"I'm not crazy about Tennessee" - Paul Finebaum casts doubt over Josh Heupel's success in 2025 following Nico Iamaleava's exit

Coach Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers are in an interesting spot heading into the 2025 college football season. After the unexpected departure of quarterback Nico Iamaleava because of an NIL contract dispute, the Volunteers' offense is much more of a question mark.

Paul Finebaum is one of the top analysts covering the SEC. He is also an alumnus of the University of Tennessee, and as a result, is likely rooting for the success of the Volunteers. Despite that, in an episode of "The Paul Finebaum Show" this week, Finebaum expressed concern about Josh Heupel's squad heading into next season.

"I'm not crazy about Tennessee, although their schedule is not impossible," Finebaum said.

When Paul Finebaum refers to the Volunteers' schedule as not that difficult, it is not hard to see why. After a neutral site game against Syracuse in Week 1, the Volunteers play their next three games at home. The only difficult matchup in those three games should be against Georgia in Week 3. The other two games against East Tennessee State and UAB should be convincing wins for the Volunteers.

Josh Heupel's squad then does not need to play some of the top contenders in the SEC. Although it plays Alabama in the middle of the season, it does not have a game against Texas, LSU, Ole Miss or Texas A&M. As a result, there is opening for the Volunteers to contend in the SEC despite its loss at QB, so long as they compete well in their few tough matchups.

Paul Finebaum was critical of the Tennessee Volunteers earlier in the offseason

Paul Finebaum has not been hesitant to criticize the Tennessee Volunteers this offseason. While the Volunteers looked poised for another strong year after the 2024 season concluded, the Nico Iamaleava saga changed everything for the team.

In May, Finebaum was critical of the Volunteers and mentioned concern about whether Aguilar will be able to perform now that he is in the SEC.

"I think being Nico-less makes it more challenging until we really know more about Aguilar," Finebaum said. "I think he's capable. But, you think about the big games...I think 9-3 is realistic."

Joey Aguilar was the starter of the Appalachian State Mountaineers for the past two seasons. In 2024, he completed 218 of 390 passing attempts for 3003 yards and 23 TDs. While those are impressive numbers, it will be hard to replicate them against tougher competition in the SEC.