Josh Heupel reacts to fan support for Tennessee during Nico Iamaleava standoff

The standoff between the Tennessee Volunteers and quarterback Nico Iamaleava became one of the stories of the offseason. It’s one that became a massive challenge for head coach Josh Heupel to navigate.

Despite the chance for some controversy in the decision to part ways with Iamaleava, there has largely been support for Heupel. That’s something the Heupel has noticed, even though it also doesn’t seem to surprise him given what he knows about Volunteers fans.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Vol Nation rallies around this group of players and this program,” Josh Heupel said. “I have been here long enough and seen enough things happen. That’s why I consider it the greatest fan base in college sports, not just college football. Haven’t paid attention to social media at this point and will try to stay off of it here for a little while, too.”

Nico Iamaleava initially came to Tennessee as a five-star recruit. After largely being a backup in 2023, he became the team’s starter in 2024 and led them to the College Football Playoff. He did that while throwing for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns.

It was heavily reported that Iamaleava was making between $2.2 and $2.5 million in NIL but was looking for an increase. Negotiations became public and that’s when the split occurred. Iamaleava eventually transferred and landed at UCLA. That prompted Joey Aguilar to transfer out of UCLA and, a bit ironically, land with Tennessee.

In the aftermath of Iamaleava’s departure, Heupel did take the time to publicly thank him for his time with the Volunteers program. At the same time, he’s also asked for the situation not to be referred to as the Iamaleava situation. Instead, Heupel said it should be called the “Joey Aguilar situation.”

Those comments from Josh Heupel also are reminiscent of those made by athletic director Danny White. He also praised the fans, explaining that he thinks they get it.

“I think you continue to try to make the right decisions for the right reasons, and that’s what we’ve tried to do for over four years now,” White said. “And our coaches have tried to do. In this instance, Josh [Heupel], I think, had to make a hard decision, but it usually ends up working out for the best, and our fans really get it.”

Paul Finebaum says Josh Heupel is secure after Nico Iamaleava exit

The Nico Iamaleava situation was a difficult one. However, for the time being, Paul Finebaum believes it has left Josh Heupel secure at Tennessee.

“In the interim he is a hero. There’s no question on that conversation. Ultimately, every coach is graded in the same way, but we’ve seen in different situations … where if you have the right leadership, and Tennessee does … I guess I want to say it doesn’t really matter what the record is, and I’m going to say it really doesn’t matter what the record is this year, because Josh Heupel has earned the goodwill of that fan base and really of a lot of people,” Finebaum said.

“Ultimately, it does matter. We’re talking about the short term, because this college football season is underway at the moment, and Tennessee doesn’t have a serviceable quarterback, so if they blow a bunch of games, fans will give him a pass. Ultimately, you have to win. But in the short term, I don’t know of a college football coach who is more secure than Josh Heupel.”