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The departure of Nico Iamaleava from the Tennessee Volunteers has turned the program upside down. Almost overnight, the program went from having a top quarterback for the next two or three years to having to replace their entire offense.
This has caused the Volunteers to slip down On3.com's team rankings. They are now the 13th best team in college football, having fallen from the number eight spot.
These rankings (and Tennessee's place in them) were discussed by SEC insider Chris Drury on the lastest editon of the "Locked on SEC" podcast.
"The loss of Nico Iamaleava. The advance metrics are going to react to that... (The model) views Tennessee as 2.9 points worse without Iamaleava. I've got a feeling that most of the Vol fans are gonna disagree with that. They're going to be like, 'We are better without Nico'" (15:03)
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Nico Iamaleava spent his freshman year with the Tennessee Volunteers and was able to immediately make a impact on the team. He threw for 2,616 yards and for 19 touchdowns, with only five interceptions. His contributions allowed the Volunteers to make the College Football playoff, where they were defeated by eventual champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Without Iamaleava, the Volunteers roster is somewhat weaker, with obviously the biggest setback being in the quarterback position. Replacing Iamaleava has been a hard decision for Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, and this needs to be one that they have to get right.
The Volunteers have been able to bring in former Appalachian State Mountaineers quarterback Joey Aguliar as a potential replacement with a lot of experience. His impact on the team is currently unknown.
However, many insiders and analysts beleive that without Iamaleava, Tennessee do not have a chance in making the CFP for a second year in a row.
Despite this, Tennessee fans do not care. They have removed someone who did not want to play for them and will now want to focus on those who want to play for the Volunteers.
How has ESPN described the entire Nico Iamaleava saga
On Friday, ESPN released their 2025 transfer portal superlatives' list, where the drama surrounding Nico Iamaleava's departure (and Tennessee's subsequent replacement) was described as
"(the) most NFL trade deadline-esque move".
This adds to the idea that Nico Iamaleava and Joey Aguliar participated in the first ever college football trade. This is because Aguliar transferred to UCLA at the end of the 2024 season.
Then when Iamaleava came over to become the Bruins' starting QB, Aguliar transferred and made his way to Tennessee.
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