Nico started one season. HH was on year 4 and 5. I think we can agree that's not a fair way to judge Heupel's decisions.
What else was Heupel supposed to do in these 2 cases? He did bench Milton for Hooker...for almost 2 full years. Milton vs Nico 2023 is pointless in the context of this discussion.
Then it was Nico vs...? in 2024.
I don't get the idea Heupel made mistakes and grasped onto them...if anything, in his short tenure here, he pulled and developed the statistically greatest QB at UT all-time in Hooker (which also makes all of these comparisons really crazy to begin with). Milton was a part of another 9 win team and Nico, a 10 game winner in a 1st year starting role.