Current State of Tennessee Vols Football Under Josh Heupel | HUGE Leap For Nico Iamaleava in 2025?

[@AdikasCS2]

Simply, we need to get rid of Joey Hazle. Playcalling has been pretty atrocious since Alex Golash left after the 2022 season. Joey can recruit damn good quality QB’s but won’t let them use their talent… Banks is a baller, needs to improve at adapting you win some you lose some but we need to be better.

[@AdikasCS2]

And we need an o line that doesn’t let a 3 man rush slide through and pressure Nico so much he turns into a diamond, with receivers that don’t have butterfingers.

[@kristodd3496]

Playcalling doesn't matter when the o line is tissue paper

[@carsongoode4046]

I doubt Joey Hazle is responsible for play calling

[@jonathanlawson4667]

Banks is absolutely horrible and has been since he's been at Tennessee wtf are you talking about

[@jaredmurillo1513]

@@jonathanlawson4667Banks defense won our games this year

[@WillyPanama]

Going 10-2 in the regular season and qualifying for the playoffs is not a failure

[@lamonesjr4744]

Right! Now if we lost to Vandy and went 9-3 then that would have definitely been a failure imo we have to keep progressing every year

[@joshuawhite7515]

Ummm yes..that gane was a ABSOLUTE FAILURE!!! Why are you guys stuck on medocrity??? This offense has sucked for the past two years.

[@a-fox]

24 was easiest schedule in my lifetime. That 10 and 2 is very deceiving.

[@I-Dont-Know-Nothin]

@@a-fox These people are delusional that believe that Nico is the second coming of Peyton.smh He was completely lost against real competition. I know that the offensive tackles were bad, but an elite QB is able to overshadow that at least a little bit. Even when given time, he struggled to hit wide open receivers down the field.

[@pussnbootsxL]

@@I-Dont-Know-Nothin Nico looks like a stick running, that will break really easily

[@CHADMORETZ94]

Great season this year and ready for 2025 GO VOLS

[@frankieparton5122]

Lol 😅. They are overrated once tennessee plays a good team they get smacked around 🤣. Georgia and ohio state are the only good teams they played and looked what happened 😅

[@jonathanross149]

@@frankieparton5122 and Alabama that crushed UGA. did you forget that?

[@frankieparton5122]

@jonathanross149 Yeah I guess but alabama has a new coach they also had 4 top 25 wins and did not spend 8 million on a quarterback 🙄. Terrible Comparison

[@roosterrc6519]

Next year 7 and 5 ...8 and 4 at best

[@frankieparton5122]

@roosterrc6519 Yes I agree completely

[@coltonhartman435]

Tempo has slowed down almost to normal pace . 2022 was fast pace and it caught defenses off guard . This allowed for explosive plays run or pass . Also this kept the o-line from having to hang with blocks as long . If the tempo speeds up tremendously then this offense is without question the most explosive offense in the country. If the tempo remains then defensive coordinators have time to scheme . Especially with the helmet communications systems. JMO

[@Legittrent]

Would love to see better linebackers and receivers and o line

[@ave0828]

I wish I could show a post I made on B/R before the season started. I said they Tennessee would go 10-2 or maybe 11-1. Their goal was just to make the CFP this season. They still have alot of question marks at some positions when it came to depth. Wide receivers and offensive lines were a huge weakness this season. The DBs were maybe C+ all season, but they still lacked depth and overall experience. I think Nico will improve mighty in his Sophomore season. I give him a C+ for his first season. He made some unreal plays, but he also made alot of mistakes. The game is still fast for him.. when he finally gets consistent and can hit the deep ball 50% of the time? They gonna be a scary good team..

[@joshuawhite7515]

The messed up thing was I was telling everyone that Ohio State was going to thump us up and down the field, and a lot of our fanbase thought I was crazy. Name me one game we have played on the road against an elite team like Ohio State, georgia, or bama in the past couple of years that we won or even played good in?? I'll wait.

[@fast04Z]

First half of Alabama last year we just went home at halftime

[@CarsTechWood]

I am tired of having “physically gifted” and “tough” QBs. That just means they can’t throw the thing. JG, Milton, Nico all physically gifted but they are failing to put it on the field

[@codykite2604]

Nico can throw the ball but our offensive line has been average and we have no major wrs and the offensive play call has been trash

[@CarsTechWood]

@ true

[@joshuawhite7515]

First off, alot of our fanbases ran their mouths before the Ohio State game talking about "Neyland North" and trolling on social media...so they deserve it. Secondly, Hueple has to hire a proven OC and he has to get out of the offensive play calling. His offensive system has been figured out and is way too predictable. Two years in a row this offense has SUCKED!! One of the worst in the SEC. Idk what was up with the defense tho. Sdmh Something major has to change or this "talent fee" won't be paid. People are going to stop buying tickets. That was a winnable game for us. We just didn't show up and NO ONE seemed like they were trying was Nico...but sadly, Nico wasn't what he was made out to be, so far.

[@jessemwakajumba6552]

Auburn fan, I’ve said this same thing, what I noticed in JH is eerily similar to What I saw with Malzahn at Auburn, fun, gimmicky offense that was VERY effective initially, but as soon as we played physical defenses we were cooked then ultimately figured out completely as a team, it was bad, people are giving OSU too much credit, Tennessee is on the rise, but not quite there yet, he’ll need to make quick changes, also I still think Nico has great tools but I worry about the O and sorta think it’s limiting his ability to learn cause it doesn’t ask much of him and ultimately hampers his development.

[@crewmax4240]

This starts with Heuple. True to form, Tennessee did not prepare during the bye weeks. Three weeks to get serious and throw in some new plays. It was pathetic. I love the Vols, but, the leadership and discipline is questionable. A disciplined team doesn't forget football on the road.

[@DavidAdams-u1j]

I do agree that we need some offensive minds that are not in line with coach Heupel. Just a different mindset to challenge him a little more. And I don't think the talent gap between teams I don't think was as bad as the gap between play calling, let Nico be Nico and turn him lose. Seems like they have him in a bubble, let him play the game

[@edtlonsway]

This is exactly the season we HOPED we would have. Other than the Ark. debacle we got it done but there is still a talent gap. Player development will be massive to keep us on an upward trajectory. You get your hopes up becuase we found a way so many times. O-Line had gaps, WRs (other than Bru) need to get more physical and RS Frosh QB...... We did pretty good!

[@joshuawhite7515]

No, we didn't do good. We struggled in every singke game unkess it was to lower teams luje Kent State and we even struggled in some of those. We suck on offense and have to get light years better....and the only way to do that is major changes on offense. Hueples offense scheme has to go. This is two years we have sucked on offense.

[@edtlonsway]

@@joshuawhite7515 Winning 10 games is a good season man. We can have different opinions but you are not seeing the forest for the trees if you think beating SEC teams, ugly or not, is only good if you are blowing them out. Oregon is literally the only team who was able to make it to the playoffs unscathed.... Even they had some ugly wins. I will take 10-2 ALL DAY vs. what we have endured since early 2000's....

[@djhmrtime6636]

Seems like it was Golesh’s offense

[@mattcarden401]

It comes down to blocks and speed. As whole the team is slower than that 2022 team on offense. You can't scheme WRs open if they can't outpace the DBs or even LBs.

[@corybraswell510]

Developing some o lineman and wr would be a fantastic starting spot

[@Truth_Seeker95]

Not asking for much are you?

[@FloridaRocksMan-mq9kb]

The Vols are totally sold on Nico despite his happy feet and passing inaccuracy.

[@Hat-san]

The dude just played his first season of college football. Stop acting like he's a senior QB cause he's not...

[@a-fox]

Guarantano all over again.

[@sneakybow1]

​@@Hat-sanhe's had two full years in the program and still does it. Make all the excuses you need.

[@Hat-san]

@@sneakybow1 Sitting on the bench does not = playing a full season. It's not even close to the same experience.

[@tommyfavors1455]

Veer and shoot only works when you have wide receivers who can win their matchups along with being able to block . And then in the trenches you need lineman who can block so that you have time for these wide receivers to hit their routes

[@juliustucker9663]

One of the biggest problem is the play calling, who ever does it

[@jh4538792]

Josh is going to need to evaluate his 2 coordinaters spend some of his money and get them to win a sec championship then we are ready for the playoffs vol GBO

[@adamallison3685]

Watch the slow motion replay, he trucked that linebacker

[@John-fq5nt]

😂 you tell yourself whatever makes you feel better

[@5wi5h614]

@@John-fq5nt He also wanted to only throw for 100 haha

[@adamallison3685]

@@John-fq5nt it wasn't Nico's head that whipped back, it wasn't his legs that went limp

[@evanlangleyMa]

They were a good team but a great team. Ohio state was in another galaxy

[@joshuawhite7515]

Not really. On that night, Ohio State was because Tennesee didn't show up. On any given night Ohio State isn't. TN never shows up in huge games on the road. Major things have to change if Hueple wants to stay around. And they have the nerve to charge a "talent fee" 😂😂😂😂. What TF ever. We are going to stop paying that BS.

[@joshuawhite7515]

The messed up thing was I was telling everyone that Ohio State was going to thump us up and down the field, and a lot of our fanbase thought I was crazy. Name me one game we have played on the road against an elite team like Ohio State, georgia, or bama in the past couple of years that we won or even played good in?? I'll wait.

[@matthawk5744]

Should not fire everybody but on that note we need a better OC for sure inconsistencies thru out the game for every game O-Line needs to play a lot better for next season focus on lowering penalties i can see Nico making a jump Defense should not fall a lot from this year because of tim banks thats what i see needs to improve for 2025 we will figure it out i can see 7-5 or 10-2 depending on developments and what are incoming transfer players and freshmen only time will tell

[@wcaveman42]

It’s been a week and I’m still sick

[@JohnCollins-lh8ie]

We need a wr to spread the field alot of injuries at wr this year we need to spend more money to get top players

[@Vawl784]

Whats the state of the program? Find a creative OC. Hit the transfer portal. Find dudes on oline and db's and get a star wr. Spend the money. We have everything includin money the ohio state, texas and oregon's of the world have.

[@SS11660]

Tenn had an easy schedule which gave fans unrealistic expectations.

[@joshuawhite7515]

Yea...playing bama and georgia is an easy schedule. Im sick of that BS excuse

[@Hat-san]

Ah yes Bama, UGA and Florida sure makes for an easy schedule. Don't forget Vandy, Kentucky and Oklahoma all gave good teams either a loss or almost a loss and we still beat those teams.

[@sneakybow1]

​@joshuawhite7515 that's two games out of 12. If Lagway had started the FL game we would have lost that one as well. Oklahoma had zero offense when we played, missing their top 5 receivers. We really didn't beat anyone worth anything outside of Bama.

[@tiptopperdagrasshopper1196]

No excuse to get smoked like that against anybody. Heupel can't win away games or off of bye weeks. Now with that said I think it's obvious he can develop players and not coaches. We need some more spice on offensive recruiting and play calling. Go vols

[@jonathanross149]

Home field in the playoffs is always going to be a huge advantage. 2 weeks off then play on the road against a higher ranked team. The 1st team to win on the road in the playoffs will be legendary.

[@5wi5h614]

OSU would've smoked TN in The Shoe South!

[@joshuawhite7515]

​@@5wi5h614Doubt it. Very seriously. Ohio state isn't that good. Tennesee just didn't show up. Ray Charkes could've seen that. They were happy juat making playoffs 😂😂

[@5wi5h614]

@@joshuawhite7515 42-17 would not have changed that much regardless of the field. OSU is not that good but just took the inbreds behind the woodshed and put BTA! That SEC patch didn't save you, now we know the SEC teams are too soft to play in the north late in the year.

[@5wi5h614]

@@joshuawhite7515 TN showed up for a tiger balm Diddy party!

[@matthewstockdale8989]

​@5wi5h614 They play that game in Neyland would've been a very close game,good chance OSU loses ,that's just reality

[@SharkyV5]

Please make "College Football Sicko" t shirts i will buy them lol

[@juliustucker9663]

Well tennessee has alot to do, I mean alot if they just want to fill a team that can play with the rest of the SEC

[@JohnCollins-lh8ie]

Michigan is a rival game that is different

[@a-fox]

The Vols will go 8-4 in 25 with Nico at QB. Hypel just won't admit when he picks a bad QB. In 22 he wanted Milton and only because Milton got injured did we get to see Hooker. And as bad as Milton was in 22 Josh played him in 23. To top it off Hypel had a Wurfel, Dickey type QB on the bench in both 23 and 24 but his Ego won't let him admit when he is wrong... Maybe that is why he never made any game plan changes at the half of any of the games this season. If the Vols want to win in 25 they better find a QB and stop running off the linemen and receivers by blaming them for Nico's poor play. Heck any player that understand the game won't come to UT with Nico as QB. 1 if a receiver you're not going to get many passes but you will get all the blame. 2 if a lineman you can expect the defense to try and run you over every play because Nico can't get rid of the ball in under 5 seconds but you can expect to get blamed for the pressure. 3 Oh and Tight Ends need not apply as the Vols didn't utilize the TEs hardly at all.

[@I-Dont-Know-Nothin]

I know someone that has been hands-on with the team for many years (that's all I will say). He told me that Nico isn't smart enough to run the offense.

[@OfbgmOrg]

What is wrong with TN is this: OHIO has blue chip players twice as many like 18 5 stars and over 40 4 stars twice as many as TN. If TN wants to play for a Natty they need to put thier NIT of over 22 million in thier football program which brings the bulk of thier revenue and less in basketball, baseball, and the rest of thier sports.. George, Ohio, Oregan, etc. proves my point.

[@FUGA_GBO]

Nico cracked his own helmet in the process of running over that weak ass LB. Need to see Matthews on field and Brazzelle step up in year 2.

[@jamiegunter7016]

@secmike the alabama vs tennessee the alabama vs Oklahoma both games got one thing in common. The announcers call out the refs for screwing bama over during the game. Nico was a waste of eight million dollars when some of that money could have been put in other positions that tennessee needs

[@theonly4546]

We fired Alex golesh and no one said fire banks they are saying fire o line coach

[@JohnCollins-lh8ie]

If we have a line and wrs getting open he will Excell

[@tyronpouncey5985]

Why does this man have a microphone, didn’t he say Texas A&M would have a better szn than Texas 😂😂😂😂

[@frankieparton5122]

Well look at teaxs cupcake schedule. No wonder it was good

[@tyronpouncey5985]

@ if the schedule was so easy, why did bama , ole miss, and tenn lose to the same teams we beat 👀👀👀

[@Truth_Seeker95]

@@tyronpouncey5985bro Texas beat NOBODY EVEN RANKED TOP 25. What’d they beat, 2 teams with a winning record all season? Gtfoh

[@tyronpouncey5985]

@@Truth_Seeker95 did we not beat Michigan when they were ranked 10th, and didn’t they beat Ohio st 👀, A&M was ranked 25th when we beat them , again didn’t we beat the teams that Alabama and ole miss lose too. All yall with yall low hanging fruit arguments

[@sneakybow1]

​@@tyronpouncey5985at the end of the season not a single team you played was ranked. Not a single one. You can talk all the shit you want, but Texas beat no one that stayed in the top 25. Texas won't get a decent SEC schedule until 2026 at the earliest, with the home and away rotation for these first two years in the league. Sark will be back to drinking once that happens.

[@FUGA_GBO]

Worst defensive performance all year. Nico needs blockers. Hard to pass to covered receivers with pressure in your face.

[@karldergrosse-333]

Cousin Mike!

[@waynecook9660]

We need to be happy every year we win 10 games. To win a NATY cough up $20-30 million dollars NIL money. Go outbid OHiO and Georgia for can’t miss receivers and tackles. Big tight ends and win out.

[@TrevorGilbert-qc1vn]

It’s more that just scheme. The receivers are just not good

[@lynnwilliams5432]

Tennessee Homer….

[@williamdavis1887]

Who is saying fire everyone?

[@jaredmurillo1513]

Because people don’t know ball

[@lamonesjr4744]

Probably the Volunteer fans from twitter lol

[@BryanNunley-l2w]

Wy is tenn doing so terrible in transfer

[@prestonlamb1221]

This is how Heupel teams have been in the portal yearly. First there’s a mass exodus of subpar players, everyone freaks out, then everyone begs the team to go get everyone and the staff is weirdly choosy but gets guys they really want

[@WangHungLo]

Josh Heupel still needs to prove that he can beat Florida in the Swamp. Josh Heupel still needs to prove that he can beat Georgia. Josh Heupel still needs to prove that he can beat Ohio State just like Alabama, Georgia and Missouri did

[@cpahiker]

this commentary is basically worthless to me, no real analysis. . . .

[@nicholastaiariol2631]

Losing in the first round of the playoffs is Tennessee's ceiling. They're the Indiana of the SEC

[@ryanstewart2070]

I mean if we had to play SMU or Indiana we would be chillin

[@jaredmurillo1513]

@@ryanstewart2070exactly or Boise

[@nicholastaiariol2631]

​@@jaredmurillo1513 or Arkansas?

[@jaredmurillo1513]

@@nicholastaiariol2631 every team in the SEC has bad unexplainable losses on the road this year

[@5wi5h614]

@@ryanstewart2070 Indiana was more competitive in TOSU game.

[@John-fq5nt]

😂😂 excuses excuses excuses NIL, 8 million on a quarterback a one-dimensional player😂😂.

[@dee-taylor]

Low IQ comment

[@Jennifer-ix4io]

As a Vols fan I AGREE

[@ryanstewart2070]

Y’all will still lose to Oregon anyways

[@Jennifer-ix4io]

@ VOLS FAN HERE. I HIGHLY DOUBT THAT

[@John-fq5nt]

@@ryanstewart2070 and you will never have a chance your whole team is overrated. Go look at your record on the road in top 10 matchups since 2007