Recruiting Football Talk VIII

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Facts!! If Nico had a Cam Ward type of season we would have paid him that $4MM without hesitation.

But he didn't...so? Burns post is stupid and pointless...everybody would have been good with a raise if he deserved one, that's no big secret, and I think he would have gotten one had he played better.

All that being said...he was obviously being a massive mercenary pain in the ass the whole time...and I don't give a about his "people"...ultimately he is responsible.

I hope we stay away from slimy dishonest scum like him AND his scum "people" from now on.

 

[Ace]

Don’t sleep on GMac, he is our wild card.

 

[jpope9]

Interesting take from TJ Houshmandzadeh. BLUF: Nico and family say TN is lying, and that Heupel promised to tweak offense to better prepare Nico for the NLF, then didn't do it.

same family that lied about ongoing negotiations happening after the ON3 story broke?

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Interesting take from TJ Houshmandzadeh. BLUF: Nico and family say TN is lying, and that Heupel promised to tweak offense to better prepare Nico for the NLF, then didn't do it.

Of course they are lying...they are LIARS....just when I thought I couldn't hate these scumbags any more...

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

For the record AP says he doesn’t believe that Nico threatened to sit out the playoff

They don't tell AP much unless it's positive...that's pretty much a well known fact.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

Well, it says you are a well known member. Seemed like you might know something. Thanks for the reply.

I think that's just based on how long you've been a member lol I never got a custom one. But I don't have any inside knowledge on the program or anything. I mostly just try to gather all the information and form my own opinion.

End of the day you pay HS kids based on what you think they can do for you...but you pay portal players on what they've proven they can do.

So if Nico entering year 3 thought he was worth 4m a year the reply was very clearly "based on what?" and then you can count on one hand QBs that are actually getting 4m a year in college and I bet Nico's production isn't close to any of them. Bigger frustration for me is just that he got that 2m a year and was cashing checks off that for over a year before we ever saw him play any meaningful snaps. Did we get a refund on that?

NFL contracts are broken up by games played even... which is part of the reason they all ask for more "guaranteed" money. Cause if they sit out they aren't being paid...college will adopt that soon as revenue sharing enters the picture.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Better question, why the F are you asking me?

My expectations are of a delusional fan...before I ever saw Nico throw a ball I thought he was going to win us a Heisman. Now that he's bailed I'm hedging my bets on -insert next QB that is named starter-

But the real answer is both sides have their own expectations...when they aren't in alignment you get a situation like this. Staff & Heupel expectations weren't matching Nico's dad and they tried to act like they weren't replaceable so they were shown they are. I don't think either side "won" and I don't think either side is without fault, I do however think UT had to handled it the way they did to prevent much more issues.

How in the hell is Tennessee at fault? He signed a contract...and then broke it because he is a pos scumbag.

 

[InVOLuntary]

Didn’t know you were as old as @InVOLuntary , @BaldBiker , @SergeantVol , or @Orangeredblooded but here we are.

Seriously though, I’m praying for a fast recovery for you!

I still have all my joints. (Settle down @TrippieRedd )

 

[RikidyBones]

Interesting take from TJ Houshmandzadeh. BLUF: Nico and family say TN is lying, and that Heupel promised to tweak offense to better prepare Nico for the NFL, then didn't do it.

Narrative fail.

 

[LaagerVol]

Facts!! If Nico had a Cam Ward type of season we would have paid him that $4MM without hesitation.

Yeah, but on the flip side we likely would have gladly paid him without the situation degrading.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

How in the hell is Tennessee at fault? He signed a contract...and then broke it because he is a pos scumbag.

I don't know...why give in the first time they started making demands? He was given a RS season because they wanted it...even though I'm positive the staff wanted to get him as many live reps as possible. He made demands before the playoff game and those were met so he played, and even then his per year payment was going to go up...He was given all the 1st team reps all camp even with this looming NIL contract issue still present.

So the fault I guess would be they kept giving in...which lead to his dad, the big narcissist in the situation, to believe he was the one in control.

 

[DD4ME]

I agree. I think whoever gets Nico will get him on a bargain bin deal

wondering if someone finally got through to their camp on 1-year decisions vs 5-year decisions

the hit his potential NFL earnings took could be massive, and his PR/marketability took a monster hit

seeking an extra 1-2M for 2025 could have cost him 10-20M through 2030.

Grandpa Bill rehab camp is about the only option they have, and he's holding a Nico coupon

It will be very interesting to see how he performs in an NFL offense with 3 months to prepare on a team all learning on the fly. UCLA is no better- new coach.

 

[Rishvol]

Rankings don’t matter in mid-April but we win a series against a top 6 team on the road and only go up 1 spot…crazy

Shows how little D1 thinks of Tennessee with how far Ole Miss dropped

 

[tnhunter 10]

I'm surprised we're not hearing more rumors about players entering the portal across all positions. Especially with the portal opening Wednesday.

 

[Vols4us]

I am 100% OK with Nico being gone. He and family clearly came because of the money and are now gone because of the money.

I just do not want to recruit guys whose only reason for coming to UT is the big check. Let's go Tony V's method. Be so dang good at developing players and getting noticed for the pros while having good shots at winning natties as a team that you will take less if necessary. The big payday should be after the draft.

Which is what bothers me most about Heup's coaching staff. Tony has the best staff in the biz, IMO, Heup does not.

 

[Vols4us]

Don’t sleep on GMac, he is our wild card.

Guy is a baller. Like what I saw.

 

[UTProf]

Even Harrison Bailey is being asked about this. He said he has nothing bad to say about Tennessee or Heupel that they were all great people.

 

[volfaninpa]

Interesting take from TJ Houshmandzadeh. BLUF: Nico and family say TN is lying, and that Heupel promised to tweak offense to better prepare Nico for the NFL, then didn't do it.

Then play the spring game, don't skip practice, don't ghost your teammates, and enter the transfer portal this week like anyone with a functional brain and an ounce of appreciation for what the school, coaches, teammates, and fans did for you.

 

[85SugarVol]

Who are the big Twitter guys in here?

What’s out there on Nico’s dad right now? Any good tweets directly at him? Anything from him?

 

[screenthis]

Then play the spring game, don't skip practice, don't ghost your teammates, and enter the transfer portal this week like anyone with a functional brain and an ounce of appreciation for what the school, coaches, teammates, and fans did for you.

Do we really believe noone on the Heup staff contacted nico after January?

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

Interesting take from TJ Houshmandzadeh. BLUF: Nico and family say TN is lying, and that Heupel promised to tweak offense to better prepare Nico for the NFL, then didn't do it.

That's nothing but a lie. There's been all kinds of reports of changes to the offense and even players talking about the "new" offense...and it includes more pistol formation and fewer wide splits. Heupel has absolutely tweaked the offense.

 

[SKV84]

For the record AP says he doesn’t believe that Nico threatened to sit out the playoff

Of course Nico didn't do that...his family/agent/handlers threatened that.

 

[csprig9]

Thoughts???


Nico goes to tulane

Stays another year and follows Tulane a coach jon sumerall to UK

 

[seaofORANGE22]

I'm seeing some on twitter question whether or not TN is being truthful with how this played out.

I'm not sure how to explain this without sounding like an ass. But to be clear i do not care. As Heupel mentioned nobody is bigger than the power T. If we made some mistakes here on our end then so be it. I'm sure we did. But there's no doubt Nico's side did too.

This feels like a big time Danny White orchestration. Which is why we brought him here. You cannot have a university failure broadcasted to the country. We had that happen too many times in the past. Protect your coach and protect your program and fix any issues that may have happened internally without undermining your own momentum in the sport.

Whatever happened with Nico, Tennessee handled how it was released to the public beautifully. Flawlessly. That shouldn't go unnoticed here and it would have never played out like this at a pre-Danny White TN.

We are still seen as a contender and a high value destination. I would guess if there was a failure on Heupels end it was believing in this kid for too long. But i would rather have a coach like that than the alternative.

Cause as we all have seen, sometimes you have a Nico and sometimes you have a Jauan Jennings.

Heupel will learn from this and we'll likely be better for it in the long run.

 

[Rishvol]

"you see what happens when you try and bully us. Think twice before messing with us"