David Pollack names Tennessee's offense as the biggest question in 2025

Led by quarterback Nico Iamaleava and running back Dylan Sampson, the Tennessee offense was one of the best in the country last season. The Volunteers averaged 447 yards of offense per game (third in SEC) and 35.7 points per game (second in SEC). Aided by a strong defense, Josh Heupel‘s program made its first ever appearance in the College Football Playoff.

This season will look much different for the ‘Vols on that side of the ball however, as Iamaleava shocked the college football world when he announced he would be entering the Transfer Portal (ended up at UCLA). Star running back Dylan Sampson and leading receivers Dont’e Thornton Jr, Bru McCoy and Squirrel White are also no longer on the roster, leaving a new regime in charge in Knoxville.

Due to the uncertainty, college football analyst David Pollack picked the Tennessee offense as his concern for the Volunteers heading into the 2025 season on his “See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack” podcast.

“To me it’s the offense,” Pollack responded when asked about Tennessee‘s biggest question mark. “It’s the offense as a whole because it’s the running game and receivers. Dylan Sampson was their best player last year and it wasn’t even close. That dude was an animal. And I would even argue that he didn’t push many people around. You didn’t make a lot of plays in the receiving game, so the offense has got to grow and get better. I still think this defense is going to be pretty dang good and can even be top-five in the SEC. They’re really good across the board and that defensive line still has plenty of guys that were rotating last year in these hockey waves that were really, really good players.”

With Iamaleava gone, that leaves quarterbacks Joey Aguilar and Jake Merklinger as options at the position. VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs previewed the Volunteers’ upcoming season in the June 10 episode of ‘Andy & Ari On3’, where he gave his prediction on who will start at quarterback this season.

“I think it’s going to be Joey Aguilar. I do,” said Hubbs. “My reasoning for that is Joey Aguilar has been on the field and has played. He’s played college football and I just think there’s something to be said for having experience.

“I think he’s got a little bit of a gunslinger mentality. He can run a little bit. I think he can probably play, I think he’ll probably play pretty fast – maybe too fast at times. But I think he can tuck and run, and help himself that way. I just feel like, because of his experience on his resumé, it’s going to be Joey Aguilar to take the first snap and play that opener.”

Aguilar, who transferred from Appalachian State, threw for 3,003 yards, 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season. If he is indeed the starter, he’ll have help on the offensive side from sophomore running back Peyton Lewis (339 rush yards, three touchdowns in 2024) and sophomore wide receivers Chris Brazzell II (333 receiving yards, two touchdowns in 2024) and Mike Matthews (90 receiving yards, two touchdowns in 2024).

The Volunteers open their 2025 campaign on August 30 against Syracuse.