At a time when NIL rules the college football world, Josh Heupel didn’t inch from his morals. We have seen how Sherrone Moore went to great lengths to bring Bryce Underwood home by dishing out a $12 million NIL check. However, Heupel, on the other hand, did not think twice before pulling the brakes on his former quarterback, Nico Iamaleava. The reason?
Iamaleava was pressuring Tennessee to pay $4 million. And this came off as unjustified for Heupel. Now, this move has landed Heupel in a sticky spot. As Joel Klatt revealed his ‘Coaching Pressure Index’ with Huepel’s name on the list. “I didn’t love the whole Nico Iamaleava saga. So, Tennessee fans, where do we sit with Josh Heupel? I think it’s, ‘I like you, but’ … like, we don’t have a quarterback anymore, and what are we doing?” Well, you can guess where Klatt aimed. Yes, the crumbling players’ roster. This was then doubled down by a Go Vols analyst.
NCAA, College League, USA Football: Tennessee at Georgia Nov 16, 2024 Athens, Georgia, USA Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel shown walking off the field after the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. Athens Sanford Stadium Georgia USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xDalexZaninex 20241116_dwz_sz2_00029
On the June 27th episode of the Cover 3 Podcast, 247’s Patrick Brown shared his take on how Heupel is moving into 2025 on a wagon with shaky wheels. He shared, “They’ve lost most probably half of that ’23 class, the Nico class. I think half of those guys have gone, and that of all their portal departures this offseason, most of them have been from that class. Now, a lot of those guys hadn’t played yet, but through two years, that’s sort of a spot where you know if guys aren’t playing, they kind of realize I need to go somewhere where I can play. But they’ve kept the entire 24 class here and obviously certainly the 2025 class here.”
Brown continued, “So you just look at the roster breakdown. I think almost they’re going to end up with over 40 guys on this roster that are freshmen. Now there’s some red shirt guys in there too, and there’s also a lot of first and second year transfer guys, so they don’t have a lot of the this past team had a lot of sixth year guys, some seventh year guys.” This transfer season, Heupel lost their veteran safety, Christian Charles, who has been committed to the Vols squad since 2021.
Even though he battled injuries and he was never able to be a consistent difference-maker. However, that doesn’t mean he didn’t provide some memorable moments. When Heupel’s Tennessee came with an unreal 52-49 win over No. 3 Alabama in 2022, Charles had a fumble recovery in the victory.
Before him, Heupel had a costly loss with 2022 commit John Slaughter, jumping into the transfer portal. Last season for the Tennessee defense, Slaughter appeared in 10 games, finishing with five total tackles and one interception. Brent Hubbs, the publisher of Volquest.com, also sensed concerns looming for Heupel in the 2025 season. As he shared, “They didn’t get a big-name transfer guy at the receiver position. They don’t have a lot of numbers there; they’ve got a bunch of young guys there that are going to have to go and figure out how much they tweak to help those young guys.” Well, if that’s not concerning enough to keep Heupel awake at night, here comes more reason.
Warning for Josh Heupel as he shifts gear with Joey Aguilar
Heupel had no regrets about having to let go of Iamaleava. He had high hopes for his new starter, Joey Aguilar. Right after the Iamaleava hoopla, the Tennessee head coach sat for an interview with the 104-5 The Zone podcast. That’s when the host asked, “Obviously, the Nico situation. I’m just curious from your point of view in today’s world of college football with all of the transitions and everything. How surprised were you with the way that all played out and that he’s no longer on that roster?”
Heupel replied, “Let’s start calling it the Joey Aguilar situation. At the end of the day, that’s just the landscape.” But won’t it be too risky to count so highly on his new starting quarterback, who is yet to run on the Vols’ gridiron? Aguilar’s 2024 efforts were a disappointment in comparison to his breakout 2023 showing at Appalachian State. His completion rate witnessed a stark fall from 63.7% to 55.9% between the two seasons.
Plus, Heupel’s new favorite failed to complete at least 60% of his passes in eight out of 11 games. With this, a major red flag is spotted in Aguilar. This might not mesh well with a Tennessee offense that relies on rhythm to maintain its pace. This was taken up on the Locked on College Football podcast. Spencer McLaughlin asked, “Can Joey Aguilar or whoever winds up starting for Josh Heupel this year game manage his way to get Tennessee back into the playoffs?” To which Eric Cain replied, “[Joey] He’s just got to protect the football. He turned the football over a ton this past year.”
It’s now to be seen if Aguilar is capable of processing plays and making quick reads. After all, Heupel has a back experience in this area with his former quarterbacks, Nico Iamaleava and Joe Milton. So, will the clean slate roster bring in bad luck for Heupel? First-time charm or freshman flop? Heupel’s roster reset walks a fine line.
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