Has anyone heard

[beefvol44]

that we have some locker room issues over NIL and who should be playing and Tony has lost some of the guys? Hope that is wrong obliviously.

 

[NO SIR EEE]

that we have some locker room issues over NIL and who should be playing and Tony has lost some of the guys? Hope that is wrong obliviously.

Seems like smoke and mirrors to me. I haven't heard of any of this. Maybe @preacherman20 can give his insight on this.

 

[preacherman20]

I have not heard anything specific. My son is mute even to me when it comes to locker room stuff as they all should be. I know LSU has already had a flareup over it, and I believe the pay to play stuff will rear its head in every locker room. If a player is being paid to play and there’s not performing, someone will call them out. As I have said, I am all for the legitimate NIL deals, but the pay to play stuff it’s just wrong. I cannot imagine how it is going to blow up the football locker room if Nico does not start with the money that he is being paid.

 

[beefvol44]

Thanks. I sure wouldn't want to be the one who had to try and manage all that.

 

[supersmo18]

I have not heard anything specific. My son is mute even to me when it comes to locker room stuff as they all should be. I know LSU has already had a flareup over it, and I believe the pay to play stuff will rear its head in every locker room. If a player is being paid to play and there’s not performing, someone will call them out. As I have said, I am all for the legitimate NIL deals, but the pay to play stuff it’s just wrong. I cannot imagine how it is going to blow up the football locker room if Nico does not start with the money that he is being paid.

I can see this happening, and that's a massive danger of the NIL stuff. The bigger problem is, IMO, it puts the coach in an odd position becuase his first and foremost obligation is to win games, and if the starter is the big NIL guy and isn't producing, then it would make sense for the coach to sit him down in efforts to keep the best chances of winning afloat; however, you end up sitting a fan-favorite like Nico (odd, even though he's never taken a game-time snap for us, yet), then you end up drawing the ire of the fans and those who paid / contributed good money to NIL.

I think NIL is an 'okay' thing, but only if managed correctly. And who knows what's really happening on the baseball team, but I have confidence it'll iron itself out. We have a lot of young guys that just need to learn how to handle the college game first.

 

[TNVOLFN]

I can see this happening, and that's a massive danger of the NIL stuff. The bigger problem is, IMO, it puts the coach in an odd position becuase his first and foremost obligation is to win games, and if the starter is the big NIL guy and isn't producing, then it would make sense for the coach to sit him down in efforts to keep the best chances of winning afloat; however, you end up sitting a fan-favorite like Nico (odd, even though he's never taken a game-time snap for us, yet), then you end up drawing the ire of the fans and those who paid / contributed good money to NIL.

I think NIL is an 'okay' thing, but only if managed correctly. And who knows what's really happening on the baseball team, but I have confidence it'll iron itself out. We have a lot of young guys that just need to learn how to handle the college game first.

The coaches and people within the program will need to collaborate with their NFL, MLB, NBA counterparts for advice on how those situations are dealt with at the professional level.

 

[preacherman20]

I don’t have an answer for what was happening this weekend but I don’t think this played a part in it. I know Kirby said either the cold or something kept his ball from moving like it normally does and everybody’s Velo seemed to be down 4 to 5 miles an hour.

It is interesting to me that everybody has jumped on the Nico bandwagon when he has never taken a snap other than all the hype that comes with him. But it also interesting to me that many of you guys say he will not be the starter next year, which blows my mind that you would give someone who’s not good enough to be the starter that kind of money. I know eventually they will need to be something done with the NIL process to be able to reward guys that are on campus producing equal to the guys you’re trying to bring in who have not proven here.

 

[preacherman20]

The coaches and people within the program will need to collaborate with their NFL, MLB, NBA counterparts for advice on how those situations are dealt with at the professional level.

I think the difference is in pro ball guys are normally paid according to their output and have the ability to negotiate. That is not the case with NIL right now. The guys who are already on campus really do not have a chance to negotiate. Maybe it takes care of itself over time. I doubt that Camden even considered going anywhere else for his last year and that is still the difference because I think most college guys are faithful to the teams that they are playing with. I would guess Kirby would not play a fifth year if he can’t come back to Tennessee if not drafted.

 

[TNVOLFN]

I think the difference is in pro ball guys are normally paid according to their output and have the ability to negotiate. That is not the case with NIL right now. The guys who are already on campus really do not have a chance to negotiate. Maybe it takes care of itself over time. I doubt that Camden even considered going anywhere else for his last year and that is still the difference because I think most college guys are faithful to the teams that they are playing with. I would guess Kirby would not play a fifth year if he can’t come back to Tennessee if not drafted.

No doubt, I was thinking more of an analogy to situations where, perhaps, a veteran signs a big contract and gets benched or, more appropriately, a rookie is a high draft pick and doesn't live up to expectations; those are the dynamics that will undoubtedly be an issue in a college locker room.

 

[beefvol44]

NIL would be great if it would be for players on team now and not use to lure recruits or portal kids. I agree that will cause some division eventually. Like the NFL draft before they changed the salary for picks, you would have rookie qbs coming in making more than Dan Marino or Peyton Manning etc. lol.

 

[preacherman20]

I do not know that this is affecting our team, but it could be. Having been around college sports for a while one of the big problems is guys begin to get in their own head about the draft whether it is this year or next year. They start feeling pressure as they don’t succeed the way they think they should or feel the need to succeed to a certain level, and as you know pressure builds to pressure builds to more pressure. I know of a kid who was supposed to be a first round draft, pick a few years ago as a pitcher and struggled and ended up not even starting by mid season because he could not handle the pressure that he was putting on himself and those around him, putting it on him, not his teammates but the people who were supposed to be his supporters.

 

[supersmo18]

The coaches and people within the program will need to collaborate with their NFL, MLB, NBA counterparts for advice on how those situations are dealt with at the professional level.

I can't imagine it's harder at the higher levels because those clubs are businesses, first and foremost, with players signing contracts to play AND incentives to perform. Same thing with coaches. They're not having to deal with the balance of pay from NIL vs not encroaching on scholarships vs avoidance of NCAA violations (which who GAF at this point with the 'AA). For example, if an MLB player is in a slump that they can't get out of and it's hurting the progression of the team, they'll send them down and call up someone else. Players get benched for not performing in the pros and I think it's just easier to do that there because of the business-first aspect that doesn't [formally] exist in collegiate athletics. JMO.

 

[taylorvol]

I do not know that this is affecting our team, but it could be. Having been around college sports for a while one of the big problems is guys begin to get in their own head about the draft whether it is this year or next year. They start feeling pressure as they don’t succeed the way they think they should or feel the need to succeed to a certain level, and as you know pressure builds to pressure builds to more pressure. I know of a kid who was supposed to be a first round draft, pick a few years ago as a pitcher and struggled and ended up not even starting by mid season because he could not handle the pressure that he was putting on himself and those around him, putting it on him, not his teammates but the people who were supposed to be his supporters.

I wonder if athletes at UT have access to a sports psychologist. I remember it paid big dividends to Smoltz back in the day. the pressure on these young men is enormous and I could see how an expert in that field could be really valuable.

 

[greasemachine]

I have not heard anything specific. My son is mute even to me when it comes to locker room stuff as they all should be. I know LSU has already had a flareup over it, and I believe the pay to play stuff will rear its head in every locker room. If a player is being paid to play and there’s not performing, someone will call them out. As I have said, I am all for the legitimate NIL deals, but the pay to play stuff it’s just wrong. I cannot imagine how it is going to blow up the football locker room if Nico does not start with the money that he is being paid.

Agree. I can only add that Z will not and does not discuss team dynamics. As it should be. He is such a rule-follower...

 

[VOLtaism]

It's happening to some degree in every locker room, it's called greed and envy. They are attempting to retain college sports with professional motivations, have your cake and eat it to plan. This will not work for very long. Every coach in every sport is dealing with this in some way.

 

[turbovol]

NIL is a joke--a bad one. This entire narrative that athletes should be paid is utter nonsense pushed by activists. Nobody
should be paid or bribed to attend a college. It's disgraceful. I don't think anyone should get an NIL until they're sophomores
and have spent a year in school/with a program--and only then if it's legitimate.

 

[cncchris33]

I don’t have an answer for what was happening this weekend but I don’t think this played a part in it. I know Kirby said either the cold or something kept his ball from moving like it normally does and everybody’s Velo seemed to be down 4 to 5 miles an hour.

It is interesting to me that everybody has jumped on the Nico bandwagon when he has never taken a snap other than all the hype that comes with him. But it also interesting to me that many of you guys say he will not be the starter next year, which blows my mind that you would give someone who’s not good enough to be the starter that kind of money. I know eventually they will need to be something done with the NIL process to be able to reward guys that are on campus producing equal to the guys you’re trying to bring in who have not proven here.

I don't think the issue is whether Nico is good enough to be the starter. It's more like Joe Milton is also good enough to be the starter, has put in the time, has experience in the system, and performed well, last year, in his moments. The same way that Zander Sechrist is good enough to be a weekend starter for Tennessee, but he's behind some better players and there's only 3 spots, there is only 1 starting QB position. Nico's time will come. If he isn't starting in 2024, then your argument holds water, I think.

 

[preacherman20]

Agree. I can only add that Z will not and does not discuss team dynamics. As it should be. He is such a rule-follower...

2 decent guys. . I don’t ask mine except about him. Funny story. Two weeks ago in between the two games on Saturday. I was telling Kirby something and when we got done I said I love you. Zander was standing there and looked at me with that look. I said love you too Zander and he smiled and walked off. Some young girl standing out there hollered I love y’all too Great kids Have I said lately that I love doing Stache talk and getting to know these guys away from the field.

 

[preacherman20]

I don't think the issue is whether Nico is good enough to be the starter. It's more like Joe Milton is also good enough to be the starter, has put in the time, has experience in the system, and performed well, last year, in his moments. The same way that Zander Sechrist is good enough to be a weekend starter for Tennessee, but he's behind some better players and there's only 3 spots, there is only 1 starting QB position. Nico's time will come. If he isn't starting in 2024, then your argument holds water, I think.

If he is not good enough to start this year, then why would he be worth the millions that he’s being paid to play? I would think you would only pay someone that kind of money if they could produce right now. If I was giving any money to that I would expect for a kid to earn $3 million a year they should not be standing on the sideline

 

[txbo]

2 decent guys. . I don’t ask mine except about him. Funny story. Two weeks ago in between the two games on Saturday. I was telling Kirby something and when we got done I said I love you. Zander was standing there and looked at me with that look. I said love you too Zander and he smiled and walked off. Some young girl standing out there hollered I love y’all too Great kids Have I said lately that I love doing Stache talk and getting to know these guys away from the field.

I love this.

 

[cncchris33]

If he is not good enough to start this year, then why would he be worth the millions that he’s being paid to play? I would think you would only pay someone that kind of money if they could produce right now. If I was giving any money to that I would expect for a kid to earn $3 million a year they should not be standing on the sideline

Because you want him as a potential replacement, this year, either as insurance or replacement, and you want him as a starter for the next 2-3 years. Nothing is a guarantee.

And it isn't necessarily an issue that he CAN'T produce, right now. There's only one spot and the guy in front of him has some advantages Nico doesn't. NFL teams pay rookies millions of dollars, too, and don't expect them to walk in and start immediately. In the NIL era, you're going to be paying someone in every recruiting class, but certainly you don't expect us to start a freshman at every position every year simply because we paid them X number of dollars in NIL money, right?

 

[greasemachine]

2 decent guys. . I don’t ask mine except about him. Funny story. Two weeks ago in between the two games on Saturday. I was telling Kirby something and when we got done I said I love you. Zander was standing there and looked at me with that look. I said love you too Zander and he smiled and walked off. Some young girl standing out there hollered I love y’all too Great kids Have I said lately that I love doing Stache talk and getting to know these guys away from the field.

Awwww....Makes my happy.

And yeah, we don't even ask about anything, except how he is doing.

And Stache Talk, I listen driving to the games and back and the drive flys by.

 

[VolGirl81]

NIL is going to destroy a lot of teams. You get money involved and like many other things in life, people change. It’s going to take some strong personalities to keep these athletes on track including coaches, friends and families. The NCAA wasn’t ready for how this NIL blew up.

 

[tennrich1]

IMO NIL is constitutionally and capitalistically accurate but it thrust most of those young men into an arena few are prepared to deal with easily. After all, financial shock is a real thing (see lottery winners often). I HOPE eventually the NIL will somehow be production based and not potential based. Certainly a lot to figure out. I also feel with our baseball team losing 8 starter positions and basically rebuilding the entire field (minus the pitching staff of course) is not an easy task especially while playing P5 teams. IMO no sports team progresses further over a season than in baseball. And I agree with Kirby…last weeks temps in Columbia certainly had an effect. It just effected us more than Mizz. Bob Gibson always said he was NEVER the pitcher in early season as he was as the temps warmed up throughout the season.

 

[tennrich1]

BTW…the SEC might consider NOT scheduling a 3 game conference series in Columbia Mizz BEFORE April 1st at least. It’s traditionally still really cold in March in that area. JMO