By Josh Ward
Addison Nichols was an important prospect for Josh Heupel and Tennessee’s coaching staff as soon as they arrived in Knoxville in 2021. How big of a priority was Nichols?
“Addison was one of the first guys that we got on the phone with when we got here,” Tennessee
offensive coordinator Alex Golesh said on National Signing Day.
Tennessee’s effort to land Nichols paid off.
The offensive lineman from Norcross, Ga., was Tennessee’s highest-rated prospect in the 2022
class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
He was the exact type of player that Tennessee’s staff needed to sign in its first full class: a “highly intelligent, really motivated” player, according to Golesh, and a player Tennessee could get to campus early.
The 6-foot-5, 318-pound Nichols enrolled at Tennessee in January and participated in spring practice. Nichols’s intelligence that Golesh lauded is likely one reason the staff decided to give him a look at center during the spring.
A left tackle at Greater Atlanta Christian School, Nichols’s position of the future could be in a number of different spots. Practicing at center should prepare Nichols for for a number of positions.
“That’s why I’m enjoying center so much because it’s really allowing me to learn other positions as well, especially guard positions,” Nichols said in the spring.
The move to center showed Tennessee’s confidence in Nichols. Heupel’s bold statement during
the middle of spring practice made it even more clear.
“Addison is going to be a great player,” Heupel said in the spring. “Not a good one, he’s gonna be a great one.”
That’s what Tennessee will need if it plans to return to being a great program in the future. With Heupel as the coach, there will always be confidence in Tennessee’s skill position players. But to win at the highest level, Tennessee will need to be among the best teams along the line of scrimmage. Someone as talented as Nichols should help.
The ideal scenario would be for Nichols to learn as a backup this fall and grow into a starting role in the future. But Tennessee needs depth up front, which Nichols should be able to provide. Last year, Tennessee was forced to replace starting center Cooper Mays several times due to injury.
Nichols could be an option if Mays goes down again, which would keep Tennessee from having to shuffle the line as much as it did a year ago.
By the 2023 season at the latest, Nichols will have a chance to earn a starting position. He’ll be a player worth betting on when that opportunity comes.
