Josh Heupel will be leading a significantly different Tennessee team into the 2025 season. The odds have shifted slightly following the departure of Nico Iamaleava, who looked promising during the spring and was expected to guide Tennessee to a better season. This loss could pose challenges for Heupel, making it seem less likely that he will improve upon last year’s 10-3 record.

Heupel posted a second year with a double-digit win. And he was looking to do better, with a very strong team behind him after spring camp. A lot of that hope was banking on his former QB excelling and meeting expectations. In fact, his loss has even prompted media outlets to produce a list of predictions for Tennessee’s schedule without him. It turns out that the team that Heupel defeated in those 10 wins last year can give him some serious competition.

Veteran coach Urban Meyer has some bad news for Josh Heupel. He told Rod Stone on The Triple Option podcast that up until the Vanderbilt game, which is once again a season finisher, the Vols are set for seven wins. But here is where they falter. “I think they get eight, but I’ll tell you what… I’m going to say they got scr–ed again,” the former Buckeyes coach said. However, he also points out that the coaching staff is a key reason why Vanderbilt is not an easy team anymore.

The 2024 face-off between the two teams ended with a 36-23 victory for the Vols. However, that was not without its share of headaches for Heupel and his team. After the first quarter, the score read 17-7 in favor of the Commodores. Who led the comeback? The quarterback who is no longer there. Nico Iamaleava and his four-TD masterclass. New QB1 and a more experienced Vanderbilt.

Clark Lea comes with his 2-year assistant coaches, OC Tim Beck, and DC Steve Gregory. This is the first time Joey Aguilar, or the new QB1, will be facing this rivalry, unlike Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. This year’s fight is not going to be an easy one for Tennessee, unlike the Commodores, who know what they’re going into. And Joey Aguilar is a key reason behind this difficulty.

“[You’re stepping in the SEC. So, everybody’s at least a step, maybe at most positions, two steps faster. And when you have 24 interceptions, that’s about one per game. That’s way too many,” Meyer pointed out.

The former Appalachian State QB comes in with 6,759 career passing yards and 56 TDs. In 2024, he was intercepted 14 times across the 11 games he appeared in. It’s a worrying stat for Heupel, because Aguilar tends to be reckless as quarterback. How is he planning to shape the QB to a more cultured player at Tennessee?

Josh Heupel shares update about Joey Aguilar’s much-awaited arrival

Heupel said that the Aguilar will arrive in Knoxville around May or even June. That is around the same time as his trade-off departs from there to shake up things at UCLA. Both will finish their ongoing semesters before leaving. As Heupel moves on from his once-star QB, he is now looking forward to integrating Aguilar into the Vols’ playing style.

Aguilar is already receiving virtual coaching and is starting to learn about the program’s offense reported 247Sports. But when he gets to campus, the QB1 position will be set for a complete overhaul. His arrival would once again kick-start a race for that role, with existing QBs Jake Merklinger and George McIntyre.

But there are lots more to catch up on for Aguilar. “He’ll start developing timing with the wide receivers as they get out there and start throwing it and growing and starting to build connection with your teammates and start garnering respect from those guys,” Heupel told the press last week. Heupel is now tasked with an activity he never planned for in the offseason. He has to build his new QB1 from scratch once again and have him build the dynamic with the rest of the team—that too with just a few months at hand. Both Augilar and Heupel will face a huge test in the season, which will go down as an important one for both of them.