Nico’s short time in the game

[vols 30]

I hope we see more of him next week.

I bet he plays almost the entire 2nd half. After that, we might not see him play for awhile

 

[AustinMem]

I bet he plays almost the entire 2nd half. After that, we might not see him play for awhile

I hope to see him every week in the 4th.

 

[The Original Fade]

He's calm, great pocket presence. The o line will feed off that.

“Presents”

 

[Volbrando]

Nico looked comfortable running the offense and drove them to a TD. I think we are in good hands and Milton is a good mentor as well

 

[sami]

Already looks better than Shrout, Maurer, and Bailey ever did.

Back handed compliment.

 

[sami]

And Guarantano!

Back handed compliment on steroids.

 

[FranklinVFL]

Nico is indeed a cool customer with amazing skills. Joe Milton exhibited that rocket arm & also was among the first to congratulate Nico after his touchdown drive. Reminded me of when Hendon Hooker did the same for Milton last season. The synergy is REAL.

After the last few coaching debacles and internal issues, the way Huepel has completely converted that locker room, chemistry and morale is just one of the more impressive off the field changes that has occurred.

 

[Volador]

He needs to gain weight, but he looked the part.

It felt like the early 90s. We were good. But during the blowouts, you could see that the younger backups were even more talented than the upper class starters. Heupel could be building a powerhouse. It’s nice to finally be excited again.

Joe Milton and Nico Suave

 

[volsrock09]

That article the KNS ran about Milton said Nico stops by Joe’s apartment after nearly every practice. The culture of peer mentorship this staff and generation of players have built is very impressive.

One of the best moments for me yesterday (outside of winning) was seeing Milton coaching up Nico when he came to the sideline.

 

[DaddyChad]

He has a much better coach than any of them did

This. Pretty much. I do think Nico is better than all them as far as raw talent but none of those kids had competent coaches to develop them.

 

[EZE]

He has a much better coach than any of them did

Ya think?!!!

 

[jsc1973]

You never know. Tony Robinson was a stick but could play the game. It took a pretty cheap shot low to take him out.

Eff you, Curt Jarvis, wherever you are.

I was in that end zone at the end of that game when Van Tiffin's 61-yard field goal try came up just barely short. I was 12 years old and sick to my stomach thinking they might win the game thanks to a dirty play like that. For a moment it looked like he had the distance.

Tony has to own the bad choices he made after that, but that changed his life and probably cost Tennessee its first Heisman winner.

 

[SockeyeVol]

But what about Salter. just kidding

Salter...what a fool. QB of the future, gets into a dorm confrontation over drugs before ever even getting to the season. Reminds me of Chappelle's "keeping it real" skits.

 

[jsc1973]

I will fully admit that I had high hopes for HB.

I will also fully admit that those hopes were unfounded.

He sucks. I'm sure he's a good kid blah blah blah, but he's not a legitimate P5 or even G5 QB. May he have a long and successful career at whatever he actually ends up doing for a living, but it's not gonna be a QB.

Harrison Bailey is the Mitch Mustain of the Smokies. No matter where he goes or how poorly he plays, there will always be someone who will claim it was everyone else's fault he didn't make it.

Twenty years from now, someone will be on here saying that if Heupel had just made him the starter when he took over, HB would have taken UT all the way in 2022. Heaven help us if he ever gets into a game at Louisville and completes a few passes in a row.

With that said, good luck to him. I have a feeling the people around him are probably as much a problem as opposing defenses are.

 

[SpookyAction]

Back handed compliment.

I meant it in a very positive way.
Our first look was good. that wasn't true for any QB in recent memory, besides HH.

 

[AdoptedVOL]

Huepel has been stingy with snaps for backup QBs.

I sense he's going to bring Nico along quickly.

 

[Sara Clark]

Huepel has been stingy with snaps for backup QBs.

I sense he's going to bring Nico along quickly.

Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. I suspect Huepel would love to redshirt him, while I may be wrong, I don't think it's going to work out that way......and I hate it!

 

[77' Vol]

At least he will be the starting QB for two full seasons before he goes PRO! I'm confident Heupel will be able to attract highly rated QB's as much as we score. Jake Merklinger (24 Commit) is a stud.

 

[WiseOlVol]

Hope he's crushing it at the training table.

 

[sami]

Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. I suspect Huepel would love to redshirt him, while I may be wrong, I don't think it's going to work out that way......and I hate it!

If he's as good as we hope, he won't be here longer than two more years anyway. Three would be a major bonus.

As this thing gets rolling, we're going to have stud QB's lining up to come here.

 

[MackDaddyVol]

If he's as good as we hope, he won't be here longer than two more years anyway. Three would be a major bonus.

As this thing gets rolling, we're going to have stud QB's lining up to come here.

One of my Clemson friends said that exact same thing. “With Heupel’s offense, y’all will have stud QBs lining up to play. If only for a couple of years, the NFL scouts will still see them.”