There’s a real concern for Tennessee football that is a bit shocking considering offensive guru Josh Heupel is the head coach. If the Vols don’t meet expectations in the near future, it’s likely because Heupel has a quarterback issue.
Heupel was guarded during a recent radio appearance on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville. When asked about the “Nico Iamaleava situation,” he redirected the question into talking about the “Joey Aguilar situation.” Clearly, he’s had enough of the negative press about Iamaleava leaving for UCLA last month only to, apparently, be replaced by Aguilar, a former Bruin who may be the Vols’ starting quarterback this fall.
I’ve wondered all along if Aguilar will be the Vols’ starter as most have surmised. I wasn’t counting out redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger – and I’m still not. However, Heupel’s comments in the state’s capital make me believe Aguilar has the inside track.
I’ll say this much about the pending competition in preseason camp, which has likely already begun in summer workouts. Heupel needs this race to be close. He doesn’t need to make another questionable quarterback decision, as he’s done several times during his Tennessee tenure.
If Merklinger is a bust and Aguilar has to save Heupel’s hide, one has to truly question just how good of a quarterback evaluator Heupel truly is.
The Vols haven’t gotten elite play from the quarterbacks that followed former Tennessee football star Hendon Hooker, and, if they falter this season, it will likely be because Nico Iamaleava decided to take his ball and go back to Los Angeles. Iamaleava was average last season, and former Vol Joe Milton III was worse in 2023.
Had I told you following Hooker’s stellar 2022 season that quarterback would be the issue, you would have scoffed, and rightly so. The Vols had the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense that year, and Hooker would have been a Heisman finalist had he not torn his ACL the second to last week of the season.
Even before that magical run, they had a top 10 scoring offense in 2021. In fact, through his first five years as a head coach, three with the UCF Knights and his first two years with Tennessee football, Heupel had a top 10 scoring offense every year.
It then dropped to 37th in 2023, and while it improved to 13th in 2024, that was skewed by 69 points against the Chattanooga Mocs, 71 points against the Kent State Golden Flashes and 56 points against the UTEP Miners. In SEC play, they never crossed the 40-point threshold, and they were a run-oriented team anyway.
After 2022, quarterback seemed to be the least of the Vols’ worries, but that’s not the case now. While many seem to think that transfer Joey Aguilar will be the man to return UT to the high level of Hooker, I’ll believe it when I see it. I thought the same thing about Iamaleava.
If Aguilar is the replacement for Iamaleava, what does that say about Heupel’s quarterback recruiting? Are Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre busts? That’s not a good sign and could mean bad things to come.
You may not believe Iamaleava’s camp, that he left Tennessee football in part because the Vols don’t run enough pro-style plays, but if Heupel’s signal-caller struggles this season, it’s a real concern. I thought Heupel was a great quarterback coach and a great system coach. If he’s just the latter, that’s not good news for Tennessee nor Heupel’s future in Knoxville.
