That’s a good point. him not getting what he actually wanted is a great precedent to reign in some of this NIL madnessNo. And even if he wins the Heisman trophy it won't bother me that I said that.
Edit: What I do hope is that he doesn't get paid more than we offered. And nothing personal about that. Everybody that follows college sports will be interested in how that turns out and if he doesn't it will probably keep some players that think about doing the same thing from doing it.
There is plenty of time to still learn Nico's side. It's possible the staff wasn't taking him or his side seriously until he actually sat out the day before O&W game. Maybe they pushed his talk aside thinking he wouldn't leave. Both may have called each other's bluff.Even if he has a case that he was lied to, he was promised things, etc, etc..... he's destroyed any goodwill he could've gotten by STATING his side of it.
I can go with the possibility that he's following his Dad's lead because culturally that's what is expected. I'm told he's a father himself. I'm unsure culturally when the "Dad's the boss" era ends but he's got a child and he's got his own career made of his own sweat. At some point Nico needs to be "Dad's the boss" of his own family.There is plenty of time to still learn Nico's side. It's possible the staff wasn't taking him or his side seriously until he actually sat out the day before O&W game. Maybe they pushed his talk aside thinking he wouldn't leave. Both may have called each other's bluff.
Also, Nico could have been told professionally to just stay quiet. Any public talking could cause further damage. It's the whole thought process that anything said could be used against you, and right now, everyone is looking to be mad at him. He will have plenty of opportunity to share his side down the line if he wishes. It's also been noted that it could be a cultural, patriarchal, thing for Nico to listen to his dad and follow any orders he gives. I get he is technically an adult, but he is still only 20 years old and may not be perfect at knowing how to address all these things.
??There is plenty of time to still learn Nico's side. It's possible the staff wasn't taking him or his side seriously until he actually sat out the day before O&W game. Maybe they pushed his talk aside thinking he wouldn't leave. Both may have called each other's bluff.
Also, Nico could have been told professionally to just stay quiet. Any public talking could cause further damage. It's the whole thought process that anything said could be used against you, and right now, everyone is looking to be mad at him. He will have plenty of opportunity to share his side down the line if he wishes. It's also been noted that it could be a cultural, patriarchal, thing for Nico to listen to his dad and follow any orders he gives. I get he is technically an adult, but he is still only 20 years old and may not be perfect at knowing how to address all these things.
Lolllllllllll “hey guys I didn’t return your phone calls bc I was asleep…..for 4 days. My bad. Ok we ready to play some ball? Ehhh???”Nico showing up for the next offseason workouts
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He's gone. He probably does have a deal in place. My guess is it's either with UCLA, Washington or Arizona State, maybe even BYU or Utah? I don't think he's getting $4 million though. He simply isn't worth that much.
I would not take him back. First of all he performed just an average sec qb, not bad, just average. I would go with the two we have and try and get another as a backup.If Nico, not his dad or agent, called CJH today and apologized would Tennessee take him back?
Would Tennessee put stipulations on welcoming him back like, your dad can no longer manipulate our success and thus has to “stay away?”
Would the team welcome him back? Would he need to go on an apology tour?
I ask this bc I believe Tennessee did the right thing, however, this is still not an ideal situation. I’m sure we all were excited to see Nico with his 3rd year in the system and 2nd year as a starter take massive leaps in progress. And before you answer, I’m as annoyed by this as anyone but it’s a dagger to lose your QB roughly 4 months before the season kickoff.
I don't think Nico had a good understanding of Hypes system after two years under him, thus the plays were much slower this year. Couldn't get the plays in as fast as usual, and thats after two years. How he gona learn a new system in one?I am shocked how everyone is on Tennessee’s side. Talk radio, mainstream media, etc. I have yet to hear a single person defend Nico. I think this is going to be irreparable harm to him and I wonder if he even makes the same amount at the next program. Besides that summer camp is just around the corner and there is no way Nico learns a new system that fast so he is set up for failure. His dad really screwed him over which is a shame considering everything I have heard is he is a good kid. He is definitely screwed now though.
We do know he wanted more money. UT did exactly what they agreed on from the beginning, Nico also agreed to a contract. But decided he did not want to go by that contract, and wanted more. First of all he is not worth more. In sec play only 9 td and about 200 yards passing per game. That put him about the middle of the pack in sec qb.I still don't think the whole story is being shared from Nico's side. I think it is entirely possible Nico looked around the offensive room and felt there wasn't enough done in the offseason to improve this offense. We also don't know what, if any, changes were made from a playbook perspective.
Let's be honest. We added some 3 star RB from Duke and some 3 star WR transfers in the portal along with some low 4 star freshman WRs. That isn't necessarily a huge investment to the offense. It's a bunch of developmental pieces that may or may not turn out to be helpful this season. For all we know, Nico could have been promised premier help, didn't receive any, gave them a chance in spring practice, but came away unimpressed.
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You don't have to a professional football analyst to be underwhelmed with Tennessee's transfer portal additions. I think anyone in Nico's position would have thought there would be a greater investment into the offense after losing so many pieces. The reality is, these players have more leverage than they have ever had. They are either going to use that leverage to improve their pay or situation, or go elsewhere. This is what happens in the wild west of contract negotiations. Until there are mutually agreed structures in place players will always have someone in their ear telling them the grass is greener somewhere else, etc.??
Heupel's the coach. His job is not to make Nico look good in a given year but to win games, with Nico or not. You're implying he'd have either made Nico promises he didn't keep, or that Nico and his dad should be telling hype how to recruit and extracting promises. Let the Iamaleava family become coaches, do their own evaluations and work like men possessed to build a team, and run their own program.
We don't need Nico's 'side of the story'; we're paying Heupel to run the program. P*ss on players, family, or agents who think they can hijack that.
You don't have to be a professional analyst to be underwhelmed with his performance against SEC opposition either.You don't have to a professional football analyst to be underwhelmed with Tennessee's transfer portal additions. I think anyone in Nico's position would have thought there would be a greater investment into the offense after losing so many pieces. The reality is, these players have more leverage than they have ever had. They are either going to use that leverage to improve their pay or situation, or go elsewhere. This is what happens in the wild west of contract negotiations. Until there are mutually agreed structures in place players will always have someone in their ear telling them the grass is greener somewhere else, etc.
Pruitt-era infractions leave the squad 2-3 players short. They've stacked the OL with young talent that Elarbee says have developed ahead of schedule https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/tennessee-vols-coach-eases-big-concern-that-ut-fans-have-for-the-2025-college-football-season/ar-AA1uzUjb#:~:text=Beyond%20Sanders%2C%20the%20Vols%20will,they're%20so%20far%20ahead. and the two guys they brought in will either start or be #2, bringing some depth and field leadership.You don't have to a professional football analyst to be underwhelmed with Tennessee's transfer portal additions. I think anyone in Nico's position would have thought there would be a greater investment into the offense after losing so many pieces. The reality is, these players have more leverage than they have ever had. They are either going to use that leverage to improve their pay or situation, or go elsewhere. This is what happens in the wild west of contract negotiations. Until there are mutually agreed structures in place players will always have someone in their ear telling them the grass is greener somewhere else, etc.
Personally, I think the explanation that the Iamaleava camp just wanted Tennessee to be more aggressive in the transfer portal is pure spin.You don't have to a professional football analyst to be underwhelmed with Tennessee's transfer portal additions. I think anyone in Nico's position would have thought there would be a greater investment into the offense after losing so many pieces. The reality is, these players have more leverage than they have ever had. They are either going to use that leverage to improve their pay or situation, or go elsewhere. This is what happens in the wild west of contract negotiations. Until there are mutually agreed structures in place players will always have someone in their ear telling them the grass is greener somewhere else, etc.