Nick Vattiato – On the Go With Big Joe – MTSU Football

you R here in 2021 what's different about you now than you right now than you were in your RTO campus 3 years ago um just a little bit older that's a given but uh I think just more mature I think when it comes to like just whether it's football or off the field I think I've experienced a couple thing you know just you know get to experience being away from home kind of living on your own with your roommates and everything now like you experience a lot of things you find out a lot about yourself um you know you kind of just you face different challenges whether it's football related non-f football related you know you got more responsibility so I think just a lot of learning a lot of learning that comes with it and I think I'm just more mature person now and uh yeah I mean I've loved my time so far and you know looking forward to what's ahead still to come what's your major I major in exercise science all right so like where does ni V A want to be in 10 years from now that's on me that's on me we didn't we watch it now we didn't do that we didn't we didn't do that on purpose besides being in jail for Hit and Run where do you want to be uh in 10 years from now um 10 years from now I think I well one of my dreams has always been to play in the NFL that's number one I think uh you know being able to play football is definitely something I've enjoyed and something I've cherished for you know my entire life and I I want to play football as long as possible and um you know outside of football like the academic side like I really enjoy like I said my Major's exercise science I really enjoy um you know getting to learn about the medical aspects of the human body but like in relations to sports you know I love sports I love everything about sports you know I want to be around sports for you know a long time whether I'm playing or whether I'm not I just think it's one of those kind of environments that uh you know there's there's nothing else like it you can't find it anywhere else when it comes to you know whatever it is the competitiveness the emotion the kind of adrenaline you feel um there's nothing else like it so I think always being around that is definitely something I want to I want to experience well that's cool all right so you just came back from the Manning Passing Academy which those invitations aren't just handed out what was that like the adventure and what was it like when you got word you were going yeah I mean it was it was definitely it was it was such a cool experience first of all and I was you know really really grateful that I was invited to go um you know obviously I I as a as a I never like when I was younger I never went to the camp but you know getting when I came in a college like you see all these college quarterbacks go as Camp counselors you know you see it all over social media they're throwing or they're doing like the little quarterback challenge um you know everything about it so I was super excited when I got to go I was really looking forward to it I had a great time just being able to you know be around those people be around those guys um you know whether it was Payton and Eli and Archie or was you know the rest of the college quarterbacks you know I I really really enjoyed it what was uh PT give you any advice not I mean you know we had like a big kind of like Q&A the college quarterbacks with Payton and Eli and you know I just think it was a lot of like um you know just kind of how to prepare you know how to go about your uh you know just kind of how to how to go about everything in the right way um and you know we did go through workouts with him and he was giving good he was giving good notes whether it came to footwork especially you know I mean everything we did with them was from under Center which I'm sure for a lot of us college quarterbacks you know these days we don't who is this guy where are my hands going yeah oh man all of us you know we're all like all right we we'll do it but it was good it was good I know we're going to go eat but do you ever walk around C or restaurants at and and dro the I'm the Bahamas bow MVP cuz I would I'm good every second I haven't I haven't done that yet I mean never say never maybe someone will ask me maybe someone will recognize and ask me but I haven't done that yet she's going to make fun of me cuz she knows what I get you're going to change your order I'm hoping I'm not going to CH what you get do you want to say it no uh 10 boneless buffalo wings thank you Ranch please yes thank you oh my God there's some good stuff here how about the uh BB's fried baloney I know I asked you ear about from 21 to to where you are now but like you're firmly the starter this is your team yeah so you got I mean will you like or not you got to be a leader do you like that yeah no I mean you yeah one I love it it's like an honor to kind of be looked at as as a leader um I think it's like the privilege to be to be a leader for a team um especially a team that has you know 100 plus guys on it you know like you're responsible for a lot of things that go on and I think it's weird like last year a lot of those guys like a lot a big portion of our team like we had been together for the most part for a year two years at that point you know going in this year is a little different it's like I'm one of like you know a handful of guys returning but I think we have like 42 43 new guys whether it's transfer portal or freshman going into you know this summer so it's like yes like I'm a leader but at the same time it's like there's a ton of new guys so like you kind of have to like you're walking the line of like introducing yourself getting to know them still but still you want to hold these guys accountable cuz like you know that's what leaders do you went to high school with Z flowers is that right yeah you on the same team yeah played high school with him for two years um absolute baller like Zay is I mean he's an athletic freak he works so hard can do everything on the field um I had the privilege of playing with him for two years my freshman and sophomore year of high school was his Junior and Senior year and um we had a lot of fun playing together I mean that kid is phenomenal so you knew yeah oh you knew he and like you know like I think a lot of us knew at the time too when he was being recruited I think like some of his I know he ended up he had he had a great career at Boston College um you know and I know through throughout his recruitment like um you know I want to say he was getting recruited by Kansas State like Boston College Maybe maybe Cincinnati but you know you know you kind of think to yourself like why why isn't this kid being even recruited by bigger schools um you know like your Georgia your Alabama like schools like that and um you know we knew that wherever Z went he was going to perform he was going to ball out he was going to do his thing and um and he did that you know like bos Boston College was was phenomenal for him and now like to see the rookie year he had with the Ravens is just I mean amazing and he's just going to continue to get better I've learned that it's better off not taking class for sure I've learned that very early in college like how many quarterbacks were at the Manning Academy a bunch yeah I think there was like 47 college quarterbacks you know uh FBS FCS um you know just a ton of great dudes wait are you in the video game coming out yeah yeah my man right two weeks or week and a half whatever that is yeah I'm pumped for it I'm super pumped I mean I don't know someone who isn't pumped for it honestly so somebody can play TSU and use your quarterback yes in the entire world entire world yeah I'm excited I'm excited to see what overall EA Sports has us at you know I through conversations with Coach Mason like you know I felt like middle was still the best place for me to be and U you know they you know MTSU gave me an opportunity to play football and you know I want to I want to stay true to that and I want to be able to you know win here and uh you know bring hopefully bring a conference Championship here to the middle oh yeah three years ago you're arriving on campus you got a few friends and now you're getting interviewed driving through campus yeah that's starting quarterback so things evolved pretty good for you yeah yeah they've uh you know the the last three years have been great um you know I don't regret any decisions I've made comeing to Middle staying at middle um the people I've met along the way have been amazing whether it's coaches teammates and uh yeah I think things have worked out you know obviously last season didn't go like we on it but you know turn you know turning the page got a new season ahead new opportunity so looking forward to it what's the toughest class you've had here def I I probably I have to go with last semester all this just this past semester in the spring I took anatomy and physiology to and it's the only class it's the only class so far I haven't gotten an A in oh man yeah ruined my 4.0 so that class what'd you get you get a be yeah like a like an 884 not bad still not terrible it's just you know I ruined that straight what do you have coming up are you uh is there Anatomy 3 I'd just go ahead and fail you get you might take a picture of you like that you can frame forever playing against Alabama you can hang on your wall do you have any good shots that yeah there's a phenomenal picture that I have of me running down the sideline um like I'm in stride and then and it's like coach Sabin is um oh yes he's like coach sabin's in the background with his headset on on the sideline and uh yeah it's a phenomenal picture it's like it's me I'm I'm in the frame and then it's him oh that's cool and like we're the only two in Focus oh yes you know I graduated here in '97 but now you're here and seeing all the new growth and new people there'll be a new generation coming after you so it's kind of cool that we share a small on on this campus together oh yeah very cool very cool I mean like you know like you said people who've gone here before um you know people who go here now and people who go here you know in the future like you they'll get to experience this campus and uh you know I'm sure I'm sure there's Parts on campus where everyone's had some some type of shared experience that we could all kind of relate to so um yeah it's pretty cool you know I'm in that building a lot too and we just passed the library but uh you know I'm sure like a lot of us you know when we first get here can all have shared experiences of being lost in PE Hall cuz you have no idea how that building works that's cool I mean so I mean you you know Kevin by Reed blankin chip I there's guys who have made an impact in the league did you I I know you with Reed in what 21 right yeah played with Reed for one year he was he was great just getting to be around him like he I mean he was a pro when he was still here like everything how he carried himself on and off the field um you know and he was just so he's such a good such a good football player player such a good dude he uh you know I I I I loved being able to play with him and uh learned a lot from him just even from like a leadership standpoint so that was pretty cool when he jumped that route versus Aaron Rogers put him on the map like two seasons ago that was pretty pretty good man and I mean it was one of those things like you know like we talked about was like you know we knew like be I played B in high school but I knew early like like this kid is going to go you know go do really special things at a high level and I same thing with Reed you know whether he was drafted or he ended up eventually signing as an undrafted free agent but um you know all all he needed was an opportunity and you know we all knew that he was going to make the most of it uh here we go look at the construction going on yeah it's pretty awesome something else right I mean it is that's very cool yeah to see they're working hard I want to say they they they're aiming for before the start of the 2025 season so I will be able to hopefully experience it and uh you know yeah I mean it it it's going to look awesome so I'm looking forward to it what's your favorite moment inside that Stadium um that's a good question I mean my first my first win as a starter in at in at the college level was in this Stadium we played FIU um my freshman year so I'd say my first win I I'll probably remember forever um you nervous that day no no I mean no I wasn't I had come off of uh I we played home vers Southern Miss and I went in at the end of the game went in like last series of the game got my first got my first snaps in college football we played at Western Kentucky the next week um I threw five interceptions in my first start um you know oh well and then yeah oh well you know you move on and then and you know and then we came back and we played FIU at home so it kind of felt like uh you know I mean what what can be worse than five interceptions in your first start you know there really wasn't nothing wasn't really anything to be nervous about at that point so your first start was Western what here it was my first start was Western Kentucky at Western Kentucky and then my first win my first win as a starter was the following home versus FIU good for you how how would you do that game the FIU game uh much better I think I I might have been like 20 of 24 through two tou uh through two touchdowns so and we won good good team win did you get the game ball I did get the game ball it's still in my room well done yeah but but this is your home yeah yeah I mean we do we do everything out here we do our summer runs we do out here in an empty Stadium you know and Coach Mason says you know like you you know you got to work out you got you got to put the work in in an empty Stadium to like really like be able to perform when the Stadium's full with fans I remember all our times that like you know on this sideline during home games whether I was playing whether it was early on when Chase was the starter um you know you just you look at different parts of the field and you remember so many things you know I remember being on down on that end zone um you know I think my two my two rushing touchdowns last season came in that end zone one versus Colorado State one verse latch um yeah yeah I mean it's just I mean you you you so many memories um you know my first you know my first snaps in college football we were coming this way playing Southern Miss we had the ball we were coming this way um got it down to I think like the six yd line and I had a chance like we had a chance to score but we ended up we ended up settling for a field goal I think but uh it's the coolest thing like you get so many guys from so many different backgrounds all in the same lock room on the same team and you know you're all there for one reason you you guys all become best friends and it's just like you know all you want to do is have fun with have fun with each other play football and you want to win and like these are guys you're going to know for the rest of your life that you're going to be close to for the rest of your life and you know it's special it really is Nick vato starting quarterback MTSU it sounds good yeah love it it does sound good I'm excited excited for what we have moving forward Dro at the restaurants around I'm telling you man it works go in do the old do you know who I am you know we're really starting to gel and get everything moving forward towards week one so I'm excited I think uh fans are going to be really happy with the product they see on the field and you know just got to take it week by week you know win some games and uh we we'll hit our goals goals is conf for Championship as coach Mason says let's ride Let's Ride