SEC Snapshot: Tennessee Volunteers

Spring practices have ended. The transfer portal has slowed to a crawl. We are entering Summer Radio SZN. As such, let’s get our minds right for the upcoming college football season by taking a 10,000-foot view of every SEC football team.

The Tennessee Volunteers are fresh off a CFP appearance, but the program created plenty of headlines in the spring. The quarterback position is just one of many questions the Vols’ offense must answer in 2025.

SEC Snapshot: Texas, Oklahoma, Florida

Preseason Rankings

SP+: 8*
Returning Production: 58*
Andy Staples: 21
ESPN: N/A

* These rankings will drop following the quarterback’s unexpected spring departure.

Who’s the Quarterback?

I can tell you who it’s NOT going to be: Nico Iamaleava. The Volleyball Player made national headlines when he chased the bag and abruptly left Tennessee in the middle of spring practice. It was a hilarious development that caused multiple dominos to fall.

Nico landed at UCLA, forcing UCLA’s quarterback to reconsider his options. It ultimately resulted in a trade, with Joey Aguilar transferring to Tennessee. Aguilar started his career in the JUCO ranks and spent two years as the starting QB at App. State. He broke the school’s single-season passing yards (3,757) and touchdowns (33) record in his debut. Those numbers dipped last fall as he led the Sun Belt in interceptions (14) and only completed 55.9% of his passes.

Main Storyline: Tennessee has to Find a Different Winning Formula

While the abrupt, unprecedented change in quarterbacks will dominate the conversation, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. The reason why Nico Iamaleava failed to successfully renegotiate his deal with Tennessee this offseason is because he was not the reason they made the CFP. The Vols won by effectively running the ball and playing great defense.

Dylan Sampson led the SEC in rushing with 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns, which broke single-season school records at Tennessee. The Vols had the SEC’s No. 3 scoring defense and No. 2 rushing defense. Even though they return a good chunk of that defense, including star cornerback Jermod McCoy, they must completely retool their offensive skill players and replace four starters on the offensive line. Heupel’s offense has a lot of questions to answer this fall.

Biggest Question: Was Urban Meyer Right?

Heupel was universally praised for refusing to negotiate with Nico. Former Florida coach Urban Meyer was quick to push back on all of the love for the Tennessee head coach.

“Everybody’s saying, ‘Nice job Tennessee, making a stand.’ I’ve got a little comment on that,” Meyer said on his podcast. “Tennessee plays Florida usually every year in October. Can you imagine that game’s going the other way and coach Heupel grabs the microphone and stands on the 50-yard line in Neyland Stadium and says, ‘It’s OK, I made a stand way back when.’”

Fresh off an appearance in the CFP, Heupel had enough political capital with Tennessee fans to “take a stand,” but at what cost? Aguilar doesn’t have to learn rocket science to figure out Heupel’s offense, but Aguilar does have to mesh quickly with his teammates, who lack significant SEC experience. Fortunately for the Vols, the schedule gives them a runway to enter the Third Saturday in October with a 5-1 record. Even so, it would be a real shame if Tennessee struggled to put the pieces together offensively, a real shame.

Tennessee Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location
Aug. 30	Syracuse	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA (Neutral)
Sept. 6	East Tennessee State	Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
Sept. 13	Georgia	Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
Sept. 20	UAB	Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
Sept. 27	Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Oct. 4	Bye Week	—
Oct. 11	Arkansas	Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
Oct. 18	Alabama	Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL
Oct. 25	Kentucky	Kroger Field, Lexington, KY
Nov. 1	Oklahoma	Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
Nov. 8	Bye Week	—
Nov. 15	New Mexico State	Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
Nov. 22	Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL
Nov. 29	Vanderbilt	Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN