Tennessee finally punched above their weight this season. Everything came together for them under coach Josh Heupel. And it all revolved around one man, Nico Iamaleava. But whenever you hit the headlines, the Volunteers’ QB is always in the negative spotlight. Why is it so? Is it because of the pale outings compared to the likes of Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders? Or is it because of a nagging issue in his game?

When you put Iamaleava’s 2616 yards and 19 touchdowns to public scrutiny, you realize he fell way behind Ward’s 4313 and 39 touchdowns. Sanders’ 4134 yards and 37 touchdowns also turn heads, but that doesn’t happen when you look at Iamaleava’s stats. So why is he behind this pecking order? The ‘Locked On Vols’ podcast’s latest segment also discussed the same.

The reason the insiders believed Iamaleava failed to rack up the numbers? His conscious play style. All they demand is that the 20-year-old QB run with the football. They said, “This offense, Nico specifically, [is] better when he runs the football. When he gets hit. When he gets popped. I understand you don’t want to take the chance of him taking unnecessary hits. I get 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.”

So, what should Iamaleava do? Maybe replicating Will Howard will do the trick. Howard is the reason you saw Ohio State bamboozle other teams and storm their way to the championship game. You can expect Iamaleava to run the same way next season. They continued, “I don’t consider him dual threat. I consider Will Howard a quarterback going to absolutely run. But you look at those stats towards the end of the year, they piled up, man. He’s got like 10 rushing touchdowns. I think Nico can absolutely be in that ballpark next year, and I think Tennessee will benefit from it for sure.”

So, you can expect Iamaleava to carry the Volunteers’ hopes on his shoulders next season if he makes some tweaks. However, when you look at the squad, the whole picture leaves you scratching your head. Why? Heupel is struggling to make proper replacements and upgrade the squad.

Josh Heupel and UT’s rebuilt: Nico Iamaleava’s demand

Tennessee will be without RB Dylan Sampson, center Cooper Mays, and edge rusher James Pearce. You can attribute a large 2025 signing class to it. NFL-bound players could also include tight end Miles Kitselman. But if you are looking forward to the Volunteers through the transfer portal, then you are looking at the wrong place. Why?

Tennessee has added 26 scholarship players, 25 of them are high school signees. Only Arizona’s offensive lineman Wendell Moe came through the portal. So, the idea is clear: they are transitioning from a veteran-heavy squad to a high school-heavy squad. But the question remains the same: who is going to replace the likes of Sampson and Mays? Then you have Nico Iamaleava, who will be the starting QB with no veteran as a backup. Gaston Moore‘s departure has put the QB backups in the limelight, as Jake Merklinger, a 2024 freshman, and George McIntyre, a 4-star recruit, will be asked to step up whenever required. Can they do it? That’s something we’ll find out soon.