Although Nico Iamaleava's high-profile exit from Knoxville has been glorified in Tennessee's favor so far, concerns are creeping up surrounding how Josh Huepel would fare following the QB's departure.
Heupel has been on a roll of winning the hearts of the Vols fans: first with making it to the College Football Playoffs for the first time in program history last season, and secondly, his "no one is greater than the program" verdict on Iamalaeva's departure.
Now, however, former Jaguars, Ohio State, and Florida coach Urban Meyer believes the Heupel fandom won't last long in Knoxville -- and neither would his position as Vols head coach because they let a QB who has appeared in the CFP and is a potential first-rounder walk on them.
" You let a potential first-rounder — not let — but a potential first-rounder walks out on you, especially the starting quarterback of a team that was in the playoffs. A team, at times, that was really, really good, and he was a young quarterback. You know what happens to young quarterbacks? They get better," Meyer said, per On3.
That said, UCLA's QB Joey Aguilar joined the Vols in April, filling in the gap of an experienced QB in Tennessee's QB room.
That is also the exact problem with Heupel's QB room. They put all their eggs in one basket. Everything depends on how well Aguilar can lead Heupel's offense. Other QBs seriously lack the experience to be completely relied upon.
"They got a problem. You lose a potential high draft pick. You have the backup quarterback left last year and now you have a redshirt freshman that threw nine passes as a freshman. They are going to have to go get one," Meyer said.
In other words from Meyer: "Tennessee is screwed."
The transfer portal closed on April 25, meaning Heupel's success rate in 2025 will depend entirely on Aguilar's performance.
It remains to be seen how angry the Vols fans would be if they lose the season, though.