Maybe CJH knew all along...

#76
#76
EZE said:
You nailed it.

And I think he left a very good coach who has coached those intangibles successfully in others.
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Intangibles or the lack there of, tell the story of high tangible QBs like Nico and Joe. Joe stuck around and .maybe enhanced his intangibles. NFL coaches have certainly had a role considering he is QB2 in Dallas. He's proven he can take a team down field for TDs at the highest level. He's much better at the highest level than Hooker or Dobbs. He's got much better skills than those two to make it in the NFL
 
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#77
#77
EZE said:
www.latimes.com

Commentary: DeShaun Foster drags the Bruins into another embarrassment

Bill Plaschke asks whether DeShaun Foster can coach after UCLA's miserable performance against Utah Saturday night at the Rose Bow.
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com

Enjoy. 36,000 fans in a 100,000 seat stadium for a home opener even with the Nico hoopla.
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That article was rough on the Bruins program, but the picture below sums it up to me.

While the Utes players have on standard attire with a traditional uniform look, UCLA players got on knee high socks like the grass is too itchy or like they are trying to be too cute and want to make fashion statements.

Plus the abundance of tape, like they are covering race horse ankles. I get taping the ankles but it pants a picture of soft players versus the guys who just took you to the woodshed.


UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava scrambles as he is tripped up by Utah safety Tao Johnson at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) scrambles as he is tripped up by Utah safety Tao Johnson (5) Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
 
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#78
#78
EZE said:
This was a screw up of galactic proportions. I mean, seriously? He left football program at Tennessee with much better players and rabid fan support…for UCLA where no one cares. And for less money!
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Not only that but if he does not shine at UCLA then he could fade into oblivion.
 
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#81
#81
BernardKingGOAT said:
Intangibles or the lack there of, tell the story of high tangible QBs like Nico and Joe. Joe stuck around and .maybe enhanced his intangibles. NFL coaches have certainly had a role considering he is QB2 in Dallas. He's proven he can take a team down field for TDs at the highest level. He's much better at the highest level than Hooker or Dobbs. He's got much better skills than those two to make it in the NFL
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Def looks like he belongs
 
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#83
#83
MurphyVol said:
Boy it sure seemed like a lot of Vol fans didn't know...or didn't want to know. I got reminded many times last year "but he's only a Freshman!" As if there's some major reason a RS freshman should be way behind a sophomore.

Amazingly, as soon as he hit the portal a lot of Vol fans started to agree with me.

Other than it being late in the cycle, I was thrilled we got a chance to dump his salary. I said after the season we should cut him and upgrade the roster- I just don't think we'd be able to pull it off so late in the cycle.
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There was simply no reason not to play Nico once we lost a few games with JM and all we were playing for was a bowl game. It would have given him some playing time and accelerated the process of finding out he was over hyped and not ready for SEC competition. Yes, it got old hearing " he's just a freshman" for 2 years straight
 
#85
#85
carolinaviking said:
Just watched the UCLA game. Nico looked the exact same as he did last year, and Utah clobbered them. So it's crystal clear that our O-line, running game, and defense were the reasons for our success last year, not our star QB.

When CJH announced that Iamaleava was leaving UT, it came out of nowhere. It was very sudden. Coach didn't seem to be all that interested in persuading Iamaleava to stay. So I have to wonder: did CJH know that Iamaleava was way over-hyped, that he was our weakest link, and maybe he saw Nico's demand for more NIL money not as a sudden problem, but rather as an opportunity? Joey Aguilar was on nobody's radar before the trade, but it's obvious UT upgraded. Maybe CJH knew any old QB who could go to a 2nd or 3rd read receiver would be an upgrade.

Side note: seems Heupel is such a good coach, that our system can do great things with an average WB.
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I think Heupel, White, Plowman, etc had enough of the Nico clan. Heupel knew Nico wasn’t catching on. If he was, Tennessee may have paid him for 1 more year but he wasn’t. When Nico & Co tried to paint Tennessee in a corner after the Dec agreement, they said “enough of this $hit”.
 
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#90
#90
Something is off with this guy and I don't really get it... He has every tool imaginable and at time throws absolutely dimes.. but someone how makes his team worse
 
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#91
#91
carolinaviking said:
Just watched the UCLA game. Nico looked the exact same as he did last year, and Utah clobbered them. So it's crystal clear that our O-line, running game, and defense were the reasons for our success last year, not our star QB.

When CJH announced that Iamaleava was leaving UT, it came out of nowhere. It was very sudden. Coach didn't seem to be all that interested in persuading Iamaleava to stay. So I have to wonder: did CJH know that Iamaleava was way over-hyped, that he was our weakest link, and maybe he saw Nico's demand for more NIL money not as a sudden problem, but rather as an opportunity? Joey Aguilar was on nobody's radar before the trade, but it's obvious UT upgraded. Maybe CJH knew any old QB who could go to a 2nd or 3rd read receiver would be an upgrade.

Side note: seems Heupel is such a good coach, that our system can do great things with an average WB.
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Well, I have to admit at this point that coach looks like He may be smarter than we think he is. He just upgraded his quarterback and saved millions of dollars doing it.
 
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#92
#92
Not sure. Remember Heupel started Milton over Hooker first. But I think he’s learning the landscape of what is better for his type of team he wants. Leaning towards players who got grit over raw talent
 
#93
#93
MurphyVol said:
Boy it sure seemed like a lot of Vol fans didn't know...or didn't want to know. I got reminded many times last year "but he's only a Freshman!" As if there's some major reason a RS freshman should be way behind a sophomore.

Amazingly, as soon as he hit the portal a lot of Vol fans started to agree with me.

Other than it being late in the cycle, I was thrilled we got a chance to dump his salary. I said after the season we should cut him and upgrade the roster- I just don't think we'd be able to pull it off so late in the cycle.
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Totally agree. I had called him another Guarantano and got roasted for it
 
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#94
#94
volbound1700 said:
Nico probably needed to leave Tennessee to develop but he went to the worse possible destination. He should have went to a G5 school where competition isn't as tough on opposing Ds and pressure isn't there. Instead, he went to a team that basically still plays a Tennessee-like schedule but has half the talent.
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Agreed.

Think somewhere like Boise State or Fresno State would be a better fit for him and if he struggles there, take a stab at playing WR. He’s a great athlete.
 
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#96
#96
Coach Heup is the one who signed and recruited the Nico experiment and hopefully this is behind us. From all indications Nico was cool, suave and a hip star, but wasn't a top tier SEC quarterback, primarily because he didn't have the underlying skill set to play at that level, Heup exited that failure gracefully and made no effort to encourage more money being thrown at that below market skill set.

Hate that the program had to endure that experience, but the skill set to perform at the SEC level is either there or it is not and Heup needs to stay out of those arrangements where it is not. Adios big Nic, don't spend it before you get it!
 
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#98
#98
OH-Vol said:
Something is off with this guy and I don't really get it... He has every tool imaginable and at time throws absolutely dimes.. but someone how makes his team worse
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Although not hyped, JG was a high 4 star recruit. It never worked with him either. I will say that JG had more character than Nico. I always felt bad for JG because he tried. Perhaps with better coaching, he could have been a good QB.
 
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#99
#99
OH-Vol said:
Something is off with this guy and I don't really get it... He has every tool imaginable and at time throws absolutely dimes.. but someone how makes his team worse
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As others have pointed out, it's the intangibles. It's what's between his ears. He has all the physical traits, but doesn't seem to have the mind that sets the great ones apart.
 
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