Tennessee Vols and Josh Heupel are turning a lot of heads in spring practices. Thanks to their hype machine, Nico Iamaleava. The fate-deciding question it begs is, can Iamaleava be the guy to step up and elevate their game to an unprecedented high? One question triggers another: Can the Vols offense be the knight in shining armor for Nico Iamaleava, which they failed to be last season? Can the new, fresh faces in the WR room get the job done? Well, ON3 journalists Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman had a harsh truth that you might not dance to (if you’re a Tennessee fan).
Tennessee had the talent to make a solid run in the playoffs last year. They had shown that they could win against any team, small or big. They possessed a ridiculously good defense. But they failed to stay consistent in the long run. How they gave up on their chance to score a touchdown from the Arkansas 20-yard line early in the season and how Nico Iamaleava lost track of time on the final play, recording the first loss of their season, screams ambiguity. This consistency game is the most palpable area that separates the national champions from the rest of the pack.
But this year, things probably get dicier. Ari Wasserman of ON3 remarked in a twisting prediction. “I would put them in the second run, probably of like really good, but aren’t going to win the national championship.
“So, we’re thinking can make the playoffs can win a game or two in the playoffs,” Andy added. Ari chimed in again, saying he doesn’t see them winning four games in the post season. From an objective perspective, it sounds fair. After all, the Vols don’t have a massive receiver room that they used to have back in 2024.
Since their loss to OSU in the first round of the college football playoff to the end of the winter transfer portal windows, Heupel faced a hard time. A total of 25 players chose to hit the portal, and a chunk of the rest jumped ship to the NFL. And guess what? The wide receiver room remains the hardest hit of all. A bunch of receivers, including Squirrel White, Kalev Webb, Chas Nimrod, and a few more, hit the portal. Chris Brazzell and Braylon Staley remained as the only scholarship receiver duo in the trenches.
“It’s interesting because if Tennessee had played someone other than Ohio State in the first round of the playoff, I wonder if we’d be having different conversations about them going into this year. I have a hard time when a team has a glaring roster weakness, receiver being the weakness for Tennessee,” Andy highlighted the key loopholes in the Vols’ 2025 squad. But again, a lot will depend on how their Nico Iamaleava formula works out.
Josh Heupel crafts a master plan for Nico Iamaleava
Nico Iamaleava has massive potential as a dual-threat athlete, but he couldn’t make the best out of it in the past. While Chris Brazzell recently showed that he can be a weapon for Iamaleava and provide him the support he needs to excel under the center, the fix lies in a strategic game plan.
This time, even apart from the big receiver fix, Heupel has a solid plan to jump on. The Volunteers aren’t just sitting back and dreaming of Nico Iamaleava to be better—they’re crafting a blueprint of it. They plan to have more designed quarterback runs, giving him more leeway to beat the defenders with his legs while his arms keep doing their job on the offense. According to On3’s JD PicKell, that’s how Heupel plans to fix his biggest threat or weapon in the team moving forward.
“Some intel that I got around Nico, though, in terms of how they could use him in 2025—I was told there may be a chance they do a little bit more quarterback design run game with him,” the ON3 journalist said. However, Heupel didn’t put that extra ounce of effort into nothing. Nico Iamaleava challenged his physical frame to get an edge over others. He’s bulked up.
Adding more muscles will certainly help him to take more hits and keep the defense safe. “During winter conditioning, you’re supposed to add some weight, so that’s a good sign,” PicKell noted. It will be interesting to see how much Tennessee can align with a little realistic and limiting projection going forward.
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