USA Today......"Time to let him go"

#76
#76
Majors said:
I stated that. So up until yesterday Heupel was on point for a QB1 four years ago. He didn’t choose poorly, times and landscape changed.
Click to expand...
I’m going to say that whatever drove these California Clampetts to pull this stunt was always there. He chose a bad leader to be in the most important leadership position. The symptoms just didn’t show up until this week.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 10seV4L, CSVol and Wireless1
#77
#77
The Vin Man said:
Heupel didn’t choose poorly. Nico and family chose poorly. This is out of control. Coaches have to take a stand.
Click to expand...
Not sure about that. I've had concerns about the evals of our coaching staff for a while now. Along with the physical evals, a staff has to eval the "person" and yes, his family situation. Clearly Heupel misjudged Nico's family, their intentions, and their influence.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tbh, CSVol and sonofUT62
#79
#79
sonofUT62 said:
He chose poorly. There are plenty of other QBs in the NIL era getting by without this drama. He sat in these people’s home and then turned over the keys to a 100 million dollar business to their son. Glad he’s our coach but the buck stops with him on this one.
Click to expand...
That's way too harsh.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rockytopoftheworld
#81
#81
Majors said:
He chose the best QB for his style of play who happened to be the #2 QB in 2022. NIL greed isn’t attached to Heupel.
Click to expand...
Arch is every bit as athletic as Nico and maybe moreso, and yet we were sold the bill of goods that Arch had benefitted from his name and playing weak HS comp while Nico was the real deal. Right now they looks basically the same physically, the main difference being that one guy is low/no-drama and the other is holding out for more money every time you turn around.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rockytopoftheworld
#83
#83
From the below referenced article:

"A general manager at a Power 4 school, speaking on condition of anonymity to assess another team’s player, said he wouldn’t pay more than that for Iamaleava: “Possibly even less, maybe $1.5 to $2 million. Nico just isn’t amazing.”

www.nytimes.com

Has NFL free agency arrived in college football? Tennessee’s $2 million QB absent from practice amid NIL talks

This was to be the last season of Iamaleava's original four-year, $8 million deal, which was set to pay him $2.2 million this year.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
  • Like
Reactions: Samthebam, Godfatha, tbh and 1 other person
#84
#84
sonofUT62 said:
I’m going to say that whatever drove these California Clampetts to pull this stunt was always there. He chose a bad leader to be in the most important leadership position. The symptoms just didn’t show up until this week.
Click to expand...
Who should he have chose? I don’t disagree on the stunt/plan by the family. You sign a kid for 8M out of HS not sure you’re anticipating in year 3 a move like this. You’re anticipating tweaking whatever scouts told you to get the kid ready for the draft.
 
#85
#85
allstar34bd said:
Yes it is. If you are constantly causing public distractions; based on greedily seeking raises while being the highest paid player on the team… that isn’t leadership.
Click to expand...
Is he causing them or his family? That locker room is now filled with kids who have done the same. And I’m not taking up for Nicos on the issue, I say he walks.
 
#86
#86
Majors said:
Who should he have chose? I don’t disagree on the stunt/plan by the family. You sign a kid for 8M out of HS not sure you’re anticipating in year 3 a move like this. You’re anticipating tweaking whatever scouts told you to get the kid ready for the draft.
Click to expand...
I’m not saying that I could have chosen any better. Nicos athletic talent was off the chart. I would have been all in too. All I’m saying is that this was Heupels choice and there’s no reason for him to snag an extension out of it.
 
#87
#87
J C Higgins said:
From the below referenced article:

"A general manager at a Power 4 school, speaking on condition of anonymity to assess another team’s player, said he wouldn’t pay more than that for Iamaleava: “Possibly even less, maybe $1.5 to $2 million. Nico just isn’t amazing.”

www.nytimes.com

Has NFL free agency arrived in college football? Tennessee’s $2 million QB absent from practice amid NIL talks

This was to be the last season of Iamaleava's original four-year, $8 million deal, which was set to pay him $2.2 million this year.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
Click to expand...
That’s accurate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tbh and J C Higgins
#89
#89
I think what gripes me the most about this situation is how much of a snake his dad has been. He made a long post on X calling reporters a bit** for false information. He literally said there weren’t any negotiations going on and he doesn’t know where these fake stories are coming from but it wasn’t from them. All the sudden we find out, oh they have been going on and not only that, but Nico conveniently is holding out of practices. I’m sure he knew nothing about it all when he made his post considering he was the driving force behind the first round of negations earlier in the year.
 
#90
#90
CAVPUT said:
Not sure about that. I've had concerns about the evals of our coaching staff for a while now. Along with the physical evals, a staff has to eval the "person" and yes, his family situation. Clearly Heupel misjudged Nico's family, their intentions, and their influence.
Click to expand...
Maybe but there are many athletes on the roster that were heavily recruited by other big schools. There are also many 3 and low 4 star players the coaching staff has developed that are now in the NFL.
 
#91
#91
Vol in Buckeye Land said:
Arch is every bit as athletic as Nico and maybe moreso, and yet we were sold the bill of goods that Arch had benefitted from his name and playing weak HS comp while Nico was the real deal. Right now they looks basically the same physically, the main difference being that one guy is low/no-drama and the other is holding out for more money every time you turn around.
Click to expand...
Difference between the two was who’s advising them.
 
#92
#92
Majors said:
Is he causing them or his family? That locker room is now filled with kids who have done the same. And I’m not taking up for Nicos on the issue, I say he walks.
Click to expand...
Nico is 20. Nico chose to no show. The parents aren’t graded on attendance. This falls fully on Nico.

If he isn’t man enough to make his on decisions then he has other problems.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CSVol, SayUWantAreVOLution, Godfatha and 1 other person
#93
#93
Vol in Buckeye Land said:
Arch is every bit as athletic as Nico and maybe moreso, and yet we were sold the bill of goods that Arch had benefitted from his name and playing weak HS comp while Nico was the real deal. Right now they looks basically the same physically, the main difference being that one guy is low/no-drama and the other is holding out for more money every time you turn around.
Click to expand...
Not to mention “Big Nick” (more like Thicc Nick - might want to hit that Ozembic big guy) is calling journalists, like Pete Nakos, a B*tch on twitter, a real great look for the family he professes to be looking out for.

The curtain has been pulled away and it’s abundantly clear Nico’s father is the source of all of the discord. He’s a bad apple and unfortunately Nico is going to experience the backlash. By all accounts, I have seen nothing from Nico that indicates he’s anything other than a good young man.

It just appears his Dad’s dysfunction is going to impact his sons opportunities in life.

Can you imagine any of the Manning family going on twitter to do anything remotely like Big Nick is doing?

Not in a million year…Manning’s have class
 
#94
#94
Majors said:
When was Nico ever a culture issue and not a leader up until yesterday?
Click to expand...
I’ve never heard any of his teammates comment publicly either way. Let me ask the question another way. Have you ever heard any of his teammates say anything about him? I haven’t and that’s odd. Almost as if they’ve been told not to talk about him. So do we really know the answer to your question?

Here’s what I know - his teammates do talk to other students. And from what I hear, they don’t say anything at all about him. Because they don’t know him - away from the field, he doesn’t hang out with or talk to anyone.

Yes, my info is second hand, so technically heresay. But I’ve heard it enough to believe it to be accurate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BruiserVol, savannahfan and Majors
#97
#97
sami said:
100% this.

What's being exposed here is the fan base's real feelings about Nico, because if he had lit it up last year and decided to stay for one more season instead of entering the draft, a lot of the same people would be advocating to back up the truck and pay him whatever he allegedly is 'demanding'.

This "no renegotiations" moral stance is a hell of a lot easier given his uneven performance last year.
Click to expand...
He wasn’t draft eligible, even if he won the Cy Young and a Grammy; he was coming back. Public negotiations every 3 months are Cancerous to a program.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Samthebam and sonofUT62
#98
#98
Smokeyshowl66 said:
I’ve never heard any of his teammates comment publicly either way. Let me ask the question another way. Have you ever heard any of his teammates say anything about him? I haven’t and that’s odd. Almost as if they’ve been told not to talk about him. So do we really know the answer to your question?

Here’s what I know - his teammates do talk to other students. And from what I hear, they don’t say anything at all about him. Because they don’t know him - away from the field, he doesn’t hang out with or talk to anyone.

Yes, my info is second hand, so technically heresay. But I’ve heard it enough to believe it to be accurate.
Click to expand...
I was talking with a travel ball coach in CA a few weeks ago about girls leaving the West Coast to play for the SEC in softball. Said my daughter would have walked on broken glass to play at UCLA. He said too many kids want the attention the SEC provides. I believe Nico fell victim to wanting the fame but not wanting the attention that comes with it. That Coach said, kids can go to a Lakers/Dodgers game and nobody cares and they can watch a game in peace. But here they can’t escape the bubble of being a celebrity. Right or wrong it’s true.



Last year, at an early season softball game with very few fans there (chilly weather). I saw a little bit of Nico the celebrity and how he handles it. He, his dad and older brother arrived late to a game to see Zaida play. They stay off to the side alone but was 10 feet from me. Fans walked up the stairs snapping pictures of him sitting there like an animal at the zoo. One male came up to him roughly 30-40 years of age asked for a picture and was declined at the time. A few innings later once the game was in hand, Nico/entourage was leaving he waved the fan over to grab a picture in the tunnel away from everyone.



Landscape, Nico seems to be a quiet kid. Likes the position, attention but could do without the extra that comes with being QB1 for Tennessee. Dad seems very flamboyant and loves the attention
 
#99
#99
I think one point that’s been missed, is that Nico appears to want more money, not because he had such a good spring that he deserves more, but that a couple of other schools know they need a QB and will pay, even for a mediocre commodity that might have an up side.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tbh
#100
#100
J C Higgins said:
Excerpt from an on-line USA Today article by Matt Hayes published this evening:

"And now it’s time to cut him loose.

It’s time for Tennessee athletic director Danny White, one of the nation’s most proactive thinkers, to give coach Josh Heupel a contract extension to cut ties with quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who missed practice Friday while his representatives reportedly are trying to renegotiate his NIL deal. "

White and Heupel should publicly stand together and declare no player will hold a program hostage. Not now, not ever.

The storied program of Gen. Neyland and Johnny Drum and Peyton and I Will Give My All For Tennessee Today won’t stand for this crap. And won’t give another penny to Iamaleava.

Or any other player, now or in the future, who pulls these 11th-hour hijinks."


www.usatoday.com

Tennessee should cut ties with Nico Iamaleava to reset college football's NIL power structure

A guy half the player of Hendon Hooker is holding the Tennessee football program hostage. It's for the Volunteers to cut loose Nico Iamaleava.
www.usatoday.com
Click to expand...
Spot on, 100%
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top