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Former Vols offensive lineman says transition to new offense was 'difficult' after transferring from Tennessee
Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former Vols offensive lineman says transition to new offense was 'difficult' after transferring from Tennessee

Originally posted on A to Z Sports  |  By Zach Ragan  |  Last updated 5/17/24

The Tennessee Vols didn't lose a large number of players to the NCAA transfer portal this offseason. 

Tennessee lost just 15 players to the portal during the winter and spring transfer windows, which was the fewest amount of any program in the SEC. 

One of the players that Tennessee lost that came as a little bit of a surprise was offensive lineman Addison Nichols, a former four-star recruit. 

Nichols played 67 snaps in the Vols' regular-season final against Vanderbilt, which is why his decision to transfer to Arkansas came as a bit of a surprise. 

Earlier this spring, Nichols joined Woo Pig Weekly Live and he was asked about the transition from the offense at Tennessee to the offense at Arkansas. 

The former Vols offensive lineman admitted that it was difficult because the offense was "simpler" at Tennessee. 

"It's completely different than it was at Tennessee," said Nichols. "Tennessee was a very simple, quick, high tempo offense, so everything was a lot simpler. Here (at Arkansas), it's [a] very, very, very difficult playbook and that was definitely something I had to adjust to. And there was a lot of stuff that I hadn't even heard of before. That's just one of the things that I'm kind of adding to my toolbox. I'm able to know that much more and learn from incredible minds in Coach (Sam) Pittman, Coach (Bobby) Petrino, and Coach (Eric) Mateos. It was definitely difficult, but once you've got it down, it's pretty simple." 

Nichols seems to be gelling well with his new teammates, noting during his appearance that the Razorbacks' offensive line has tremendous "chemistry". 

"Honestly, I've never been a part of an offensive line with this amount of chemistry," said Nichols. "We bonded almost instantly." 

Nichols will see his former Vols teammates on October 5 when Tennessee travels to Fayetteville for a showdown with the Razorbacks. 

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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