Missouri HC comments on former Vols player joining Tigers' program
When the Tennessee Vols head to Columbia this fall to take on the Missouri Tigers, there will be a former UT player on the Mizzou sidelines. Former Tennessee linebacker Nyles Gaddy, who transferred to Jackson State after the Vols' loss to Kentucky in 2020, announced earlier this offseason that he'll be playing at Missouri in […]
When the Tennessee Vols head to Columbia this fall to take on the Missouri Tigers, there will be a former UT player on the Mizzou sidelines.
Former Tennessee linebacker Nyles Gaddy, who transferred to Jackson State after the Vols' loss to Kentucky in 2020, announced earlier this offseason that he'll be playing at Missouri in 2023.
Gaddy played high school football at Father Ryan in Nashville before spending parts of three seasons at Tennessee.
Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz was asked about Gaddy on Monday at SEC Media Days in Nashville.
“I think Nyles has come in and really been hungry to learn,” said Drinkwitz (via USA Today Sports). “Obviously there’s a steep learning curve, having this being his third school, how we do things around our program in comparison to what he’s done in the past. It’s different. It doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong, it’s just how we do it here, so he’s adamant about trying to figure that out, and putting himself in a position to compete once we hit the ground on July 31 when we report to camp."
“He’s done all the things that we’ve asked him to do," added Drinkwitz. "He’s been excellent in the weight room, but he’s trying to get up to speed because once we start fall camp, then every competition, you’ve got to be at your best every day, and that room is so deep. There’s so many potential players, again, you can’t have a bad day or you’re going to fall on the depth chart, and that’s the way you want it. That’s the way great programs are built. We’re continuing to evolve to that situation.”
Gaddy is one of the players who spoke up after leaving Tennessee (during the Jeremy Pruitt era) via an interview with The Athletic.
The former Vol told The Athletic that part of the reason for Tennessee's struggles during the program's 3-7 season in 2020 was a lack of competition in practices.
"I felt like in a lot of instances, there was no competition," said Gaddy in 2020. "It was really hard. I’m not just speaking for me personally. This is me personally, but I know I’ve got a voice for a lot of folks on this, too. A lot of folks who worked hard for what they were supposed to be getting. Guys were out there grinding, and you could probably interview a lot of dudes on the team and they’d say the same thing. A lot of people were out there grinding every day and they had their chance taken away from them."
Fortunately for the Vols, the program is in a much different place now than it was in 2020 when Gaddy left for Jackson State.
In fact, I'm betting Gaddy won't recognize the Tennessee program that stares back at him from across the sidelines this fall. The UT football program under Josh Heupel has gone from disappointment to championship contender. And that was nowhere close to being the case when Gaddy was on Rocky Top.
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Featured image via Saul Young/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC
