"He’s good, but he’s not great": Paul Finebaum gets blunt on new Tennessee QB while giving Nico Iamaleava his flowers

Josh Heupel will have a new QB at the helm after Nico Iamaleava left for the UCLA Bruins following a ruckus with the team over his NIL contract. His departure left a big void in the QB room since he was the expected starter for 2025 and an abrupt exit created panic among Volunteers.

In no time, Heupel was able to land UCLA QB Joey Aguilar, something that was pretty unexpected. The 22-year-old senior will now start for the team and has already started with practices and offseason training.

While speaking on the eve of 2025 spring meetings, veteran analyst Paul Finebaum shared his assessment of Aguilar. He believes the ex-UCLA QB will struggle and is not an ideal candidate to replace Iamaleava. His accuracy, arm strength and ability to throw deep could turn out to be a major point of discussion in the 2025 season.

“Not fine,” Finebaum said via SportsCenter on Tuesday during the 2025 SEC spring meetings. “This was the biggest story of the off-season, with Nico leaving. Joey Aguilar, from App State via UCLA is not the perfect answer.

"He’s good, but he’s not great. Nico could’ve been great, even though he wasn’t last year. Quite frankly, I don’t like Tennessee’s chances of the Playoff at all."

Finebaum resonated with similar views when Iamaleava’s NIL contract drama was heating up in college circles.

“I think you have to be worried about Tennessee,” Finebaum said on April 28, per On3. “I know that I’m probably not breaking a new story here but what is the quarterback situation really going to be like? Listen, Aguilar is serviceable. They have two backups who have no experience, but I think that’s a tremendous drop-off."

Nico Iamaleava will have a new beginning in 2025

The 19-year-old gunslinger was mired in several controversial moments this offseason after reports floated around of his alleged demand of a $4 million NIL contract from Tennessee.

The authenticity of such reports is still unverified, but the chances of happening so were real. Under Nico Iamaleava, the team managed to make the 2024 College Football Playoff.

He finished with 2,616 passing yards and racked up 19 touchdowns while only throwing for five interceptions. Similarly, he also rushed for 358 yards. At UCLA, he will reportedly make NIL money in the range of $1.5 million, which is way less than what he made at Tennessee.