Bill Belichick slips up while praising former Tennessee Vols player who is unpopular on Rocky Top
Legendary former NFL coach Bill Belichick slipped up while singling out an unpopular former Tennessee Vols player this week. The former New England Patriots head coach revealed his "All-Belichick rookie and second year midseason team" earlier this week on the Coach with Bill Belichick podcast. Belichick included former Vols linebacker Henry To'o To'o, who is […]
Legendary former NFL coach Bill Belichick slipped up while singling out an unpopular former Tennessee Vols player this week.
The former New England Patriots head coach revealed his "All-Belichick rookie and second year midseason team" earlier this week on the Coach with Bill Belichick podcast.
Belichick included former Vols linebacker Henry To'o To'o, who is in his second season with the Houston Texans, on his list.
To'o To'o spent the first two seasons of his career at Tennessee before transferring to Alabama for his final two seasons.
While praising To' To'o for his play in 2024, Belichick slipped up and said that the linebacker played at Vanderbilt before transferring to Alabama.
"Henry To'o To'o, he's doing the same thing that he's always done," said Belichick. "This guy is super productive. He did it at Vanderbilt, then he did it at Alabama, now he's doing it for the Texans. He just has a nose for the ball. He finds the ball. He has tremendous production. He's on the field most all the time. Makes a lot of tackles. He is all over the place. He's playing behind a good defensive line, but he's very instinctive and very productive."
Aside from the fact that both UT and Vanderbilt are in Tennessee and in the SEC, there aren't many similarities between the two programs, so I'm not sure how Belichick made that slip of the tongue.
As for To' To'o, there's no doubt that he's having a solid sophomore season in the NFL. The former Tennessee/Alabama linebacker has 50 tackles in seven games this season to go along with four tackles for loss and a sack.
To'o To'o signed with Tennessee during the 2019 recruiting cycle. He was the second highest rated player (behind offensive lineman Darnell Wright) to sign with the Vols in 2019.
The California native transferred to Alabama after the 2020 season (in the midst of the Jeremy Pruitt recruiting scandal that led to the hiring of Josh Heupel).
To'o To'o quickly became an unpopular player among Vols fans after transferring to Alabama thanks in part to his dad telling 247Sports that signing with Tennessee in 2019 was a "mistake".
There was also the "time to make a few more plays in Neyland Stadium…it's not personal, it's just business" comment that To'o To'o made before Alabama played Tennessee in 2022 (a game that UT famously won 52-49), which drew the ire of Vols fans.
I'm sure there are plenty of Tennessee fans that wouldn't mind Vanderbilt claiming To'o To'o.
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