After Nico Iamaleava's Tennessee fallout, Josh Heupel predicted to land top offensive target

The Tennessee Volunteers lost starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to the transfer portal this spring, but that hasn't held back the team from adding more talent to the roster.

The Volunteers replaced Iamaleava with Joey Aguilar from UCLA to be their starting QB this season. But throughout this time, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel has been active in high school recruiting, and the Vols have landed a top offensive target.

On3 predicts the Volunteers to land four-star offensive tackle Kamari Blair. A four-star prospect, Blair is from Tennessee and was expected to commit to Ole Miss, but On3 now projects him to stay at home and go to the University of Tennessee.

Blair is the 25th-ranked offensive tackle in the class of 2026 and the 287th-ranked player, according to 247Sports. The 6-foot-6 offensive tackle has an official visit set up at Tennessee on June 20.

Currently, Tennessee ranks 22nd in the 2025 recruiting class, according to 247Sports, but that is without Blair. The Vols have landed two five-star recruits, including the top-ranked player, quarterback Faizon Brandon.

Tennessee's Josh Heupel has confidence in the team entering 2025

The Tennessee Volunteers made the College Football Playoff last season, and Josh Heupel is looking to build off of that.

Although the Vols have a new quarterback in 2025, Heupel liked what he saw from the group in spring practice.

"They get the urgency of the competition," Heupel said after a spring practice, via 247Sports. "We grade those guys every day. Certainly understand that you don’t just put the Tennessee helmet on and positive things happen for you on game day. This is a game where you have to go make it happen.

"All of those guys are in the growth – talking about the young guys in particular, right – there’s not an end destination, man. It’s the journey to continue to grow to be the player that you need and then to operate, 11 guys operating as one, offense, defense and on special teams, too. We’re a long ways from kickoff. We’ve got a chance to be a good team, but we’ve got to continue to grow."

If the Volunteers can start strong, they have a good chance to compete for the SEC title and make the College Football Playoff.

The Volunteers open their season on Aug. 30 against Syracuse. Tennessee has notable games against Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma and Florida, among others.