Go ahead and call me slightly off kilter, but I feel better about Tennessee football headed into this season than I did last given some of the knowledge that has filed out of UT program over the past few months.
First, let’s look at that Nico Iamaleava guy who transferred to UCLA. Perhaps you’ve heard of him. I will not argue for one moment that the former Vol has all the physical tools to be an elite quarterback at any level. However, there’s a problem.
As much as Iamaleava wants to be a leader, he just doesn’t get it. Leaders don’t wear pajama pants to opening practices at their new school. Leaders entice others to play with them in college and build a championship team.
Iamaleava’s replacement, former UCLA quarterbacks Joey Aguilar, doesn’t have as much to lose as he did. Perhaps the “ho-hum” replacement might really have Tennessee’s offensive engine purring. Keep this in mind as well. The Vols have two highly touted prospects that will also be competing for the job: Jake Merklinger and Georgia MacIntyre. However, I’m not basing Tennessee’s future success on quarterback play alone.
I believe the quarterback in place, whoever it might by, will have plenty of serviceable playing behind an offensive line that will be led by a talented crew and a razor-sharp center to get everyone in place.
Sure, Cooper Mays, Javontez Spraggins and Andrej Karic are gone, but William Satterwhite and Max Anderson both have a lot of promise, and transfers Sam Pendleton and Wendell Moe Jr. have plenty of Power Four starting experience.
He’ll also be throwing to a better receiving corps. than last year. No disrespect to Bru McCoy, but he wasn’t 100 percent in his return from a broken leg, evidenced by the fact that he medically retired from football. His inability to dictate coverage slowed the entire unit last year.
Mike Matthews, Chris Brazzell II and Braylon Staley should make for a more athletic trio than McCoy off a broken leg, Squirrel White playing with a separated shoulder and Dont’e Thornton Jr. coming off an injury himself. Don’t forget about Boo Carter playing offense too.
The Vols’ offense may be hampered by tight end Miles Kitselman, who is referring from an injured pectoral muscles. However, Ethan Davis is a rare athlete who should be able to step in and fill that void if needed.
Defensively, one could fret about cornerback Jermod McCoy’s offseason injury (ACL), but time has proven defensive coordinator Tim Banks can deal with an omission here and there. Rickey Gibson III is still solid, and Colorado transfer Colton Hood has a lot of promise.
The simple fact is the Vols have depth behind Kitselman and a very good defensive coach who has the offseason to come up with a plan to overcome one of his better players getting banged up. Now, throttle back to last year. Tennessee had no answer for McCoy not fully recovering at wideout and couldn’t do anything after Dylan Sampson went down in their CFP loss to Ohio State.
The summer of 2025 is full of questions. Quarterback has cropped up again. The Vols have potential issues at the skill-position players, but those players typically play better in their second year under Heupel. As for the defense, after what I saw last year, I’m not concerned. Of course, given what we now know about injuries and quarterback shortcomings, UT fans should much more amped about 2025 than they were last season – and that’s saying something.
