Tennessee is holding its bar high on Nico Iamaleava. The QB1, who showcased enough promise last year but failed to hit the prize, is now under scrutiny. After those stupendous wins against Alabama and Florida, it’s not wrong to crave more. He didn’t disappoint, earning his team a playoff ticket. But it’s all in the rear-view image. Now, Josh Heupel can’t be at rest without seeing him flourish as the leader of the offense that he’s always meant to be. But there have been some bumps, including the schedule, the depth chart, etc. But guess the twist in the narrative? The spring observation calls for a unique rendition that can fix the woes.

Iamaleava has a robust arm well equipped to throw catches and turn heads. But he faces backlash for his questionable decisions and the lack of mental firmness during pressure situations. In 2024, he had a severe confidence bust as well, and the entire Vols offense failed to provide protection, leading to more forced plays. But this spring looks outright different; there’s a WR solution that perfectly fits Iamaleava’s style on offense.

Just take a look at the spring game! Man, Iamaleava is getting there, spearheading greater success than ever, but not all by himself. Chris Brazzell is taking on a leadership role in Tennessee’s wide receiver room this spring and gliding like butter in the bread into Iamaleava’s space and style. Are you too tied up in other hustles to watch and analyze the highlights?

No worries! ON3 kept a careful eye on all the nitty-gritty. “He’s getting off his first read, resetting and finding Chris Brazzle,” ON3’s J.D. PicKell said. ”He is waiting for something to clear and then settling his feet, finding Chris Brazzle on the sideline; either way, it means he’s seeing it. He is seeing the defense he is getting from one read to the second, or he’s waiting for someone to clear, and he is diagnosing it enough to where he looks like he’s on time to hit that route. If he’s late on that route.”

PicKell has always been loud about Nico’s faulty decision-making in the past. He said Nico isn’t exactly a bad decision-maker, but he had some major timing issues. Sometimes, his fundamental position on the football caused the mishap. Finally, Nico is showing signs of winning the challenge of making sound, timely decisions on the field. But there is room for doubt. “We don’t know the timing because it’s a slow-motion clip, and it’s also something where we’re catching a play that is after the snap, so you know we don’t know the timing of all that. The bottom line, though, is this is a good sign,” PicKell added.

But it’s not just on Nico Iamaleava; the entire team should allow themselves to get more reps to lead up to a champion race, but first, they need to wake up and lace up the shoes for the practice.

Josh Heupel draws a warning on a looming concern in the locker room

And what could serve it better than a Spring platform? Josh Heupel has already unleashed a checklist for his QB1 preferred qualities in 2025. Heupel admires his eyesight, unique leadership traits, and much more, but he doesn’t deny that there is a huge room to be elite. But even if he is, the weight of the physique should be a prime focus.

‘Locked on Vols’ host Eric Cain explained that it was not enough to have much more. Cain directly deemed the lack of practice a reason for their underwhelming spirit altogether. “Josh Heupel, being Tennessee’s head coach. You are looking at a different Center1 for your team, QB1, and Center1, and what does that look like? I think it’s important for these guys to practice in fall camp. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a trainer. I am not a Division 1 football coach. There’s so much that I don’t know and that I don’t understand. But I think a big reason why there were guys out of shape was because guys didn’t practice last year.”

Players did gain weight last year. Nico Iamaleava gained a whopping 25 lbs and weighed around 215 pounds. Other superstars who had to step into a hard diet afterward, like Caleb Herring, gained 45 lbs and increased their weight to 250 lbs. Although that was for the better. Another player, Bruce McCray (receiver), also gained a lot of weight. Thanks to his injury! If all of them get serious about their extra body mass, the sky is the limit for the Vols!