Tennessee fans reminded of Nico Iamaleava drama, but Vols are better off without him

It's a topic the Vols faithful are quite familiar with. It was at this point last summer that we were all still in shock that Nico Iameleava said goodbye to Tennessee and Josh Heupel to suit up for UCLA. Joey Aguilar was brought in and quickly won over the fanbase. Now, however, Aguilar is also gone, meaning there's a bit of uncertainty at the position ahead of the 2026 campaign.

This is something J.D. PicKell brought up while offering up his 8-4 prediction for UT this season. In PicKell's eyes, Iamaleava would have been in Year 3 as Tennessee's starter, and it'd be hard to ignore that the Vols would be ready to push for another Playoff spot under the former 5-star prospect. While we agree that maybe, just maybe, Iamaleava would have the QB spot in a better position for '26, you can also make the case that Tennessee is built better for the future with Faizon Brandon.

"I want to make sure there's no Josh Heupel slander for this upcoming season because I want to remind everyone what the context of this year was," PicKell said. "This year was supposed to be Nico Iamaleava's third year as the starter at Tennessee. His first year, ya'll made the Playoff. This was supposed to be the here we go, it's all been built around him, we got some key pieces back, the o-line's here, the running backs are here, we got our quarterback now who we paid a pretty penny for to get to Knoxville in the first place. It was supposed to be the highest of highs for Nico, but he's not there because Josh Heupel stood on business when they asked for more money post-spring practice, allegedly, and said no one is bigger than the Power T; there's the door, Nico and Co."

Faizon Brandon will be ready to live up to the 5-star hype for Tennessee

PicKell makes a good point to back Heupel. Let's get one thing straight too: it wasn't just money that caused Iamaleava to leave the Vols. He clearly was not happy in Knoxville andwanted to play closer to home in Southern California. He's a Long Beach Poly, SoCal guy, which is why the move to UCLA was a no-brainer for him.

The Bruins being one of the worst teams in the Big Ten last season was something UT supporters celebrated, but Heupel was busy making sure Aguilar was at his best. Aguilar was throwing the ball all over the field last year, and it wasn't on him at all that the Vols disappointed in 2025.

In 2024, yes, Iamaleava helped the Vols reach the CFP, but no one can argue that Tennessee was powered by stout defense, and the historic fall from running back Dylan Sampson. Sure, Iamaleava impressed with his 2,616 passing yards and 19 touchdowns, but he looked abysmal with the Bruins last fall, with only 1,928 yards and 13 scores, and seven interceptions.

We can't just assume he'd have the Vols among the best teams in the SEC in '26 because of his strong freshman season. The fact that he just wasn't happy on campus was boiling over, and it could have impacted his play. Now, for this season, plenty of signs are pointing to Brandon being the starter over George MacIntyre, giving Tennessee another 5-star signal-caller to look forward to.

With 5-star receiver Tristen Keys also on campus, those two should be a dynamic duo moving forward. Add in running back David Gabriel Georges for next season, and goodness, the offense is going to be loaded with young talent. Would the Vols have been able to bring in so much top talent had Iamaleava and his NIL deal stayed on campus? Maybe not.

So, going off what PicKell said, an 8-4 season might be disappointing for plenty of people, especially with this being Heupel's sixth season leading the SEC powerhouse. However, this team is being built for sustainable success for the years to come, which is more important than thinking about 'what could have been' had Iamaleava never left town. Now is not the time to doubt what Heupel is trying to build for this program.

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