Mike Matthews to portal? [He’s staying]

[GVF]

I have been critical of him all season, he's made his share of mistakes and just a dumbass move running out of bounds with the game on the line he has issues hitting the long ball..but going back and watching...not all... but alot of the time the wrs and o line didn't help him at all and he had to rush alot of throws because he had no time, I know we have to replace most of our oline but other than Cooper I'm glad they're gone just hope we can replace them with upgrades...just my take

Same here, but you can only blame the OL so much. The quickest way to square things up is to start hitting the good passes, show some leadership when your guys keep dropping easy catches (i.e. chew their butts), and get some respect from the opposing D. He missed as many passes as they dropped. When the other D does not have to respect the passing game bad things happen to your O line.

 

[Cartervol]

Same here, but you can only blame the OL so much. The quickest way to square things up is to start hitting the good passes, show some leadership when your guys keep dropping easy catches (i.e. chew their butts), and get some respect from the opposing D. He missed as many passes as they dropped. When the other D does not have to respect the passing game bad things happen to your O line.

Yep. They bring more than you can block. Football 101. It all goes together. Oline, QB, WR. It all needs to be better, including what's going on on the sidelines.

 

[GVF]

Yep. They bring more than you can block. Football 101. It all goes together. Oline, QB, WR. It all needs to be better, including what's going on on the sidelines.

I always thought Joe was too easy going during the game. You can be too cool IMO. Nico reminds me alot of him. Hard to see any fire in his belly. Composure is fantastic. But, mixing in a little juice with his teammates is not a bad thing. I bet you can find college and pro footage of both Mannings chewing some butt on the sidelines and they both had the utmost respect of their teammates.

 

[508mikey]

I highly doubt Nico is here in ‘26

If he’s not good enough to go pro then he’ll most likely lose the job to GMac or Faizon

Faizon will probably decommit this year

 

[SGMVols]

Faizon will probably decommit this year

lol ok, don’t let me disturb you while you’re in your feels

 

[508mikey]

lol ok, don’t let me disturb you while you’re in your feels

all it takes is another school offering more NIL money

 

[Cartervol]

I always thought Joe was too easy going during the game. You can be too cool IMO. Nico reminds me alot of him. Hard to see any fire in his belly. Composure is fantastic. But, mixing in a little juice with his teammates is not a bad thing. I bet you can find college and pro footage of both Mannings chewing some butt on the sidelines and they both had the utmost respect of their teammates.

I think vocal leaders are good. Different day and age now though. This NIL stuff and portal stuff seems to make it more about me than we though.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

To be fair, isn’t conversation what these forums is about?

Not so much it would seem. Mostly just a bunch of wild speculation, insider innuendo, and peepee wagging.

Some elect to require rational thought expression. You are free to post anything, but others are equally free to challenge that anything. THAT IS WHAT WE DO!!!!

 

[Carl Pickens]

Branch has been a JAG at USC, and based on how the past couple years have gone, it would be hard to expect him to be anything more than that here.

JAG?

 

[mitzustu]

So is this kid officially in the portal or not

 

[butchna]

JAG?

 

[vol_smoothie]

While I don’t enjoy the fact that the portal has changed the dynamics of this sport, it’s just a fact. All the pontificating about values and loyalty doesn’t change the harsh reality that these kids are seen as a generational asset by themselves, their families and handlers. They all believe that the dynamics of playing time, systems and reps that highlight their talent, and compensation are reflective of the value of that asset. Matthews was recruited on the success of Hyatt, and the balls that come to that position and the one wide. Prior to Matthews’ injury last Summer he was on track to start. After the injury, he never regained that spot, and only worked into the rotation at the end of the season. In games, we ran much more than we ever have and Nico didn’t see him or others running open in the check downs. Pope is a taskmaster, but not a great teacher and the room turned on him. Many also thought Nico would leave. Understand that other (top) teams are telling Matthews he’d play, get more balls, be developed better, work with a better qb, and ultimately increase his draft stock. The timing of all this was bad. He didn’t get to talk to coaches until after he submitted. Initially he just wanted to be heard, and get an increase. After word leaked that he was entering, he’s gotten several tangible offers that are higher and promises to play in a better environment with better coaching. He’s listening. He’s also listening to us. It’s a decision that means millions, if not tens of millions to him and his family. It’s a very hard decision to make as a 18-20 year old kid. We didn’t handle it perfectly. He didn’t handle it perfectly. The situation isn’t perfect. That said, it’s not a black and white Boy Scout character issue anymore. The changes are destroying why we all care about the game and it’s purity. Understand Matthews is seen as a top three receiver in the portal. The system encourages teams to offer more. It’s a market now, I don’t like it, I believe they’ll develop changes, but for now, this is the behavior we’ll get. The room turning on Pope is a bad development too. I don’t know how much of that is his fault vs players’, but you don’t lose this many guys by doing a great job. I’m glad everyone knows how their values would shield them from the temptation of trying to maximize their value in an uncertain situation, but it’s just not that simple.

Does not excuse how Matthews has conducted himself with regard to Coach Heupel and the team.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Does not excuse how Matthews has conducted himself with regard to Coach Heupel and the team.

Based on what?

 

[Nico ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va]

So is this kid officially in the portal or not

 

[Mator]

So is this kid officially in the portal or not

He is on the 247Sports portal page listed a 12/29 entry.

 

[NetworkVol]

Hey stat licker. I’m not deeming anything. Him getting separation and running good routes doesn’t mean they threw him the ball frequently. If you can’t see that he’s a different level of athlete, you aren’t going to find it in the box score.

This is has got to be weighing on him. Coach calls your number, you execute perfectly and look for the ball and Nico is running for his life. Throw a clean block. Next play, same thing. He knows most of the oline will be new next season so he's probably hesitant to stay when he sees osu throwing dimes to their freshmen. I get it. Did coach say pretty please?

 

[dduncan4163]

He is on the 247Sports portal page listed a 12/29 entry.

Yup and that aint good.

 

[TheFlash1971]

I hate this mostly because of my Son. He’s a young boy who absolutely lives and breathes Tennessee sports.
He got a Vols baseball jersey for Christmas and has worn it for 3 days straight.
He watches videos over and over again of all the UT games.
He got a little basketball signed by Coach Barnes after a game at TBA and just lit up. I’ll never forget it.
Wears an old Adidas #8 jersey and plays football in the yard for hours on end. Sings Rocky Top when he scores
He was the only kid in his school who wore UT gear on spirit day and he wore every piece of gear he had.
I’ve seen him defend Tennessee to the point of almost fighting other boys.
We didn’t get to make a game this year, but hope to get up for a b-ball game and baseball in the spring. He has asked me 437 times when we’re going back.
Last year, we went to the UConn game. Drove 3 hours. Got there at first light and stayed til after dark because he “wanted to see it all.”
I’ve been a Tennessee fan for 40 years. I’ve watched the Vols win National Championships, have been in Neyland and TBA for some great, great wins. I’ve ridden with the Vols through the rough times, too.
But he doesn’t know any better. He couldn’t stay awake to watch the whole game the other night. When I told him the Vols couldn’t pull it out, he just got silent. I know it hurt.
Later that morning, he was back out there in that #8 jersey, scoring TDs in front of 102k fans.
How am I gonna explain all this to him?
We might be able to score tickets more easily if things keep going, so there’s a bright spot.
But it is absolutely going to suck to try to explain to him why the guys he looks up to have left Tennessee.
We are living in bizarro world.

Not Really just say , Son this are life changing decisions that young men have to make . If I can get paid X amount of dollars more from team B then it’s a no brainer. There is no guarantee that you will make it or even last long enough to get paid. All for getting the money. Universities have been making gazzillions of these kids. Time to pay up.

 

[Carl Pickens]

Not Really just say , Son this are life changing decisions that young men have to make . If I can get paid X amount of dollars more from team B then it’s a no brainer. There is no guarantee that you will make it or even last long enough to get paid. All for getting the money. Universities have been making gazzillions of these kids. Time to pay up.

It’s going to destroy the game

 

[cgrish]

He hits the holes way too slow and always goes down at first contact

Time will tell, I still think he will be a great rb

 

[TheFlash1971]

It’s going to destroy the game

Alabama having all the players for 15-20 years. Then steamrolling this so called tough conference for 15-20 years. Winning 6 national championships Being in it and losing few times on top of it. That is what RUINS college football . Now with NIL and Transfer portal . Different winners is great for the game. Alabama was paying before paying was legal.

 

[KnoxToTheBoro93]

Yea the one read and panic qb was never an issue even when he refused to throw the ball on the last play of the game at Arkansas. Rushing to the line and having the lineman stay in their stance for 30 seconds while they try to call a play to keep Nico from disaster had nothing to do with any of the presnap penalties. We may have well just huddled up. The O-line and receivers had their share of mistakes but running a handcuffed offense was 100% due to Nico.

lol 100% is hilarious we only went 10-2 as a first year starter in the sec… how much production was taken off the board because of penalties post snap ie holding or illegal man down field??? Then how much we stopped because of drops? The tempo offense requires execution from all members… was nico perfect ? Not at all but to act like he was the biggest issue is pure hate… he played helped win 10 games as a freshman starter get some perspective…

 

[Delmar]

lol 100% is hilarious we only went 10-2 as a first year starter in the sec… how much production was taken off the board because of penalties post snap ie holding or illegal man down field??? Then how much we stopped because of drops? The tempo offense requires execution from all members… was nico perfect ? Not at all but to act like he was the biggest issue is pure hate… he played helped win 10 games as a freshman starter get some perspective…

Consider the source of who you are talking to. Put him on Ignore. You’ll thank me for it.

 

[C-south]

Consider the source of who you are talking to. Put him on Ignore. You’ll thank me for it.

Lol. If you had me on ignore you wouldn’t see this.

 

[UneducatedGuess]

So is this kid officially in the portal or not