How Addison Nichols is Adjusting to First Taste of Tennessee Football

Since receiving his first scholarship offer his freshman year of high school, Addison Nichols had a set plan for his introduction to college football. Even

Since receiving his first scholarship offer his freshman year of high school, Addison Nichols had a set plan for his introduction to college football.

Even then, the soon-to-be heralded offensive tackle told his parents he would enroll early wherever he went to school.

“It wasn’t something I thought of last minute,” he said Wednesday.

Now, having followed through on that thought process, Nichols has swapped the latter half of his senior year — except for prom and graduation, that is — for Tennessee spring practice and his first taste of college life.

“I’d seen the benefit of (enrolling early,” he said Wednesday morning. “It was definitely a great decision for me, just being able to get in here and have all this extra time to adjust to college football. Just acclimating to the tempo, the speed, the aggression of SEC football.”

There are other adjustments from high school to college, of course.

Nutrition is one: “I definitely feel better with the nutrition that I’m on,” Nichols said, “They’ve got me eating and force feeding me. All the nutrition stuff, like vitamins and good foods, I definitely feel better for sure.”

Pace of play is another: “It’s definitely been a lot. They always told me, ‘It’s fast, it’s fast, it’s fast.’ I feel like I’m getting used to it and having a lot of fun with it.”

But the roughest — and most sudden — transition of all?

A move from tackle — where Nichols earned a 4-star recruiting rating at Greater Atlanta Christian School — to center, which had not been discussed before he arrived on campus.

“Yeah, we didn’t talk about it,” he said with the hint of a grin Wednesday. “I got here, and they were like, ‘Here’s the ball. Here’s how you snap.’”

Had he ever hiked a football before?

“I’ve never snapped in my life (before this),” Nichols said.

And how is it going so far?

“I’m still dealing with (the transition),” he said. “Right now I snap then punch, and accurate snaps. Each practice I’ve gotten better and better, so that’s reassuring.”

Despite the early struggles, though, the quick shift from tackle to center will ultimately help Nichols in the long run.

“One, to help him learn the offense as fast as he can,” offensive line coach Glen Elarbee said this week. “When you play center, it’s the hardest position initially because it’s moving so fast. You have to make every single call, and the speed of the game is faster as well.”

Elarbee added that UT’s staff wanted “to help expedite (Nichols’s) process, because I’m not sure where he’ll play for us, whether that’s at center, guard or tackle. The thought was, ‘Let him start at center, learn the offense and, as he gets that down, branch him out.”

Nichols affirmed that the move has been good for him — at least after the initial shock wore off.

“It was kind of a shock, but I’m starting to get the hang of it,” he said. “I’m having fun with it. It’s been good because it teaches you the whole line, basically, where everything is, you have to make the calls. It’s been good for me to learn that position first. It will help me out with other positions if I do learn those.”

For help at his new spot, Nichols has looked to the Vols’ starting center, Cooper Mays.

“He’s done a great job of helping me when I need questions, and there will be times I’ll be in the middle of an inside run,” Nichols said. “He’ll pull me to the side and tell me how to do it.

“He’s really welcomed me to that position and has made me feel comfortable, that there’s someone who’s not gonna rush through it. They’re going to take their time and teach me in a way I need to know, and Cooper does.”