We thought all of the Tennessee football and Nico Iamaleava takes were behind us? That's not the case, as the one and only Joel Klatt has decided to bring things up once again while taking a look at what's to come for the Vols in 2025.
Plain and simple, Klatt said he didn't love how things went down between Tennessee and its former star quarterback. Iamaleava is off to UCLA, with NIL being the main reason he is no longer in Knoxville. His camp can say it's about the offense all they want, but no one is buying that.
In terms of Nico leaving, Klatt decided to put plenty of blame on head man Josh Heupel. Seriously, for standing his ground? That's the case and Klatt went on to say that he thinks plenty of Vols fans might be upset with the head coach over how things went down. A lot of UT supporters would disagree with that:
Now without Nico Iamaleava, @joelklatt identifies the pressure games for Tennessee and Josh Heupel. pic.twitter.com/XTMVE1gnsC
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) June 10, 2025
Joel Klatt didn't hold back with his thoughts on Tennessee HC Josh Heupel and Nico Iamaleava
"I didn't really want to put Heupel on the pressure index," Klatt said. "But then, I gotta tell you, I didn't love the whole Nico Iamaleava saga. Where do we sit, Tennessee fans, with Josh Heupel? I think it's we like you, but... Some really good years with Josh Heupel. Some marquee failures under Josh Heupel. It does not help that they lost their quarterback. I'm sorry, but there's just more to the story that the Tennessee faithful want to throw out there. They ran out there and ran Nico Iamaleava under the bus."
Come on, man. This wasn't something where Heupel and Tennessee ran Iamaleava off campus because they didn't want him running the offense anymore. Iamaleava has all the talent in the world and he was a 5-star prospect for several reasons. Tennessee fans loved watching his development in Year 1 as the starter.
However, Pete Nakos reported that Iamaleava was looking for a new NIL deal to keep up with the new QB market. He was set to make around $2.5 million this upcoming campaign, but reports revealed he was eyeing something around $4 million.
That was a figure that the Vols were never going to touch. Iamaleava also ghosted his teammates and coaches before deciding he wasn't going to play in the SEC in 2025. Was that on Heupel? Absolutely not. Come this fall, Joey Aguilar is expected to be the starter and there are high hopes for the UCLA transfer. Nico will look to put on a show with the Bruins, but the idea of Tennessee forcing him out is just silly.