Josh Heupel’s move to let go of Nico Iamaleava might have seemed bold, but the future for Tennessee football is still looking a bit shaky. Iamaleava, a talented quarterback, suddenly decided to chase a bigger paycheck and skipped practice over his $4 million contract demands. This whole situation really shook up the college football world and highlighted the rough impacts of NIL deals. But through all the craziness, Heupel is sticking to his guns, which led to Iamaleava entering the transfer portal and eventually landing at UCLA. So, what’s next for the Vols? It’s definitely a hard pill for fans to swallow!

Nico is undoubtedly an asset. In 13 games in the 2024 season, Iamaleava completed 64% of his passes for 2,616 yards, 19 TDs, and five interceptions. And he rushed for 358 yards this season. His insane speed and formidable strength led the Vols to a 10-win season and helped earn a playoff berth. His biggest selling point was his arm talent that navigated through the brutal challenges from the defenders. But Heupel doesn’t want to dwell on the past. He made it clear that Tennessee won’t regret an inch over losing Iamaleava for a right cause.

To back up his claim, he needed some replacement. There is an intriguing crisscross here. Nico went to UCLA, and Heupel brought Joey Aguilar, the veteran QB of the Bruins, to Knoxville. An ideological win or a real win? “I mean, the guy has done nothing but win and breed a new form of excitement in Knoxville. I had to go back and kind of re-scrub the Tennessee, you know, model after the Nico exit, and then bring in Joey Aguilar. But, you know, really it looks like, I mean, at least on paper, that if he doesn’t turn the ball over, he’s the kind of guy that can kind of keep things together,” ESPN analyst Jake Wimberly raised a subtle red flag about the new Vols gun, “he can keep things together, you know!”

It sounds more like a solace than a promise to the Vols’ 2025 ultimatum. The ESPN analyst has Tennessee and Josh Heupel on a slightly demoted 9-3 in the CFB hourglass projection. Aguilar started the past two seasons at App State and turned heads. He racked up 3,003 yards with 23 touchdowns to 14 interceptions last season, also rushing for 207 yards with two scores. However, looking at his 2023 production, it’s more of the same. The former Bruins QB threw for 3,757 yards with 33 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

Does that mean he will again step down in 2025 in the Vols QB room? Well, that wholly depends on how he will put in an effort to adapt to the Tennessee offense in the summer and come out as an early oracle. Aguilar got to study the Vols’ playbook, signals, play-call terminology, films, and coaches’ style and techniques via the digital platforms ever since he made up his mind to jump ship.

Josh Heupel has high hopes for Joey Aguilar

 Aguilar was largely seen as the potential starter after transferring from Appalachian State to the Bruins. But he chose to join Heupel’s squad for a better and wider playing opportunity.

Coach Josh Heupel, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle, and other staff members had a routine Zoom call session with Aguilar before he transferred. But then there is a hell and heaven difference between building the connection and chemistry from the screen and building it from the field.

Vols are set to kick-start the summer program on June 2. The agenda includes strength training, conditioning, on-field skill development, and positional film study. It will be a crucial time for Aguilar and his coaches and teammates to adapt to the changes under the center and bring out the best. The epic chemistry between the quarterback and receivers is the main driving force in the UT offense. Aguilar needs to fix this early in the season with wide receivers Mike Matthews and Chris Brazzell.

The road won’t be easy. But Josh Heupel has full faith in his choice. “He [Aguilar] has the ability to throw the ball vertically,” Heupel said in an interview. “He’s accurate and on time in the intermediate passing game. [He] has the ability to use his feet to extend plays, but you can use him in the quarterback run game, too. [These] are similar to some of the traits we have with our guys on campus right now.”