So did we sacrifice this season

[VolinMichigan]

By allowing Nico to sit knowing that Milton was going to try but not be a world killer. Did we look at the schedule and say that beating Bama and UGA would be too much to ask for a freshman.
Nico was prepared for today way more than I thought he’d be.
Looking forward to spring and next fall.

No. He wasn’t ready. He looked good at times today but he made a lot of freshman mistakes. He held onto the ball instead of throwing it away too many times and he bailed on his reads. He’ll get better but he looked far from polished as a passer today.

 

[OrangeTsar]

Wouldn't that extra win, plus more experience, make a significant difference?

Without Cooper Mays against Florida, Nico would have been a sitting duck back there

 

[loservol]

This! Nico was never forced to win this game with his arm. Could he have? I am super excited about Nico’s ceiling, but his floor this year was lower than Joes. If Joe plays again Iowa we probably score 50

Yeah, right! Probably would have played out like the A&M game, with the defense having to save the day. He's gone and now it's time to get behind Nico.

 

[WhenUrVolUrVFL]

By allowing Nico to sit knowing that Milton was going to try but not be a world killer. Did we look at the schedule and say that beating Bama and UGA would be too much to ask for a freshman.
Nico was prepared for today way more than I thought he’d be.
Looking forward to spring and next fall.

I’ve seen a bunch of people saying no, but im going to say—yes.

And now I genuinely and am wondering if Heupel is in fact an elite executive decision maker. I’ve seen some very questionable decisions that really show no ability to think on a time scale. He pissed off Sampson with limited reps when it should have been obvious to ANYONE that Sampson was going to be the guy. Michigan realized 3 years ago that Milton wasn’t a major div 1 program starter, yet Heupel had Milton ahead of Hooker and Nico.

I diss it before the season started we should have had a plan to bench Milton if the Florida game started getting wonky in the first few drives. Instead we lost to one of the worst Florida teams we’ll ever see. That should never have happened.

 

[Padi7777]

No...you don't get better by not playing

Correct

 

[Padi7777]

I’ve seen a bunch of people saying no, but im going to say—yes.

And now I genuinely and am wondering if Heupel is in fact an elite executive decision maker. I’ve seen some very questionable decisions that really show no ability to think on a time scale. He pissed off Sampson with limited reps when it should have been obvious to ANYONE that Sampson was going to be the guy. Michigan realized 3 years ago that Milton wasn’t a major div 1 program starter, yet Heupel had Milton ahead of Hooker and Nico.

I diss it before the season started we should have had a plan to bench Milton if the Florida game started getting wonky in the first few drives. Instead we lost to one of the worst Florida teams we’ll ever see. That should never have happened.

You are on point. Delusional people who didn't watch us get absolutely destroyed by the likes of Missouri (can't believe I am even saying that) aren't being realistic about the role of Milton in the success or not of a team. It is easy blame everyone else. But no one ever wins a conference title with a substandard QB.
Milton, even we were getting destroyed by GA and Missouri, couldn't go a okay without running his mouth. He wasnt good enough to run his mouth. And neither was the offense under his command.
I question the coach after this year. The team took a huge step backward.
Even when they could put him in because the game was out of hand (often in the wrong direction) coach H was hesitant to do so. Compare that to Saban. Milroe has a bad quarter and Saban gets out the hook. Difference between being SEC champs and losing to every decent SEC team you played

 

[Ttucke11]

This! Nico was never forced to win this game with his arm. Could he have? I am super excited about Nico’s ceiling, but his floor this year was lower than Joes. If Joe plays again Iowa we probably score 50

I'll disagree there. Joe would've been sacked 12 times today.

 

[BigALWiLson]

Wouldn't that extra win, plus more experience, make a significant difference?

Not if hes cripple

 

[cgrish]

Nico threw for 151 yards. I personally think Joe would have had better stats yardage wise. Nico had a solid game and got some TDs near the goal line, but I don't think the performance overall was groundbreaking or anything. Liked his poise though for a freshman. I think he's going to be real good. I don't think this performance warrants questioning whether or not he should have been the starter all year though.

You do realize Iowa does have a good defense. We out performed what Mich. did against them, We had more passing yards, more rushing yards, and more points than Mich. did. We would not have score very many points with Milton in the game based on what we did against good defensive teams. Only 7 points against Mo. we had a very good offensive performance.

 

[BigALWiLson]

Nico never looks away from his first choice

Tf ? Did you even watch hime play today ? He went through progressions multiple times

 

[Casual Mustard Yeeter]

I’m ok with it, had he started in somewhat of an off year he very well could have been hurt very bad with a reoccurring injury. Now, I’m looking forward to 2024 much more than I was 2023.

A young, talented kid can also have their confidence irreparably damaged if they get thrown into the fire too soon.

 

[djohnnyg]

I think this is a perfectly reasonable post. After today...a 35-0 thumping vs a team ranked higher than us...with one of the top defenses in the country...and we were led by a 5 star highly touted recruit. Of course fans will wonder what could've been. Nobody beat Iowa like we did this year. Not even Michigan. You have to wonder what we could of been. Milton was not a great college qb. He wasn't even good alot of the time. All this "Heupel knows best" stuff is odd when he himself thought Milton was better than Hooker...and I like Heupel. The answer is we'll never know how good we may have been w Nico all year...we can just enjoy the afterglow of a nice beatdown of another big 10 team in a new years day bowl with high hopes for next year.

 

[i2amavol]

He needs to add 20 pounds more than anything. He was not physically ready for the SEC grind. I think it has worked out for the best.

 

[jarnol32]

By allowing Nico to sit knowing that Milton was going to try but not be a world killer. Did we look at the schedule and say that beating Bama and UGA would be too much to ask for a freshman.
Nico was prepared for today way more than I thought he’d be.
Looking forward to spring and next fall.

Nico was 12-19 for 151 yards. He ran the ball 15 times for 27 yards. I will say he looked good running the ball in the red zone for 3 tds, other than that Nico’s stats didn’t look much different than Milton’s.

People put too much blame on Milton for the offensive problems this season. The offensive line was suspect all year. Ramel Keyton dropped atleast 5 sure tds, and had many other drive killing drops throughout the season. Webb and Nimrod couldn’t get separation, and struggled with drops. Thornton struggled with a hurt hamstring, then right when he was starting to flash he breaks his ankle.

Nico can be special, but for that to happen we need an upgrade at both offensive line and wide receiver. Hopefully Thornton will be fully healthy and the transfer from Tulane will be a difference maker. Grab a couple of offensive lineman from the portal, and start the Nico for heisman campaign in 2024!

 

[LordBolton]

No. Learn to look forward. Three years ago we could only dream of playing in two NYD bowls in a row. Now it's a reality.

We've reached the point again where it is the minimum expectation, that's a good place to be.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

No. I am excited for Nico's future but Iowa is not good. Anybody who had watched them play much this year, knew this would not be close. I have been saying we would boatrace them for weeks, even when we thought Joe was starting. It was a good win to get to 9-4, but this game tells you little more about how Nico would perform against the class of conference than Joe thrashing Vandy or UConn would.

 

[TNStudMuffin]

By allowing Nico to sit knowing that Milton was going to try but not be a world killer. Did we look at the schedule and say that beating Bama and UGA would be too much to ask for a freshman.
Nico was prepared for today way more than I thought he’d be.
Looking forward to spring and next fall.

Hindsight is 20/20, but I certainly maintain that some bad decisions happened along the way.

 

[TNStudMuffin]

You don’t know that unless you’re a coach or blindly trust those that are. Remember that we almost never saw Hendon due to a decision to start Joe until he was hurt. We’ll never know if Nico would have made a difference, but my gut tells me he would’ve. Offense looked like Heupel’s for the first time since Hendon went down. One things for sure. Joe was never it. But it doesn’t matter now as it’s all in the past.

They assert unequivocally that "Nico wasn't ready" because there is a certain faction of the fanbase that has to toe the line. There's a narrative that supports the current admin and they stick to it. Admitting that Joe could have been replaced at some point mid season-ish with a better option opens up a whole Pandora's Box of questions about what was going on behind the scenes. That's a big no from the toe liners.

 

[rocketskates]

Nah we didn’t. Im gonna put trust in Heupel that Nico wasn’t ready yet. I think spending a season in the system and a month of prep were one of the reasons that Nico looked really good yesterday.

 

[Volbrando]

if 9-4 is a sacrificial season, I like where things are heading

 

[Brave Volunteer]

If 9 wins is the floor with this coach, I'll take it! At least for a while. After wandering in the wilderness for over 10 years I'm content to just be "good" for a while!

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Not getting 8 more meaningful snaps has the potential to hurt us next year.

If he played more this season he would have the flaw of holding it too long when the pocket collapses.

My only criticism of JH is playing older players I’ver more talented underclassmen.

Name the more talented underclassmen

 

[VFL-82-JP]

If 9 wins is the floor with this coach, I'll take it! At least for a while. After wandering in the wilderness for over 10 years I'm content to just be "good" for a while!

Brave, I don't think 9 is the floor. I think 8-4 is the floor, and 12-0 is the ceiling, every year from now on, as long as we have Josh coaching us. 10-2 will be the "average," and there will be championship seasons, but there will also be off years.

Even a coach as elite as Robert Neyland would occasionally have a bad year (he had a 7-3 outing, a 6-2-2, and a 6-3-1...a 5-5, and a 4-4-2 as well). Bad things can happen to good people.

My concern is, having seen the way we treated our most recent national title winning head coach, that we avoid the pitchforks when Josh has an inevitable down year from time to time. 8-4 or 9-3 is no reason to change head coaches, as long as it is counter-balanced by 11-1 and 12-0 seasons.

I know that's not what you were saying, I just get antsy any time I see someone saying the floor is 9 or even 10 wins.

Go Vols!

 

[VOLINVONORE]

The only game where it might have made a difference is Florida. The other three we just didn't have enough at other positions.

That early in the season, I do not believe Nico would have been ready to beat Florida. Joe was not the only problem we had against Florida.

 

[aRmo]

I think the staff knew we were going to go 8-4 alittle after the Florida game. With or without Nico. They decided to ride with Joe. Many of you may not like that decision but It kept his Redshirt and kept him Alive and healthy.