Greater Atlanta. Christian is about Excellence. It's about
pursuing Excellence academically, athletically and
spiritually, and that's what Addison pursues. And he's
an accomplished student obviously, is an outstanding athlete, but
his Character Matters. He invests in that and
cares about that early on. We decided parenting that we
wanted him to stay busy and do things that would benefit him.
Long-term football is just a piece of your life. It's not
going to be here forever.
You know in those other skills, you develop off the field in
terms of who you are and who you are as a person. I think
that takes you a long way and I think it makes you better as
a result. He's very thoughtful. He's very
inquisitive. He gives great responses to
very thought-provoking
questions. Really the athletic part in the football part is
really secondary to who he is. I think he is a kid who wants
to really learn and he kind of takes his
learning. Seriously.
He's a leader in my classroom. Whoo-hoo. Is
reflects really well on the principles and morals of this room.
Our motto was just keeping busy and things that are going to
benefit him. We were big into scouting that was a lot of fun
for both. He and I
to do trips together and be able to
have that time to bond
Tae Kwon. Do you know, where can you go wrong with that? It
really helps me a lot in football, the feet, the hand
movements, and all of that was actually really beneficial.
We always had a piano in the house and, you know, one day
I was leaving and honest and said, Mom, what's your favorite
song?
So I thought I'd be that. Be the cool mom and say Coldplay.
So I ran some errands and I came back and lo and behold
Addison was playing cold play on the piano,
everything kind of
Pitch down a little, something into my game and in my life
that kind of helped me be the man I am today.
Contrary to what you may think. I was a mom. That was kind of
against football. I kept thinking what's going to help
him lifelong. You know, golf, golf is great. He can play when
he's 80 years old,
as he just kept growing. We just kept seeing him being so
much bigger than everybody. And we're just like, we can't not
let this kid play football in the seventh grade. He did not
look like he was in the seventh grade. It was playing
tight. End middle linebacker running back.
Literally anything you can imagine.
There's a couple times in middle school. We let him carry
the All with great success, he would just
run all over these boys. I mean, he would literally just
be knocking them away, you know, like flies and just take
off. It was really fun to watch. The biggest thing was
getting him to trust the transition
from tight end to offensive wine and to have a vision.
I think initially the probably was some inner reluctance there.
I was like, I want to be a lineman, they're just fat slow
people.
We a great feat because he was a tight end, he can run and
catch for athletic and to take that talent and gift and move
it to offensive line as an offensive line coach, that's
me. And that's the best of both worlds. The back side, walks
out. I want you to gap down on, whatever's in your, in your
way. You just clean trash right?
Freshman year. He was he was good sophomore year,
pretty good and Junior and Senior year dominant. I think
he's a great example of hard worker, someone who's really
developed himself and I think that translates to other
players whenever I step on that field,
no matter what's going on. I'm giving a
Under and 25% I'm going to
give absolutely everything I can for my team. And
for this program.
He's someone that looks to encourage the people around him
to lift them up. Build them up. He's got a big personality.
So he encourages you feel it.
People joke, where them calling the gentle giant? Because a lot
of times he'll you know, pancake a kid and he'll pick
him up, Pat him on the back. He's a big teddy bear, you
know, but a brute on the football field at this point.
I want to present Addison Nichols with his All-American Jersey.
When I got that call
I was with my dad is one of those moments where you just
kind of like so and shocked. You're just like quiet. It's
like,
okay, that did not just happen. It's a tremendous honor to have
one of your players as an NBC All-American, this the best of
the best, the elite of the elite, not just as players, but
also, as people
college, football's all different breed
harder, a lot more to it. Plenty SEC, the universe
Tennessee, a that's a, that's a jump, but, you know, obviously
he's got the ability to do it.
It. I want to go there. I want to start training and
just become the best version of myself.
I love a person. I find him to just be one of my favorite
people were not supposed to have favorites, but he is one
of my favorite students. For sure. I'm proud of the person
that Addison is
that person that,
you know, is thankful
and is caring and
sorry,
that is what I'm thankful for
in are really close and
This is definitely gonna be challenging. You know, it's
I'm excited for him. Obviously, very, very, very proud of him.
But
you know, I'm just excited. Seeing grow
go Vols. Rocky Top is home to me.