Joel Klatt sticks his foot in his mouth again with comments about Nico Iamaleava and the Tennessee Vols
The college football analyst continued to take digs at Tennessee fans about their former QB.
It appears as though Joel Klatt’s read of the relationship between the Tennessee Volunteers and its former quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, continues to be as smooth as week-old buttermilk in a hot car through six weeks of the season.
The FOX Sports college football analyst and radio host made waves right before the start of the season when he said that Tennessee controlled the narrative about Iamaleava by running a “propaganda effort” and that they “got away with all of this” regarding a supposed narrative.
Now, it appears that he couldn’t help but misread the relationship with Tennessee and Nico poorly once more after he and the UCLA Bruins upset the Penn State Nittany Lions 42-37 on Saturday in the Rose Bowl.
Klatt claims that Tennessee fans “aren’t going to be happy” for Nico
“Everybody except for at least one fan base in America has to be at least mildly happy for the guy,” Klatt said on his show on Monday. “I know that Tennessee fans aren’t going to be happy for him, and that’s fine. I totally understand that. I get it. But what a story.”
I think that’s completely wrong, at least as it stands for the entire Tennessee fanbase. Sure, there will still be some fans that hold a grudge and won’t be happy for him. That’s human nature.
But many others will recognize that the move was good for Tennessee in that they’re in a better place as an offense and as a team with Joey Aguilar running the offense and sparking the passing attack. That kind of progress can help mitigate or offset negative feelings towards players who leave.
And, speaking of narratives, there were reports that Iamaleava’s father and/or camp may have had a hand in the decision to leave the program, although the veracity of that was cloudy even months afterward and is cloudy to this day. If that is indeed the case, then the move may not have been fully in Nico’s control, and many people probably realize that.
It’s foolish to paint an entire fanbase with one brush, particularly with the way things have done down through the first six weeks of the season. UCLA and Nico hit a point as low as any Power Four team has gone in recent years until Saturday. Rooting for a redemption is healthy for the soul, and you can bet a number of Vol fans were likely doing just that last Saturday afternoon.
Tennessee Volunteers News
‘Not ready to say anything on that’ – Josh Heupel gives the latest on the plan for Vols OL David Sanders against Arkansas
Tennessee Vols true freshman offensive tackle David Sanders Jr made his college debut late last month in UT’s 41-34 overtime win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Sanders, a former five-star recruit, missed the first four games of the season after suffering an injury a couple of days before the Volunteers’ season-opener against Syracuse. The North […]
