Nico/Vols Performance and Recruiting

[chatt.vol]

Lot of open receivers running free that Nico never saw. So frustrating. Late on throws. First start and a freshman so time to improve. Don’t be fooled about Iowa defense….they are not has good as advertised.

I'm confused because others that were at the game were saying none of the receivers were getting open which is why he wasn't throwing the ball.

 

[volfan411]

Samson dropped that shovel pass that would have been maybe 20-25 yards. Someone else dropped another one. So at least 3. I think we may have had another later. 4 drops is a lot in a game, but it didn’t matter at all today

That has been a common theme all season but most on here were to consumed with Joe sucked to blame the receivers.

 

[DaddyChad]

Personally, I’d rather have a really good linebacker if I could find one available.

Carter and Pili will be a good duo if they can stay healthy. Need another interior dlinemen and another olinemen imo before I’m ready to believe we have a contender

 

[DaddyChad]

That has been a common theme all season but most on here were to consumed with Joe sucked to blame the receivers.

Plenty of blame to go around. Oline wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. WRs were terrible imo. Qb was a problem but I thought Joe did enough to win plenty of games.

 

[volfan411]

Plenty of blame to go around. Oline wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. WRs were terrible imo. Qb was a problem but I thought Joe did enough to win plenty of games.

Joe wasn’t the only issue we had and I suspect if Joe had played today we would have had a very similar result in the game. Iowa is at best a mid to lower tier SEC team and benefited from a bad Big Ten conference this year.

 

[DaddyChad]

Joe wasn’t the only issue we had and I suspect if Joe had played today we would have had a very similar result in the game. Iowa is at best a mid to lower tier SEC team and benefited from a bad Big Ten conference this year.

Pretty much. Clemson last year was a much better team than Iowa today. Milton with the right weapons would’ve been good. Our WRs really let me down this year. Florida loss was 100% mostly on the line.

 

[bolvols]

I'm confused because others that were at the game were saying none of the receivers were getting open which is why he wasn't throwing the ball.

Myself and our Vol fans around me kept saying he is wide open…throw it throw it. Never happened.

 

[utvolpj]

Lot of open receivers running free that Nico never saw. So frustrating. Late on throws. First start and a freshman so time to improve. Don’t be fooled about Iowa defense….they are not has good as advertised.

Only one I really saw was he missed Squirrel for what would have been a long td. Had to be a defensive bust he was so open

 

[DiderotsGhost]

I was just asking in another thread if this game can help us with any remaining transfers or recruits?

That said, I’m surprised we didn’t go deep with Nico more, but very nice!

Don't think we went deep much for a few reasons:

* Iowa's secondary is very good
* Nico rarely had time to "go deep" with Iowa's D-line pressure
* We didn't need to

That last one is key. We ran the ball so well on Iowa, why gamble on deep throws with an aggressive D-line in Nico's face?

The fact that Nico put up 35 with all the pressure Iowa got on him is impressive!

 

[volfan411]

Pretty much. Clemson last year was a much better team than Iowa today. Milton with the right weapons would’ve been good. Our WRs really let me down this year. Florida loss was 100% mostly on the line.

I think the loss of Bru hurt more than anyone realized. He was/is a true possession saving receiver and without him no one stepped up to take his place.

 

[DaddyChad]

I think the loss of Bru hurt more than anyone realized. He was/is a true possession saving receiver and without him no one stepped up to take his place.

He’s a guy you knew would catch the ball. You didn’t have any of those on the field. You’ve got speed but you didn’t have a guy that’s going to catch the ball more often than not if it’s in his catch radius.

 

[volfan411]

Don't think we went deep much for a few reasons:

* Iowa's secondary is very good
* Nico rarely had time to "go deep" with Iowa's D-line pressure
* We didn't need to

That last one is key. We ran the ball so well on Iowa, why gamble on deep throws with an aggressive D-line in Nico's face?

The fact that Nico put up 35 with all the pressure Iowa got on him is impressive!

Well the offense was only responsible for 28 points and 7 of those was from a fumble recovery by the defense on the one yard line.

 

[B81]

The game plan was designed to protect Nico. Don’t put him in a situation to fail. Iowa had zero pass breakups. He never put the ball in harms way, and never needed too.

 

[Tarkus]

Carter and Pili will be a good duo if they can stay healthy. Need another interior dlinemen and another olinemen imo before I’m ready to believe we have a contender

Only problem is that neither stayed healthy.

 

[DaddyChad]

Only problem is that neither stayed healthy.

Pili does have a bit of history with injuries. Carter though first time he’s had issues. He was playing as a true freshman.

 

[Franklin_Vol09]

It was obvious with Nico’s first start: If a receiver was open, he threw it to them. Didn’t try and make the big throw and took what the defense gave him. Managed the game very well. Nico will get all the first team reps in spring and will improve tremendously. With that experience, the long ball will come.

 

[Volador]

I wanna see 4 more from the portal:

A stud SDE
A DT with 3* years of eligibility left
A Left Guard
Another DB

Our performance tonight will make portal hunting quite a bit easier, don't ya thinks??

 

[LAVol1]

If you're a WR unsure about where to play in 2024...

Evan Stewart (TAMU 5* WR in Transfer Portal): Come on Down!

Don't need him. We've got other more pressing needs. We're good at slot receiver. Give me a shut-down corner, a stud S, another stud DT or a stud OT with 2 yrs. eligibility.

 

[Hbg]

Need a reciever that can beat man coverage and get open. Not sure if Stewart can do that but that’s something we need!

Agreed, but if qb doesn’t get time to throw it he is useless

 

[LAVol1]

Joe wasn’t the only issue we had and I suspect if Joe had played today we would have had a very similar result in the game. Iowa is at best a mid to lower tier SEC team and benefited from a bad Big Ten conference this year.

I think Joe was under-appreciated. BUT, I don't think I've ever seen a freshman QB in his first start throw the ball as accurately as Nico. He was right on target with every throw where he wasn't under intense pressure. He was so quick to change direction. The only fault I could attribute to him was not getting rid of the ball when he should have. Otherwise, he was Jayden Daniels-like. With really good WR play, I could definitely see him in the '24 Heisman ceremony if he plays like he did today. He might even win it. He IS that good.

 

[Hbg]

PT

If he’s a stud receiver he can get that anywhere.

 

[RiverVol]

All Nico had to do was stay cool, develop his (own belief in his) in-game leadership, and learn from each snap/rep. It appears that he did that while delivering a really solid performance.

Game-speed will come down for him; he'll see more open receivers. If he can grow in accurately reading a progression from the pocket in short order, it's going to be boat races all year next year. He's already shown that he can throw on a dime and run well. There's a lot to be excited about. Credit to the whole team, and what a great start for Nico!

 

[Misplaced Vol]

We scored more than mich did against them. They put up 26 points, with 147 passing and 65 yds rushing. We did better in all 3 categories. And they are currently ahead of Bama at half time.

Michigan only had 2 touchdowns against Iowa,we had 5.

 

[vegasvolfan]

Don't think we went deep much for a few reasons:

* Iowa's secondary is very good
* Nico rarely had time to "go deep" with Iowa's D-line pressure
* We didn't need to

That last one is key. We ran the ball so well on Iowa, why gamble on deep throws with an aggressive D-line in Nico's face?

The fact that Nico put up 35 with all the pressure Iowa got on him is impressive!

We haven’t ever necessarily needed to. Nico had all day many tiimes. I think point #1 covers it (pun intended). Can’t go deep if your receivers are covered lol.

That said, not knocking anything at all. Incredible coming out game for our boy.

Curious, any stats on Manning’s first start?

 

[Misplaced Vol]

Don't think we went deep much for a few reasons:

* Iowa's secondary is very good
* Nico rarely had time to "go deep" with Iowa's D-line pressure
* We didn't need to

That last one is key. We ran the ball so well on Iowa, why gamble on deep throws with an aggressive D-line in Nico's face?

The fact that Nico put up 35 with all the pressure Iowa got on him is impressive!

True that!