Tennessee football is coming off a season that featured a College Football Playoff appearance and a ten-win season with its electric quarterback. The energy in Knoxville was high as fans watched Josh Heupel’s offense finally look like the juggernaut it was promised to be when he took over. But heading into 2025, something feels off. There’s optimism in the building, no doubt, but also an unspoken tension about whether the Volunteers are equipped to maintain their momentum.

That tension has now gone national, with Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt putting Tennessee under a microscope. In a surprising move, Klatt listed the Vols as his top “sell team” for the upcoming season, casting doubt over their stability on offense. The biggest concern? Quarterback. Nico Iamaleava’s decision to leave for UCLA stunned fans and analysts alike. 

“If you look at this team winning 10 games a year ago, averaging over 10 wins in the last three seasons, Tennessee is a team that I could see take a step back.” Klatt said on his show, The Joel Klatt Show. And it all boils down to Nico’s departure. Iamaleava threw for over 2,600 yards and 19 touchdowns for Tennessee last season. But with rumors of NIL disputes and internal friction swirling, his departure left a gaping hole that Joey Aguilar is now expected to fill. 

But with Joey Aguliar come some issues. “Aguilar, by the way, led the country in interceptions last year with 14 when he was at App State. I think that’s a problem.” Klatt said bluntly. He acknowledged Aguilar’s raw talent but questioned the fit in Josh Heupel’s system. Klatt added, “This is a quarterback-centric system that puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback to make post-snap downfield reads on wide receiver choice routes.”

You know, Tennessee’s offensive success has always been predicated on timing, tempo, and decision-making under pressure, traits Aguilar has yet to prove at the Power Five level. Moreover, Josh Heupel runs an RPO-heavy offense. Last year, 58% of Iamaleava’s dropbacks were in play-action scenarios. Despite his talents, Nico wasn’t always comfortable with the offensive scheme. He struggled in making deep slants and intermediate range. Imagine learning all that in a span of months. That’s the situation Aguilar finds himself in. 

The red flags don’t stop at quarterback, though. “They also have to replace the SEC player of the year, Dylan Sampson, four starters off the offensive line, and the wide receiver group,” said Klatt. Heupel will now have to work with an almost entirely rebuilt offense, one that includes a quarterback with turnover issues, a reworked line, and receivers who are still learning the pace of SEC football. Moreover, the schedule does Tennessee no favors. We mean, how are they going to tackle Bama, Georgia, Syracuse, the Sooners, and the Gators with a young WR room and a quarterback who just came in this spring and is yet to fully learn the offense?

This isn’t a doom-and-gloom scenario for the program’s long-term prospects. Heupel has earned the benefit of the doubt with his track record, and the defensive unit still brings back leadership and depth. But as far as 2025 goes, Klatt’s diagnosis shows too many new parts and too little time to gel. Tennessee may eventually rise again, but this season could serve as a reality check more than a redemption arc.

Turning the page in Knoxville

Josh Heupel didn’t offer many words on the stunning exit of Nico Iamaleava, but when he did speak at SEC Media Days, his message was short and direct. “It’s never about who is not in your building. It’s about who is in your building,” he told ESPN. After weeks of silence, that one line made it clear that Tennessee isn’t dwelling on what it lost. It’s focusing on what it still has.

Iamaleava now finds himself at UCLA, leaving behind a Tennessee team fresh off a 10-win campaign and a Playoff run. His departure also fueled national conversations about NIL and the portal’s growing influence. Still, Heupel made no mention of frustration or concern. Vols’ tight end Miles Kitselman also talked about the team’s group chat when the fiasco was taking place. He said, “We had group texts with a couple of the guys, and whenever some stuff was going around, we all came together and said, ‘Hey, man, we want somebody that wants to be here.’ ”

Now, Tennessee turns to a new quarterback race. Joey Aguilar, the App State transfer with back-to-back 3,000-yard seasons, leads the room. Redshirt Jake Merklinger and five-star freshman George MacIntyre are close behind, both offering different kinds of upside. T And while there’s uncertainty, Heupel’s firm response shows that the Vols won’t be defined by who left, but by who shows up.