The Tennessee football program has a pending disaster on its hands again regarding the starting quarterback next fall. Tennessee missed out on Sam Leavitt and Beau Pribula, two players Josh Heupel brought into Knoxville for a visit. Another signal-caller linked to the Vols was Alabama star Ty Simpson, but he just declared for the NFL Draft.
Fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024, Tennessee was riding the highs of a nice season, looking to build on its success. Starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava all of a sudden demanded more NIL money, which led Tennessee to eventually move on. Iamaleava framed the transfer as a desire to be closer to home, but not everyone is buying that explanation, especially Vols fans.
How Nico's decision still impacts Tennessee
There's no question that Nico was supposed to be the guy for Tennessee. In a perfect world, he would have been satisfied with his NIL compensation and developed under Heupel, growing in the scheme and eventually building on the playoff loss to Ohio State.
The reality is this didn't happen, and Tennesse had to call an audible last spring and find a new option. Josh Heupel got Joey Aguilar from UCLA, essentially making a trade with the Bruins in a quarterback swap.
Aguilar was successful under Heupel. He led the SEC in passing yards last season and fit well in the Tennessee offense. The Vols struggled against the upper echelon of teams, as they didn't win a game against an FBS team with a winning record. However, the Vols were a missed kick away from beating the SEC champions, Georgia. Nevertheless, Aguilar wasn't perfect, but he was good enough to have Tennessee competitive in 2025.
The biggest issue with the quarterback swap involving UCLA is that Aguilar had just one year of eligibility. Now with no veteran option and Aguilar gone, unless he can win the lawsuit, which is doubtful, Tennessee has nowhere to turn. Heupel has recruited a pair of stud young quarterbacks, Faizon Brandon and George MacIntyre, into the system, but is playing a freshman in the SEC worth it? Many fans wanted a transfer quarterback after this year, and Heupel tried, but he struck out on Sam Leavitt.
Now, Tennessee is stuck in neutral. All of the elite quarterbacks are gone, and while Brandon and MacIntyre are great long-term, will they be ready in 2026? Tennessee has a lot of problems that stem from Nico's decision to leave last spring. If he had stayed, Josh Heupel would never be in this situation.