Tennessee football’s Josh Heupel says Vols ‘ready to go win’ despite Nico Iamaleava’s departure
Photo courtesy of Tennessee Athletics
By Zach Carey
The last two weeks have been awfully tumultuous for the Tennessee football program. The Nico Iamaleava debacle resulting in the Vols’ starting quarterback hitting the transfer portal and reportedly committing to UCLA has taken the college sports world by storm.
After Iamaleava held out from spring practices as he reportedly demanded a larger NIL contract, the Vols decided to move on from what had become a toxic situation. Head coach Josh Heupel and the Tennessee staff knew on the morning of Friday that the program would be moving on from Iamaleava when he was not at practice and they weren’t able to contact him. That leaves the Vols’ program needing to adjust its future plans.
“Today’s landscape of college football is different than it has been,” Heupel said after last Saturday’s Orange and White game. “It’s unfortunate, the situation and where we’re at with Nico. I want to thank him for everything he’s done since he’s gotten here. As a recruit to who he was as a player and how he competed inside the building. Obviously we’re moving forward as a program without him.”
While answering countless questions about the Iamaleava situation, Heupel looked forward and expressed confidence in his team as it’s constructed.
“There is no one that is bigger than the power T,” Heupel emphasized. “That includes me. This program has been around for a long time with a lot of great coaches and a lot of great players that came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football. It’s gonna be around a long time after I’m done and after they’re gone.”
Coming out of spring ball and last Saturday’s spring game, Tennessee only has two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster: Redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre. Heupel noted that the Vols do expect to add another arm to the room during the spring portal window.
“Certainly with only two scholarship players at the quarterback position we’re going to have to find another guy,” he said.
Presumably, they’ll aim to bring a veteran in to compete with the two freshmen. Whether Tennessee’s starter for the fall is one of the young talents or a more experienced option from the portal, Heupel
“As a program, since we’ve been here, we’ve won with a lot of different QBs,” he said. [I’ve] done it historically in my career with a lot of different QBs. We’ll have a quarterback that is ready to win and go compete with a championship.”
After Tennessee made the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2024, Heupel seems to be aiming to keep expectations high despite Iamaleava heading out West.
“At the end of the day, he’s moving on, we’re moving on too and we’ll be ready to roll next fall.”
Stay tuned to Locker Room Access for additional coverage of the Vols’ offseason as they look to build towards another successful campaign in the fifth year of the Heupel era in 2025.