‘Them boys hate me over there at Tennessee’ – Former Vols LB Henry To’o To’o gets honest about why he transferred to Alabama
Houston Texans linebacker Henry To’o To’o started his career at Tennessee before transferring to Alabama.
Houston Texans linebacker Henry To’o To’o spent two seasons of his college career with the Tennessee Vols, but he knows he won’t be getting dinner on the house in Knoxville anytime soon.
To’o To’o signed with the Vols during the 2019 recruiting cycle. He transferred to Alabama after the 2020 season (which is when Jeremy Pruitt, the coach that signed To’o To’o, was fired by Tennessee).
Back then, transferring wasn’t nearly as common as it is now, so To’o To’o’s decision to transfer to Alabama was met with vitriol from Vols fans — especially after his dad said that signing with Tennessee out of high school was a “mistake”.
Henry To’o To’o opens up about transferring from Tennessee to Alabama
To’o To’o, who has the rare distinction of losing to Alabama in Neyland Stadium and also losing to Tennessee in Neyland Stadium, recently joined No Audibles and he discussed his college journey.
“I went to college at Tennessee for two years,” said To’o To’o. “And then I went to the rival — they hate me for it. They hate me. Them boys hate me over there at Tennessee. I went to Alabama for two years, and then I ended up here (Houston). But it’s just been a long journey.”
To’o To’o said he transferred to Alabama because Tennessee wasn’t what he thought it was going to be.
“Man, honestly, it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be when I went to Tennessee,” said To’o To’o. “If everybody is thinking that I got paid, I didn’t get a dime. But it was — I’m a big culture guy. I’m big on my family culture. My dad raised me as an upfront man. And there’s standards — there’s standards to be upheld. And that’s kind of what I thought I was going to in Tennessee. I’m not saying it’s a bad program, but Alabama was ultimately where I wanted to be. I wanted to compete against the best. I wanted to play with the best coach. And I also wanted to compete for national championships. So that’s what I did. I went there, and it was hell of a time.”
To’o To’o didn’t win a national championship at Alabama, but he did have a solid enough career to be a fifth round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Henry To’o To’o’s last game at Neyland Stadium was a memorable one
To’o To’o’s final game at Neyland Stadium came in 2022 when he was part of Alabama’s memorable 52-49 loss to Tennessee.
Before that game was played, To’o To’o was featured in a video where he said the game wasn’t personal, it was just business.
Tennessee’s players didn’t forget about that video during the game.
“It was definitely motivation,” said Vols tight end Princeton Fant in 2022 of playing against To’o To’o. “It’s nothing personal at all. It’s just business. When you step on the field it’s business. Not a lot of talking. We came there to handle business. We came there to win.”
By the way, one of the reasons To’o To’o signed with Tennessee out of high school was because of former Vols assistant coach Brian Niedermeyer.
Niedermeyer told a hilarious story a couple of years ago about recruiting To’o To’o.
“I’ll tell you another good one, I went and recruited Henry To’o To’o,” said Niedermeyer. “I went to recruit him and he’s LDS (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). And so I went to his church and everybody in there was Polynesian and they were speaking Tongan. I went in, and obviously I don’t speak Tongan, they put the headset on me, they were translating.”
“The whole time, the Bishop, his whole sermon was about serving God and going on a mission,” continued Niedermeyer. “And anybody trying to stop you from going on a mission was not doing right by God. I’m sitting there and I’m like ‘that’s wild’. And then I realize he was talking about me the whole time. I was like ‘oh man, this is awkward’. About halfway through I was like ‘they’re talking about me’.”
“I’m in a Tennessee pullover and I’m in some khakis and I’m sitting there like, ‘oh this isn’t good’. But they were all great people, super nice. And he ends up coming to Tennessee.”
Niedermeyer was a key figure in the recruiting scandal that cost Pruitt his job after the 2020 season.
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