Per Thamel: Heupel informed team this morning that Vols would move on from Nico.

#676
#676
loggervol said:
No matter how he played last year, he went 10-2 as a starter. And, the talent is there. He should receive market value. I don’t like it either but this is where things are heading.
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Nico didn't go 10-2!!! There you go making the team an I ( one person, Nico)!!! UT went 10-2 due to the OL allowing Sampson to run up and down the field and the D playing lights out most of the year! Nico threw a combined 2 TDs vs Ark, Bama, FL, GA, and OU, 2 passing TDs in 5 SEC games! Nico didn't win ****!!!
 
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#678
#678
DirtyDawg said:
Well shite, I’m not sure what to say except for I can understand how this sucks for you guys!

I obviously dont have knowledge of why so I’ll refrain from giving a strong opinion, but to me it serves a bit as a reminder of where CFB is going.

Were I a Vol, my initial reaction to this would be “Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on your way out”. Granted, this view is with limited knowledge.

In any event, maybe one of your young guys step up, Merklinger and Macintyre are both talented.

It sucks for some BS like this to happen, especially right now, but I can’t imagine CJH can’t navigate this QB situation. It sucks and it’s a huge letdown, but it will work out.
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The fanbase is pretty united in saying don’t let the door hit him on the way out. The true letdown is that the guy wasn’t anywhere close to as good as advertised. The fact we no longer have to pay him for replacement-level play is a good thing.
 
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#679
#679
xpsyclonex2002 said:
I'm actually happy with this. I've not been on the Nico bandwagon since about half way through the season. He's not been on the same page with our receiver core the entire season. You put up gaudy numbers against crap quality teams, but got exposed every time we play the quality opponent. It's easier to get rid of the quarterback than the entire receiver corps. Send the message to all future recruits and current players. You are not "the team". And most of all, I'm so happy to have a program with a spine. Even if we lose a couple of games, I would rather send the message then start the circus with a bunch of players always jockey for more money
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The playbook came out on Tennessee last year that all you had to do was load the box and stop the run because Nico couldn't beat you. He was in truth a detriment against the good teams that we couldn't just plow over.
 
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#683
#683
DirtyDawg said:
Well shite, I’m not sure what to say except for I can understand how this sucks for you guys!

I obviously dont have knowledge of why so I’ll refrain from giving a strong opinion, but to me it serves a bit as a reminder of where CFB is going.

Were I a Vol, my initial reaction to this would be “Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on your way out”. Granted, this view is with limited knowledge.

In any event, maybe one of your young guys step up, Merklinger and Macintyre are both talented.

It sucks for some BS like this to happen, especially right now, but I can’t imagine CJH can’t navigate this QB situation. It sucks and it’s a huge letdown, but it will work out.
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Thank you, Dirty.

It is what it is. I don't think it is the end of the world. He seemed like one of those guys more interested in things outside of football than in it. Carson Beck was sort of the same way for you all. Was there a lot of gnashing of teeth when he left?
 
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#684
#684
89 VOLS grad said:
Nico didn't go 10-2!!! There you go making the team and I ( one person, Nico)!!! UT went 10-2 due to the OL allowing Sampson to run up and down the field and the D playing lights out most of the year! Nico threw a combined 2 TDs vs Ark, Bama, FL, and GA! Nico didn't win ****!!!
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Truth. And there was plenty of times when opposing teams keyed on the run because they didn't respect our passing game, and our passing game gave them no reason to respect it.
 
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#685
#685
89 VOLS grad said:
Nico didn't go 10-2!!! There you go making the team and I ( one person, Nico)!!! UT went 10-2 due to the OL allowing Sampson to run up and down the field and the D playing lights out most of the year! Nico threw a combined 2 TDs vs Ark, Bama, FL, and GA! Nico didn't win ****!!!
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Calm down. I think we are all just discussing what happened. I may see it differently than you do.

I’m definitely not on his side.
 
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#687
#687
Godfatha said:
Thank you, Dirty.

It is what it is. I don't think it is the end of the world. He seemed like one of those guys more interested in things outside of football than in it. Carson Beck was sort of the same way for you all. Was there a lot of gnashing of teeth when he left?
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It was honestly kind of odd with the Beck situation for us, or at least it seemed to me. I think it was easier bc everyone expected him to be gone anyway, we just expected he would be drafted instead of going to Miami. I’d love to have Beck back bc he does have great potential, and bc I’m concerned about the position, but it wasn’t a shock that he is gone. Most GA fans I congregate with wish him well and are fine to move on.

I’m actually very worried about our QB situation though. I love Gunner, he is a hard working kid that set records in GA high school, but I just haven’t seen enough to feel confident. Really, I’m more worried about our OC situation. I’m not sure that sticking with Bobo is the right move, I wanted to hire Buster from GT. That guy is on the rise!

Anyway, back to TN football. It really sucks bc of the hoped expectations, but CJH will find the right guy. This is an unfortunate and unexpected setback, but it potentially gets you guys on the right path that much quicker.
 
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#689
#689
BernardKingGOAT said:
I am glad he is gone, but he didn't look like someone who was afraid to take a hit in the OSU game. He had some tough ass runs in that game and that's just a fact. Again, I'm glad he's gone given the circumstances, but your post is ignorant AF
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That was the only game he took hits. You are ignorant DA.
 
#690
#690
DirtyDawg said:
It was honestly kind of odd with the Beck situation for us, or at least it seemed to me. I think it was easier bc everyone expected him to be gone anyway, we just expected he would be drafted instead of going to Miami. I’d love to have Beck back bc he does have great potential, and bc I’m concerned about the position, but it wasn’t a shock that he is gone. Most GA fans I congregate with wish him well and are fine to move on.

I’m actually very worried about our QB situation though. I love Gunner, he is a hard working kid that set records in GA high school, but I just haven’t seen enough to feel confident. Really, I’m more worried about our OC situation. I’m not sure that sticking with Bobo is the right move, I wanted to hire Buster from GT. That guy is on the rise!

Anyway, back to TN football. It really sucks bc of the hoped expectations, but CJH will find the right guy. This is an unfortunate and unexpected setback, but it potentially gets you guys on the right path that much quicker.
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The thing with Georgia is that you guys can still win with a mediocre QB because you are still loaded with talent. I don't think it was as strong 3-4 years ago but still stout.

Tennessee still doesn't have quite that level of talent yet so hits are more impactful. However, I sometimes wonder if Nico was turning into a bust and that played a part in him wanting to leave.
 
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#693
#693
volbound1700 said:
The thing with Georgia is that you guys can still win with a mediocre QB because you are still loaded with talent. I don't think it was as strong 3-4 years ago but still stout.

Tennessee still doesn't have quite that level of talent yet so hits are more impactful. However, I sometimes wonder if Nico was turning into a bust and that played a part in him wanting to leave.
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I agree, that certainly has much to do with it. We’ve been a bit spoiled by the ridiculous level of recruitment by Kirby and Co, and we’ve been spoiled by some recent years of success. That probably makes the loss of Beck kind of taken with a grain of salt for many.

Conversely though, it’s a bit different for how it happened with Nico. You guys are a program finally on the rise with a promising coach in CJH, and you just unexpectedly lost your QB, whom many thought not long ago would be the missing piece. It sucks!!! I know what it feels like to be in such a situation. My goodness I can’t tell you how many years that I felt that GA was so very good but never quite good enough. We went through year after year of “Damn, we are really very good, but shite, never good enough!”

Have faith in CJH though, he has already turned things around! He will handle this as well! I honestly think things are still looking good for you guys, Keep the Faith Vols, Heupel’s got this!!!
 
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#696
#696
DirtyDawg said:
I agree, that certainly has much to do with it. We’ve been a bit spoiled by the ridiculous level of recruitment by Kirby and Co, and we’ve been spoiled by some recent years of success. That probably makes the loss of Beck kind of taken with a grain of salt for many.

Conversely though, it’s a bit different for how it happened with Nico. You guys are a program finally on the rise with a promising coach in CJH, and you just unexpectedly lost your QB, whom many thought not long ago would be the missing piece. It sucks!!! I know what it feels like to be in such a situation. My goodness I can’t tell you how many years that I felt that GA was so very good but never quite good enough. We went through year after year of “Damn, we are really very good, but shite, never good enough!”

Have faith in CJH though, he has already turned things around! He will handle this as well! I honestly think things are still looking good for you guys, Keep the Faith Vols, Heupel’s got this!!!
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Great post. I am starting to think that Nico was becoming kind of a cancer though. We definitely bought into fool's gold with him. He didn't perform like expected last year and I believe that played a part (plus our offseason attrition) in this going down about as much as the money. You demand more money or get out of dodge because he was probably not confident in his ability to be successful at Tennessee next year. I am not saying our backups will blow it out of the water but I don't think there is going to be that big of a drop off. Who knows, if they are more invested and interact better with the team, they could be an upgrade.

Key is whether we will take any more attention or not. I think Tennessee has often bought into the fact that we need to roll over for big time recruits to get successful again but Alabama and Georgia never did that when they were building up to become Championship Contenders.

I still think next year could be a down year for us though (I was thinking that even with Nico). Perhaps something like 2023. Who knows, maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.
 
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#699
#699
landscapingvol said:
I mean I get what you are saying and you may very well be correct but we will never really know what his family is like behind the scenes. And, if you have ever watched the Junior Seau documentary, an involved dad isn’t always a great thing and can ruin a career much like Ball family
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Much like the Ball family? LaMelo is a star who is gonna make more than half a billion dollars in his career, Lonzo had horrible injury luck but will clear over 100 mil, and even the Fredo of the bunch signed a multimillion dollar rap deal.
 
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#700
#700
volbound1700 said:
Great post. I am starting to think that Nico was becoming kind of a cancer though. We definitely bought into fool's gold with him. He didn't perform like expected last year and I believe that played a part (plus our offseason attrition) in this going down about as much as the money. You demand more money or get out of dodge because he was probably not confident in his ability to be successful at Tennessee next year. I am not saying our backups will blow it out of the water but I don't think there is going to be that big of a drop off. Who knows, if they are more invested and interact better with the team, they could be an upgrade.

Key is whether we will take any more attention or not. I think Tennessee has often bought into the fact that we need to roll over for big time recruits to get successful again but Alabama and Georgia never did that when they were building up to become Championship Contenders.

I still think next year could be a down year for us though (I was thinking that even with Nico). Perhaps something like 2023. Who knows, maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.
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Yeah, I think the roll over effect is just a temporary reaction to how things rapidly changed. No one knew the right way to navigate these waters and TN took a shot on a big time player that everyone wanted. As it turns out, he wasn’t the next Peyton, but at least they are trying to be in the game.

TN like all of us will learn how this is working and the most beneficial way to conduct business in this new landscape. BC that is what it is now, a completely new business landscape that we all have to learn to navigate. I don’t love it, I’m a mid life person that is against the change of anything I love, but I love CFB enough to adapt if I must.

Anyway, perhaps you’re right, maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Your young guys are talented, so it’s very possible this goes well for you guys.
 
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