I don’t know but I’ve been told that Boo is leaving the Tennessee football team.
Oh, my.
Whether this is pure fact or part fiction, it says there is unrest in the Volunteers’ highly regarded clubhouse culture and includes the real possibility that one of the top talents is focused elsewhere.
Sad to say Josh Heupel has limited influence. As the story goes, he’s forced to straddle the fence between discipline and player retention. Coach will tell us tomorrow if defender Boo Carter is already gone or if a temporary peace treaty has been hammered out with the official players’ council and other disgruntled teammates.
Boo Carter
It certainly would be smart to hold him accountable and allow his response to determine his path.
If Boo says he wants to stay, that he is sorry he missed team meetings and workouts while others were sweating, that he will do whatever is necessary to make amends, so be it.
But, be sure going away will pop up again sometime, during or after the season – but hopefully not at halftime of the Alabama game.
I don’t know but I’ve been told that “Go Vols” has never been Boo’s battle cry. From appearances, Boo is really big on Boo.
I predict that now or later, Coach Heupel will have to repeat his famous Nico line, “Nobody is bigger than the program.”
As a matter of fact, soon after the playoff debacle, Boo wasn’t thinking about the team when he publicly negotiated a pay increase and talked of transferring. He actually requested and received transfer portal papers. He eventually tossed that idea aside and announced that he would return to Tennessee as a sophomore in 2025.
He’s sort of been here.
Before spring practice, he was promoting himself as multi-talented. He insisted on being a defensive back, kick returner and wide receiver as was Travis Hunter at Colorado. Travis won the Heisman Trophy.
Unrest is not new with Boo. If you are keeping score, he was at three high schools as a junior and senior – Chattanooga Christian, Chattanooga Brainerd and Bradley Central in Cleveland. He didn’t change schools for more money.
That might have been a recruiting red flag but ability overwhelmed caution. It took Tennessee’s best effort to beat back Michigan and Colorado. That’s twice I’ve mentioned the Buffs. There may be a third time coming.
***
If you know a youngster who thinks he wants to be a college football coach when he grows up, suggest he try televised sky-diving or professional wrestling as a career. Both are easier.
Top coaches are paid well but the profession is hazardous to good mental health. Consider recruiting. It is frantic and confusing. The word “commitment” now means almost nothing.
To even talk recruiting, you need to know who makes decisions – the prospect, father or mother, agent, girlfriend or self-appointed primary advisor. After that, subject matter is flexible but don’t bother with the weather or school tradition or value of degrees and future contacts. Those are now incidental.
NIL numbers will be meaningful. Opportunity will be somewhat relevant. What really matters in most cases is money.
Coaching is now an endless scramble between trying to build a roster and hold it together if you get it built. Depth is almost impossible. Backs, receivers and offensive left tackles do not wait around for play time. Auctions are on-going. Tampering leads directly to higher bidders.
Coaching is a lot more than fundamentals, game plans and motivation. There is solicitation of donations and covering the betting line.
Recruiting never ends. Coaches must try to sign the best players they can find and keep what they get.
***
Josh Heupel may never lose his love of coaching.
Heupel concedes that his sport is different off the field. He says things on the field haven’t changed all that much. The opportunity to be part of a team, to compete and exceed expectations is still very satisfying.
“What happens outside the game has changed, right? But the game hasn’t. You’ve got to be tough, smart and physical. You’ve got to play extremely hard. You’ve got to have fundamentals and technique.
“I chose to coach college football because I love dealing with 18- to 22-year-olds.”
He could have added “most of the time.”
Heupel says he takes pride in aiding development, seeing boys mature into men. He and I love the pageantry of college football. Yes, winning is still a thrill.
Josh didn’t mention that he gets paid more than the average traveling salesman.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
What a mess, as i thought it would be in time, nil has to go fast or college sports will be ruined.
Most times, as painful as it may be, cutting the cancer out it much better than letting it spread.
Unless President Trump’s executive orders include: 1. Abolishing NIL; 2. Abolishing the Portals; 3. Stopping schools from paying coaches outrageous and ridiculous severance packages, then this fan is done with NCAA football, now known as NFL 2.0. Money, greed and immaturity is a recipe for destruction, which is well underway!
Boo, please do some research on Shedeur Sanders. Evidence points to the fact he dropped from projected first round to seventh for purely personality reasons. (No one admits it; but, fact is it happened.) The adult world won’t forget you simply dropped out…or quit on your team and team mates. Your talent may work in the short run but your character will determine what you are in the long run. Boo, who?
There has never been a Sports Columnist that could hold a candle to your knowledgeable insight as to what makes an athlete tick…..well done fellow letterman.
You once wrote that ours was the best “Team” ever……..based on the true meaning of the word.
Unfortunately, NIL has nailed the coffin shut on the “whatever is good for the team” mentality.
Sportsmanship disappeared from sports starting way back when Ali stood over his fallen opponent taunting him. Now, the words “team” and “sportsmanship” don’t seem to be important…..
Today, it seems, there are few “teams”…..only a “collection of individuals “…..
So right, Jerry. Who in the world thought paying college boys to play the game was a good idea? Mighty stupid in my opinion. You and your teammates were happy to play and hopefully have scholarships to do so.
Except for the Fans, VFL and Bleeding Orange are a vanishing commodity. I used to follow UT and College Football 24/7. Now, it’s the game only. All this NIL sideshow is good for is a stomach ache. Good job Mr. West; as usual.
Except for the Fans, VFL and Bleeding Orange are a vanishing commodity. I used to follow UT and College Football 24/7. Now, it’s the game only. All this NIL sideshow is good for is a stomach ache.