'25 Portal Thread

#14,551
#14,551
cncchris33 said:
Part of me wonders if his family is hedging their bets on him being the slam dunk NFL prospect they once believed he was. Get as much NIL money as you can whike you can and then hope for the best, because like you said, this move flies in the face of anything that would help enhance his NFL chances for the '26 draft.
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If that’s the case, speaks volumes about the character of that family that they don’t have absolute belief in their son and his abilities and instead just view him as a money tree they need to squeeze dry before he stops producing fruit.

None of this from an outsider’s perspective looks like a family trying to protect their kid. I know it’s easy to be a couch parent when I don’t have kids yet, but Nico’s dad won’t face any repercussions for this. Nico’s agent won’t either. No one will really know their name.

Instead Big Nic’s 19-year old son is out there getting raked over the coals by fans and the media and is exposing his kid to crazy fans sending hate, probably even death threats knowing the online world. Nico is the person suffering from this the most and he’ll have to deal with the repercussions of this on his own while the guilty parties will wilt into the background and face no consequences while every talk show is screaming Nico, Nico, Nico everywhere.

Hell even Fox News tweeted about this. It’s everywhere.
 
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#14,552
#14,552
cncchris33 said:
Interesting thoughts...thanks! He must really not like it, too, considering he's been given every resource and opportunity to be successful. It's interesting that it took two years for him to fall out of love with this place, so I have a theory on that. From a football standpoint, I'd have thought this realization would have come to a head when he barely sniffed the field as a freshman and wasn't really given a chance to win the job. So, the idea that this decision comes when he's the unquestioned starter makes me wonder if he just doesn't like the pressure of being the starting QB at a place with a fanbase as passionate as ours. I could see how that could wear on a laid back kid from California as it isn't for everyone.

Like you, I don't see how this gets walked back. All this charade has done is rapidly increase the pressure on him going into next season. It just seems like this situation is past the point of no return. Dad overplayed his hand, but likely did so knowing they were fine if Tennessee called their bluff if Nico wasn't dead set on sticking it out, anyhow.
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Not that I disagree with you, because I don’t, but if this bold faced portion is true this completely solidifies my thoughts that he won’t succeed at the next level. If he can’t handle the pressure at Tennessee, good luck handling pressure in the NFL with the Cowboys, Steelers, Giants, or any other massive fanbase that will not settle for immature behavior like this when you’re paid bucko bucks.
 
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#14,555
#14,555
TheMookieMonster said:
Not that I disagree with you, because I don’t, but if this bold faced portion is true this completely solidifies my thoughts that he won’t succeed at the next level. If he can’t handle the pressure at Tennessee, good luck handling pressure in the NFL with the Cowboys, Steelers, Giants, or any other massive fanbase that will not settle for immature behavior like this when you’re paid bucko bucks.
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true and how bout Philly? He would be destroyed there
 
#14,559
#14,559
Jackcrevol said:
Plain and simple, recruiting hasnt been good enough. Period.
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Historically it’s the best recruiting has been in 20 some years. I wish it where higher but it takes a coaching staff some time to jump from UCF to an SEC school and bring in top 5 classes especially with all the NCAA stuff we had to deal with.

I’m also not sure we have top 5 class and roster retention money. We are probably a top 15 spender but that’s a big part of it too.
 
#14,563
#14,563
TheMookieMonster said:
Not that I disagree with you, because I don’t, but if this bold faced portion is true this completely solidifies my thoughts that he won’t succeed at the next level. If he can’t handle the pressure at Tennessee, good luck handling pressure in the NFL with the Cowboys, Steelers, Giants, or any other massive fanbase that will not settle for immature behavior like this when you’re paid bucko bucks.
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I think the link to UCLA (and to an extent, USC) supports the theory of preferring "less engaged" fanbases. Also, it's more in his comfort zone and in an area with more options to distract fans if he has a bad game/season. Just seems like he was a bit blinded by the money and attention threw at him and he didn't realize the pressure that came with it.
 
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#14,564
#14,564
cncchris33 said:
I think the link to UCLA (and to an extent, USC) supports the theory of preferring "less engaged" fanbases. Also, it's more in his comfort zone and in an area with more options to distract fans if he has a bad game/season. Just seems like he was a bit blinded by the money and attention threw at him and he didn't realize the pressure that came with it.
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I cannot for the love of me understand what happened in 24 hours to warrant the hot and cold. he was literally at a qb function.
 
#14,568
#14,568
Jackcrevol said:
I cannot for the love of me understand what happened in 24 hours to warrant the hot and cold. he was literally at a qb function.
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On the outside, it seems like dad his pulling the strings in this production. And to that end, I'd guess that Nico has no intention or desire to go against his dad. Frankly, I'm giving Nico a lot of grace over this situation, and my gut tells me I'm probably giving him too much grace.

I think he's more involved/complicit than many want to believe. As has been alluded to, I just don't think he's happy in Knoxville. I think dad threw out a crazy number that was reasonable enough to them for Nico to attempt to grin and bear it for another year to see if Tennessee would blink. That only works if you time it out just like they did where Nico gets all the spring reps with the 1st team and then stages this holdout right before a big fan event at the spring game. That is when Tennessee should theoretically be the most vulnerable and willing to overpay to quiet the noise. Problem is, Tennessee called their bluff, and Nico will end up getting what he really wants, which is getting back on the west coast. He won't likely get $4 mil, but he will get peace of mind and something in the range of what he made at UT.

All speculation, of course, but it's very plausible.
 
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#14,569
#14,569


According to Staples, Tennessee might not just be dealing with the threat of losing its starting quarterback — the Vols could also be in line to add a surprise name from the portal.

“I bet we’re gonna see a QB that we weren’t expecting to enter the portal, with a ‘do not contact’ tag,” Staples said. “And I’ll probably post a checkerboard endzone as soon as that happens.”
 
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#14,570
#14,570
cncchris33 said:
On the outside, it seems like dad his pulling the strings in this production. And to that end, I'd guess that Nico has no intention or desire to go against his dad. Frankly, I'm giving Nico a lot of grace over this situation, and my gut tells me I'm probably giving him too much grace.

I think he's more involved/complicit than many want to believe. As has been alluded to, I just don't think he's happy in Knoxville. I think dad threw out a crazy number that was reasonable enough to them for Nico to attempt to grin and bear it for another year to see if Tennessee would blink. That only works if you time it out just like they did where Nico gets all the spring reps with the 1st team and then stages this holdout right before a big fan event at the spring game. That is when Tennessee should theoretically be the most vulnerable and willing to overpay to quiet the noise. Problem is, Tennessee called their bluff, and Nico will end up getting what he really wants, which is getting back on the west coast. He won't likely get $4 mil, but he will get peace of mind and something in the range of what he made at UT.

All speculation, of course, but it's very plausible.
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Sounds very reasonable.
 
#14,571
#14,571
T2P_Priceless said:


According to Staples, Tennessee might not just be dealing with the threat of losing its starting quarterback — the Vols could also be in line to add a surprise name from the portal.

“I bet we’re gonna see a QB that we weren’t expecting to enter the portal, with a ‘do not contact’ tag,” Staples said. “And I’ll probably post a checkerboard endzone as soon as that happens.”
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interesting.
 
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#14,572
#14,572
T2P_Priceless said:
“I bet we’re gonna see a QB that we weren’t expecting to enter the portal, with a ‘do not contact’ tag,” Staples said. “And I’ll probably post a checkerboard endzone as soon as that happens.”
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That seemed more like Staples spitballing there. As in, he doesn’t actually know anything.
 
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#14,574
#14,574
barrylee said:
Guess Nico wasn’t happy with the WRs. He thinks he’s gotta have a big year and maybe doesn’t think he will be able with these wide receivers.
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Excellent point. Wasn't Nico per se. It was some reporter relaying the "excuse" from Nicos "team". Pretty sure they weren't happy with the OL either. That's gotta enhance his position in the locker room. That being the case, why would Matthews and a "couple" of OL follow him into the portal as one poster suggested? Now maybe the WR/OL won't blame Nico for that, but it certainly would ruffle my feathers toward his family when the implication is that I'm not good enough to play with their son. Gonna say it again. This bridge has been burned. If they do pay him or he remains on the team at his current deal, it will be a train wreck. It will also set an incredibly bad precedent for our future recruiting not to mention encouraging our current roster to test our will going forward. Nope. Can't go down that road. No way this can work going forward. It's best for both parties if Nico just moves to another school and UT can refocus on this team and season.
 
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