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

#402
#402
Nico looks great in all those no contact or 7 on 7 videos of which he was wearing jumpsuits. He was scary good in those videos.
Nico in pads, knowing he could get hit and there are 4 more moving pieces Nico got complacent. Slow to read because it is tougher when you have to think and throw.
Several games were telling and he was still struggling with this mid season.
His thoughts of coming here was the money and that he could out talent his SEC Competition.
His overthrows, his processing, and a lack of stepping up worked against lesser opponents.
Does not work in the SEC.
Should have seen this earlier but as a fan, I did not take time to realize it.
You can't play SEC ball if you are not SEC bread or caliber because it is like a NFL farm league.
His dad did not get it and maybe he did but the cold reality it was going to take a while 4 years to achieve it.
I don't see him going to the B10 or ever returning to the SEC until he has been coddled a while. He is just not the caliber of player QB fit for the conference.
He was bigger than the team. Sampson and defense were the keys to wins against upper echelon opponents last year.
Nico had a serviceable year, but made statements like I am going to put my foot on the opponent's throat and hold them down.

Additional: Thoughts CJH saw this I believe. Why do I believe it because he recruited 3 outstanding QBs with credentials that played hard nose southern football.
 
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#403
#403
Redleg68 said:
You always check the waters. May be looking for quality experienced depth to go behind Merk.
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could be or it could be another Hooker/Milton situation where he's just looking for an experienced guy to run the offense for 1 year while Merk continues to learn.
 
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#404
#404
PalmettoStateVol said:
I agree, but the only way to stop it is to stop engaging. Stop watching. Stop buying tickets. Stop buying merch. Take the dollar value away from it. Our American society is a slave to this billion dollar industry. We're addicts that constantly need a fix. Unfortunately, and as much as millions of us would love to, stopping it ain't gonna' happen.
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It is the reason that I rarely watch professional sports. I used to be a Braves Baseball junkie. I have watched parts of maybe 6 baseball games in the last 5 years. I am one of the few Vikings fans in the south, but I only watched the games that Dobbs played in and maybe one full game of the ones he wasn't in combined. I can't stand professional basketball.
 
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#405
#405
Volinnooga said:
I can’t believe he wouldn’t tell hid dad he’s happy where he is. If he did and dad still asked for more, that’s a terrible dad.
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He may have, who knows. And are the parents always listening? It’s just been out there floating around that his dad has been a problem in this NIL discussion all along, rumors of his dad shopping him (now pretty much verified) before now and being a very controlling individual. It’s not that I don’t think he loves his son, but we just see it all the time in sports when parents think they have a prodigy on their hands and think they know what’s best and think they know what they’re doing. Your and my mindset are probably very similar…guide your kids along the way, be a sounding board, offer advice when they ask and say, “but it’s your call. Do what you think is best for you.” I just think they got out over their skis on this one and had mostly to do with the dad, by all accounts.
 
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#406
#406
Other_Guy said:
Probably not know, with the timing, but if the passing game sucks this year my money is yes.
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That’s kind of my thoughts. TN already paid him and after the Nico blow up do other teams want to be in the circus tied to Nico leaving especially since Matthews wasn’t the main go to guy racking up yards last season. Would probably be better to wait and see how his numbers are this season before offering him. I guess if he shows up at the O&W today and play he stays. Otherwise he’d sit and not risk getting injured and enter the portal.
 
#408
#408
If some other school is offering a million plus more dollars, a year, who can say they would not take it? Disappointing, yes, but the team will keep getting better and hopefully be ready to go toe to toe, eyeball to eyeball, heart to heart, and gut to gut. Nico is out. Jake is in. Yay, Jake!
 
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#409
#409
He was soft all season and never lived up to the hype.

I hope he does well wherever he goes but for us he's not been worth half of what was paid.
 
#410
#410
Majors said:
Tennessee allowed him to walk which shows what they think of his ability.
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I don’t think it’s a reflection of Nico’s ability more than it is holding a school hostage. If he had left in December, it wouldn’t have this kind of negative look. Instead, went through entire spring practice as clear #1, only too do this 2 days before spring game was calculated and planned. His “camp” figured TN would fold and pay up and it backfired. Now they have to save face and blame someone other than the ones in the mirror. I, for one, am glad we didn’t cave to this.

This is what happens with NIL not having any guardrails, things can get off track quickly.

Just my opinion.
 
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#412
#412
I thought the go pro on nicos helmet this offseason was a really bad sign.

Like they had tried everything to get his eyes in the right spot and were getting desperate for some new teaching technique.

Money might be 90% of the issue here but some of this might be his performance in the spring too.
 
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#415
#415
I think this sucks. Nico got played, dad overplayed his hand. Nico was gonna make a jump in this offense this season and we would have been really good this year. This offense takes time to learn so even a transfer is gonna have a time.

But this is a short term pain for a long term gain. We set a good precedent… just nobody better be calling for Heupel’s head after this season.
 
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#418
#418
ALStateLineVol said:
I don’t think it’s a reflection of Nico’s ability more than it is holding a school hostage. If he had left in December, it wouldn’t have this kind of negative look. Instead, went through entire spring practice as clear #1, only too do this 2 days before spring game was calculated and planned. His “camp” figured TN would fold and pay up and it backfired. Now they have to save face and blame someone other than the ones in the mirror. I, for one, am glad we didn’t cave to this.

This is what happens with NIL not having any guardrails, things can get off track quickly.

Just my opinion.
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I agree with both of you and think he was not progressing. Holding the school ransom is a complete Money Grab and knowing it was part of a plan to do so and when execute is an attempt to damage the team and cause chaos in the locker room. Players will not say so but some are glad he is gone.
 
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#419
#419
If I was Heupel I would make my own announcement to the O&W crowd today like Coach Dale's from Hoosiers when the Star Jimmy Chitwood was not part of the team.1000013271.jpg
 
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#420
#420
VOL931 said:
Did y'all know he didn't even live in the athletic dorms? He lived in a mansion that was part of the deal. Had no friends on the team. Never ate with them. This stuff is wild. Way more under the surface here ... I guess maybe I've been under a rock.
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Athletic dorms were banned in the 1990s
 
#422
#422
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#424
#424
Nerwen Aldarion said:
I didn’t care about him negotiating until he ghosted everyone. That was the turning point. You can’t disrespect the team like that and just come back. He would have killed the locker room.
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Sad but true. It's adios, muchacho. The University of Tennessee Football team can be good this year. I think they will be. Jake is a player.
 
#425
#425
loggervol said:
What are the demands? I just can’t see us moving on unless the demands are ridiculous. I think he deserves market value because other QB’s are doing the same thing.

Irreconcilable differences, will be on the divorce papers..?
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For his performance so far. I think the money he was receiving was fair market value for what he has shown
 
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