Nico to start the bowl game? Confirmed

#4
#4
Unless Milton is hurt I highly doubt Nico is the starter. I don't see a coach benching his senior quarterback for his last game after leading the team all year. Maybe Nico will come in early but I'd bet the farm that Milton is the starter.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: VolNExile, GreyhoundMan, Pickle1 and 50 others
#7
#7
Boogie said:
Unless Milton is hurt I highly doubt Nico make the start. I don't see a coach benching his senior quarterback for his last game after leading the team all year. Maybe Nico will come in early but I'd bet the farm that Milton is the starter.
Click to expand...
This might be a situation where Joe stars 2-3 Series and Nico Takes over from there. Or they share reps and Heupel goes with the hot hand. Something along those lines. This is a bowl game and I think Joe wants to play infront of his family one last time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: youcancallmeAl, Smokey19rt, cachurch and 4 others
#8
#8
Boogie said:
Unless Milton is hurt I highly doubt Nico make the start. I don't see a coach benching his senior quarterback for his last game after leading the team all year. Maybe Nico will come in early but I'd bet the farm that Milton is the starter.
Click to expand...
I agree 100%. I just think it’s interesting that AP said what he said.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mickey1969 and Boogie
#10
#10
Troll thread title OP
There is no way in the world outside of opt out Joe does not only start but play till the game is sorted. In fact I'd say this is a bad idea for nicos debut start. This is a legit defense and you want to hit them with the proven commodity. Nico still has not seen snaps against P5 first string defense much less a top 15 squad
 
  • Like
Reactions: sami
#12
#12
pimo1 said:
Troll thread title OP
There is no way in the world outside of opt out Joe does not only start but play till the game is sorted. In fact I'd say this is a bad idea for nicos debut start. This is a legit defense and you want to hit them with the proven commodity. Nico still has not seen snaps against P5 first string defense much less a top 15 squad
Click to expand...
"Legit Defense" lol. Thats funny. That defense hasnt played a proficient offense all year. The best offenses that defense faced this year was, Illinois, Penn St, and Michigan. Those teams are ranked in the 60s offensively. TN is a different Animal. Ranking 17th in the country. Speed will kill in this game. If Joe hits early this game will be out of hand by halftime.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mtnvol80 and TNRazor
#13
#13
aRmo said:
"Legit Defense" lol. Thats funny. That defense hasnt played a proficient offense all year. The best offenses that defense faced this year was, Illinois, Penn St, and Michigan. Those teams are ranked in the 60s offensively. TN is a different Animal. Ranking 17th in the country. Speed will kill in this game. If Joe hits early this game will be out of hand by halftime.
Click to expand...
The speed deference is legit and matters. If Iowa beats Tennessee, it's because they smashed the receivers and the offensive line beyond all reasoning. If they cannot jam the receivers off their routes and get pressure, the speed is going to end them.
 
#16
#16
I would be surprised if Milton played very long, even if it's close. He will start the game because he is from the area and his family and friends will get the opportunity to see him play in-person. But I would expect Nico to take over at least after half time, if not before.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blouder1
#17
#17
So you really think that Heupel is going to have stuck with Milton ALL season and now in the bowl game and Milton's last game as a Vol he's going to bench him? For a bowl game that in reality isn't really all that important? I mean sure we want to win but it's the Citrus Bowl and we're playing an Iowa team that would struggle to score against a Pop Warner defense.

The only way Nico starts is if Milton is hurt or too sick to play.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DuckInAPen, swampfoxfan and TheVolsFrog
#19
#19
VolsSportsFan said:
So you really think that Heupel is going to have stuck with Milton ALL season and now in the bowl game and Milton's last game as a Vol he's going to bench him? For a bowl game that in reality isn't really all that important? I mean sure we want to win but it's the Citrus Bowl and we're playing an Iowa team that would struggle to score against a Pop Warner defense.

The only way Nico starts is if Milton is hurt or too sick to play.
Click to expand...
I dont think Austin Price drops that nugget unless the staff has plans for both QBs to play in the bowl game.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MountainDooley, blouder1 and Hurley Mooncalf
#21
#21
Well, Austin Price put a big "but I could be wrong" sort of buffer on the front of his pronouncement: "I don't think it's far-fetched to believe...."

That is hardly saying anything is for certain.

And even if you put that fluff to the side, the core of his statement is still not very definitive: "the time has come for the Nico show."

Doesn't say Nico starts.

Doesn't say Nico gets more snaps than Joe.

All it really implies is that we're going to see more of Nico in this bowl game than we've seen yet this year.

And that fits entirely with what I would do if I were coach: give Joe the first half--tell him up front it is his victory lap, to make the most of it. And the second half belongs to Nico, no matter what the scoreboard says, to shift the program into thinking about the future; to begin the transition to the 2024 Vols.

An entire half belonging to Nico would certainly qualify as "time for the Nico show."

Go Vols!
 
  • Like
Reactions: V0LUNT33R, VAVol85, BleedinOrangeinPA and 2 others
#22
#22
I could see Joe playing Q1 and half Q2, then Nico and Joe ends game with Q4.

This is Joe’s home turf and maybe last time he plays significant minutes unless he ”Figures“ it out in the NFL…
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deebowbear
#24
#24
aRmo said:
"Legit Defense" lol. Thats funny. That defense hasnt played a proficient offense all year. The best offenses that defense faced this year was, Illinois, Penn St, and Michigan. Those teams are ranked in the 60s offensively. TN is a different Animal. Ranking 17th in the country. Speed will kill in this game. If Joe hits early this game will be out of hand by halftime.
Click to expand...

That made me actually go back and look at the NCAA total offense rank for each of their opponents this year and...you're right! They played some really bad offenses. The only remotely decent offense they played was G5 Utah St. who also scored 14 points on them.

OpponentTotal Offense Rank
Utah St21
Iowa St86
Western Michigan78
Penn St60
Michigan St125
Purdue68
Wisconsin75
Minnesota122
Northwestern121
Rutgers120
Illinois59
Nebraska116
Michigan67
Tennessee17
 
  • Like
Reactions: aRmo
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top