn’t hurt his kids. Lonzo made it, LaMelo made it, LiAngelo never was going to make it. Gives Papa Iamleavin way too much credit to compare him to LaVar Ball

Probably a lot of truth to that

 

[loservol]

I agree, that certainly has much to do with it. We’ve been a bit spoiled by the ridiculous level of recruitment by Kirby and Co, and we’ve been spoiled by some recent years of success. That probably makes the loss of Beck kind of taken with a grain of salt for many.

Conversely though, it’s a bit different for how it happened with Nico. You guys are a program finally on the rise with a promising coach in CJH, and you just unexpectedly lost your QB, whom many thought not long ago would be the missing piece. It sucks!!! I know what it feels like to be in such a situation. My goodness I can’t tell you how many years that I felt that GA was so very good but never quite good enough. We went through year after year of “Damn, we are really very good, but shite, never good enough!”

Have faith in CJH though, he has already turned things around! He will handle this as well! I honestly think things are still looking good for you guys, Keep the Faith Vols, Heupel’s got this!!!

Even with him, this coming season was going to be a struggle. Mainly because I don't know if there was another position player on the team that could of picked up the slack and hide Nico's lack of everything related to being a quarterback.
If the team was going to have any success this year, he would had to been the one to step up and lead the team, and there were no signs he had the ability to be a leader (even though he was being more than well paid to be one).

 

[0059862]

Good.

My response exactly. When I first saw this in the national news I was so happy. He couldn't even run Heupel's offense.

 

[Orange931]

Call me crazy, but I don’t think this is gonna hurt us that bad. I really wish Nico would’ve thought about the team more, but he made his decision. We can get to the playoff with our new starting QB.

 

[rocketskates]

Call me crazy, but I don’t think this is gonna hurt us that bad. I really wish Nico would’ve thought about the team more, but he made his decision. We can get to the playoff with our new starting QB.

A good defense and a strong running game will get it done again. Most QBs can throw shovels, screens and scramble one out of every 50 snaps. I was one of Nico’s biggest supporters and defenders on here but the reality is we can be just as good this year.

I was actually more excited about this season to see the Star/Bishop/Lewis combo than Nico.

 

[robcovol]

I predict that quote by CJH is going to wind up on a plaque that will be prominently displayed in the UT athletic complex.

 

[DirtyDawg]

Even with him, this coming season was going to be a struggle. Mainly because I don't know if there was another position player on the team that could of picked up the slack and hide Nico's lack of everything related to being a quarterback.
If the team was going to have any success this year, he would had to been the one to step up and lead the team, and there were no signs he had the ability to be a leader (even though he was being more than well paid to be one).

One thing I do know is that a few years ago when CJH took over you guys got Big armed Milton to transfer in and Milton started right away, but you also got a guy named Hooker to join the party.

Hooker finally takes over and the rest is history. No you didn’t win a championship, but you did go from a team of less reverence to a team that will kick your ass!!!

My point I guess is that eventually CJH will get his guy at QB, and we’ve seen what that potentially brings. It sucks that it isn’t Nico, but shite happens. I think your coach is the real deal, this is a speed bump and nothing more.

 

[DaddyChad]

Yes—the warning signs were there. Pajama pants, flashy jewelry, all the hype, etc. We were just so fragile as a program that we were desperate for any elite QB prospect to sign. He was a big prospect to land, but now our program is on solid footing, and it’s all about team chemistry. Can’t have cancers in the locker room and this renegotiation had to be a big one. I think coach made the right choice and we’ll be better for it in the long haul. We won’t be the only team this happens to, but at least prospects will know we don’t put anyone above the best interest of the team. A TN football player has it as good as anyone in the country. Facilities, fans, coaches, and gameday atmosphere is top notch. If you’re loyal to TN, our fans will love you forever. That’s a special thing that money simply cannot buy.

My hope is this guy is remembered as a cautionary tale.

 

[DaddyChad]

As far as I'm concerned, CJH got exactly what he deserved with this whole NI situation. H has treated this brat and his family with kid gloves since day one. Agreeing to red shirt him as a freshman, while having the collective pay him 2.4 million to set on his ass. Then when he does play as a red shirt freshman, he is average at best. Middle of the pack in the SEC, yet garners another 2.4 million. IMO, this is why his Dad and agent were seeking more money. The realization hit them squarely in the face, that NI simply isn't nearly as good as the hype that surrounded him, and they better make all the bank they can, while they can. If he does get drafted at some point, the way he left UT will bite him in the ass. Character flaws matter to many NFL franchises, and the way he handled, or allowed others to handle his departure from UT is a major flaw in character. The best thing that can happen from this is for CJH to learn a valuable lesson. He has done many great things as UT's head coach, but the one area he has struggled mightly in is decision making at QB, and that is so strange given his success as a QB himself. I sure hope FB proves to be the answer moving forward. In the mean time let's support the young men we have, who want to be here and win.

Spyre decided what to offer him. Heupel had nothing to do with that package at the time. Heupel has a pretty good record with QBs here and everywhere else he has been.

 

[MemphisVol77]

One thing I do know is that a few years ago when CJH took over you guys got Big armed Milton to transfer in and Milton started right away, but you also got a guy named Hooker to join the party.

Hooker finally takes over and the rest is history. No you didn’t win a championship, but you did go from a team of less reverence to a team that will kick your ass!!!

My point I guess is that eventually CJH will get his guy at QB, and we’ve seen what that potentially brings. It sucks that it isn’t Nico, but shite happens. I think your coach is the real deal, this is a speed bump and nothing more.

Who knows about the car and actual amount of money Nico's camp was asking for? Even if it's accurate, that doesn't mean they realistically expected to receive it. They could have been expectng a counter offer. The bigger issue is the extortive way Nico's camp went about it.

Maybe trying to leverage a Heisman runner-up, who made his bones as a coach developing QB's, wasn't the greatest idea. In hindsight, I'm more surprised that UT won the media PR war than walking away from Nico.

As has been noted, we're not at the elite roster level like you and a few others, but we've been steadily closing the gap. Merk was a highly rated 4-star. He cracked Rivals top-10 QB list and was at least on the fringe of every services top-10. Other than H. Bailey, you gotta go back to to Fulmer to find a higher rated QB recruit we brought in. With another 5 star rostered and another 5 star commited, we would have loved these kind of problems five years ago.

Merklinger wasn't an easy get. We had to fight you guys to land him. Wasn't he you guys first option behind Beck, just like he was our first option behind Nico? There could be a low-key narrative for the media to pick up on before our game.

 

[StuckInBamaVol]

 

[Volinnooga]

I Negotiate contracts for a living and while I have no details of what has transpired, this strikes me as a case of an experienced negotiator (dad) misreading the leverage he thought he had. I also think he badly misread Tennessee’s resolve.. it is often inappropriate to take an aggressive posture in negotiating, but if one party does so, it must be willing to accept an equally aggressive response from the other side. We shall see if Nico had better options lined up; if he didn’t, it was a terrible waste for him and for Tennessee caused by poor management decisions by Nico‘s team

 

[Andre052]

Bye!! Next.

 

[strkr]

In retrospect, this guy might not have been the best idea. G-Class attitude, Isuzu Trooper results.

I wish we had the guy to the right back. Would pay that man!!!

 

[Volanta]

Wow I don’t know what to believe but if this is true then wow…..just wow.

 

[Volanta]

Have y’all heard of seen anything like this? Is this remotely true?

 

[SouthpawTN]

Didn’t need its own thread.