Wild reason Tennessee pastor was upset after being rescued from South African kidnappers in bloody shootout

Maryville pastor Josh Sullivan was already stressed about the University of Tennessee Volunteers shortly after he was rescued from kidnappers in South Africa.

Sullivan arrived in South Africa with his family in 2018 and was recently abducted during a church service and held for almost a week.

On Tuesday, he reunited with his family after a shootout left three kidnappers dead but Sullivan unharmed.

After being rescued, Sullivan was taken to see his family and started reaching out to people in Tennessee. White captive and isolated from the outside world, Sullivan missed the – somewhat trivial in the circumstances – fallout between quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the Vols.

Back at Fellowship Baptist Church in east Tennessee, fellow pastor Tom Hatley told WVLT how he heard from acquaintances that Sullivan was ‘upset over Nico.’

Hatley detailed how those with Sullivan in South Africa were told to keep the conversations light. However, somebody brought up the Iamaleava news, which he was not thrilled about.

‘And they said, well, you know, Nico left, didn’t you? And his wife told me last night that the biggest conversation they’ve had has been about Nico. Hey, the boy was raised in East Tennessee, what can I tell you?’ Hatley told the outlet.

Hatley said Sullivan is a lifelong Tennessee fan and spent some of the first moments after his release talking about the now-former quarterback after entering the transfer portal.

‘If Josh Heupel is listening to me or the athletic director, Danny White, let’s get this man in to see the team, let’s let him run through the T, let’s do something because he deserves it,’ said Hatley.

In his second year with the Volunteers, Iamaleava completed 213 of 334 passes for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns as Tennessee went 10-3. sources have told ESPN that UCLA is one of several schools eyeing the quarterback.