“When he gets hit. When he gets popped.” Putting up $8 million on the table to grab Nico Iamaleava might’ve looked like a great deal, but after his 2024 season performance? Fans would beg to differ. Yes, the Vols made it to the playoffs, but at what cost? To be blown out by Big 10 champs in a 42-17 slaughter? “Nico Iamaleava has the lowest QBR of any starting QB in the CFP,” was something Brandom Zimmerman had pointed out way back in December, and while this might seem like a harsh critique, his overall 2024 stats when compared to other elite QBs like Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward or even Riley Leonard points to the same direction: Josh Heupel needs to bring in some change.

And change he did bring. The biggest problem with Nico is that while he is good at running that football, when he gets pressured or hit, he is down and out instantly. How do you counter this? Well, grab a 300-lb talent from a natty-run team, of course. “Notre Dame transfer OL Sam Pendleton has Committed to Tennessee,” Hayes Fawcett pointed out on Instagram. Now, a part of us didn’t think that Sam Pendleton would actually transfer, but here we are. One man’s loss is another man’s gain.

Back on January 23rd, we first discussed Sam hitting the portal. Now this came as a shocker. While Marcus Freeman didn’t win the natty, they sure did put up one h-ll of a performance throughout their regular season run. Yeah, you can say ND had an offensive struggle, and the defense was pretty much the silver lining, but losing on an OL who still has 3 years of eligibility left is a big blow.

Locked On Vols, on the other hand, were quite hopeful about Nico’s future at the Vols. To them, 2024 was a mistake and Heupel still has a shot at correcting it. “But if you want to be as good as you can be. If you want this offense to reach its pinnacle, you got to run that,” they pointed out.

And for the quarterback run to be better, you need some tanks on the offensive frontline. Sam might end up becoming that miracle pick for Nico and Heupel if Nico doesn’t suffer the same turnover problems he did this season. But hey, being good at only offense ain’t gonna cut it. One trick ponies don’t last that long in CFB and the OSU vs Vols and OSU vs ND game pretty much proved it.

While Heupel has fixed some of the offensive issues, there is a defense problem that needs to be addressed. And it looks like the Vols HC has played its trump card!!

Retaining the DC

“Final deal done for Tennessee DC Tim Banks,” Pete Thamel pointed out on X. This, right here, is a big win. See, if there is anything about the Vols that has stood out this year, it’s the defense. This team was gobsmacked in the middle of a rough schedule and still barely allowed any opponent to go past the 20-point mark.

Yeah, OSU was the anomaly, and we all know why. Those NFL-level talents did change the game, but still, this defense has done wonders for Heupel. Getting Tim Banks on a 3-year ($2.15 million a year) deal is a big win.

That is some big spending, but it’s for the right thing. If Heupel manages to find the perfect offense-defense balance for 2025, then maybe the Vols have a shot at climbing back into relevancy.