Orange.
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I think this gets overlooked a lot. It’s almost like people expected Nico to be an even better version of Hendon. Hendon’s success happened so rapidly under Heupel’s system I don’t think HH gets enough credit for how good he really was, and how many plays he made. I do think that Nico will make a big jump this season and that the game will slow down for him. There were several instances where if he hits a deep ball it changes the entire dynamic of the game. Teams have adjusted to us and try to keep 2 safeties deep, so Nico needs to be more efficient when those deep shots are available . I think he will be .I’d say he needs to improve on his processing speed and deep ball accuracy, in that order.
That said, you’re right. He was a first year starter. His processing speed is naturally going to get better in 2025 due to the fact that he’ll be a 2nd year starter. Expecting a first year starter to be able to read a coverage and process his reads at the same level that 24 year-old Hendon Hooker did in 2022 is ridiculous, but some expected that.
I think Nico will be fantastic next season.