New On3 Top 25 football rankings have Tennessee right where it belongs

What's to come for the Tennessee football team this upcoming season? That's what fans can't wait to find out, as things are going to look pretty dang different for Josh Heupel and his squad. Obviously, there's a big change at quarterback.

Yup, Nico Iamaleava is off to UCLA and there will be a new starter to run the UT offense. Will it be UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar? All signs appear to be pointing in that direction, but Jake Merklinger sure is going to have something to say about that.

With so many changes on the way, including Dylan Sampson and James Pearce Jr. replacements being needed, not too many people are high on the Vols for '25. That's not the case with On3's JD Pickell, however. He came out with his post-spring Top 25 and the Vols check in at No. 17:

Tennessee checks in at No. 17 in On3's new post-spring Top 25 rankings

You know what, this is a good spot for Tennessee. We're not going to pretend like the loss of Iamaleava isn't going to have an impact on this program. Nico is a former 5-star signee and he has the tools to be a superstar in the Big Ten in '25.

Not having him throw the ball around for Heupel and his offense is going to suck. However, we've got to flush that and move forward with (most likely) Aguilar. He's going to arrive on campus with a chip on his shoulder and hope to prove his haters wrong.

Aguilar put up massive numbers with App State, but how is that going to translate to the SEC? That remains unknown, but his turnovers last campaign sure has plenty of Vols supporters a little worried. Despite that, this squad still has superstar talent, including Mike Matthews, Jermod McCoy and many others.

There are plenty of unknowns leading into the new season, but what we do know is that Heupel is the right man to lead this team through some rough waters. The Vols are hoping to make the College Football Playoff again and there will be no excuses for this team this fall - which is something Heupel fully understands.