Tennessee kicked down the playoff door last season. First time they’ve made the College Football Playoff since it went to 12 teams. But they’re not just happy with that. They want the whole shebang—a national championship. The hype train’s rolling for 2025, and Josh Heupel’s jumping on board, bringing back about 67% of his defense. And get this, his quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, is back too, which is, like, super rare in the SEC. He’s betting on his wild card quarterback to lead another big offensive push. But, here’s the thing, is Iamaleava really ready after a first year that was all over the place? Lowkey, yeah. He was pretty much the only good thing about their offense when they were struggling. So, what went wrong under his watch?

Nico Iamaleava definitely showed some serious potential in 2023. He took down Oklahoma on the road, knocked off Alabama and Florida, and even walked away with the Citrus Bowl MVP. But 2024? That’s where he started to really show what he was made of. He racked up 2,616 yards, threw 19 touchdowns, and kept Tennessee in the game. But, let’s be real, he wasn’t perfect. Not even close.

There’s something that is stopping his run in the league, and On3 Sports‘ J.D. PicKell highlighted the same, urging Josh Heupel to bring out the best version of him. “If Tennessee does repeat their success from a year ago, and they make the College Football Playoff. I think it’ll be because Nico Iamaleava took a massive step forward. We said it a lot during the course of last season—hey, Nico, he’s good, but can he be great? If he’s great, Tennessee could win the whole darn thing.” Here’s the issue. Remember Nico’s gameplay against Ohio State in the playoff game? Tough watch. With 14 completions out of 31 attempts, four sacks, and numerous instances of visible anxiety, his performance was underwhelming. The defense knew they could reach him, and they did.

Despite Nico Iamaleava’s pretty solid season, he got snubbed from CBS Sports’ top returning QBs for 2025, not even an honorable mention, which is surprising. It’s like, even with leading Tennessee to the playoffs, people think he’s still got a ways to go, just like PicKell said. And with names like Arch Manning and Carson Beck on those lists, his absence is a head-scratcher, leaving Josh Heupel probably scratching his own.

Is it really all Nico Iamaleava’s fault? Well, J.D. PicKell says it’s not, but he should be the one stepping up to address all the team’s flaws. “It’s not just on Nico; it’s also on the skill players; it’s also on the offensive line. But I think with how we talked about Nico when he got to Tennessee, we shouldn’t just excuse the expectations we had for him. Now, I understand that’s a lot to put on a guy, and to some degree, that bar is unreachable.”  After all, Vols ‘ offense had its fair share of inconsistencies, and so did Nico. Remember his performance against Bama? He missed several throws that could have resulted in scoring points in the first half. Yet inconsistency is a part of the game.

And J.D. PicKell further adds on to it, saying, “You’re still expecting the quarterback to make the difference. You’re still expecting the quarterback to make up for whatever you don’t have at the wide receiver position. You’re still expecting the quarterback to make some plays off-script when your offensive line doesn’t have it totally dialed in….I’m expecting a little more from Nico Iamaleava…the tough part with Nico is we are grading him against his potential.” Nico Iamaleava can’t carry the whole offense himself, especially with some key guys gone. Tennessee’s receiver group is shaky, putting pressure on Amari Jefferson and Chris Brazzell to step up, because Brazzell’s 333 yards and two touchdowns last year weren’t enough, and expecting either of them to match Dante Thornton’s 661 yards is a big ask, which means if they don’t, Nico’s going to have a rough season.

Defense is facing a similar shakeup, with James Pearce Jr. gone to the NFL, leaving a big void. Jordan Ross has the talent to step up, but he’s a redshirt freshman, and Caleb Herring and Joshua Josephs need to step up their game too. Tennessee’s defense lived on pressure last year, so if this new crew can’t bring it, they’ll struggle. And let’s just hope Nico doesn’t

pull a Rickey Gibson on Heupel in the meantime.

Nico Iamaleava’s team sees potholes

The 2024 season ended on a sour note for Tennessee, falling just short of the championship. Josh Heupel is now preparing for another season, counting on Nico Iamaleava to lead the team. However, the plan faced obstacles when cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III were expected to solidify the defense. Unfortunately, McCoy’s ACL injury and Gibson’s decision to enter the transfer portal disrupted the strategy. But Gibson’s surprising return sparked controversy, complicating Heupel’s already challenging situation.

Even though there were rumors about Gibson transferring, he’s back with the team for spring camp, which, naturally, has analysts questioning the implications. On Locked on Vols, Eric Cain and Boogie Bentley dove into this whole mess. Eric Cain basically called Gibson out for going public with his decision too early. He said, “To me, it’s pretty black and white. It is what it is. I think it’s going to get resolved but it kind of makes you feel uneasy right when you make it a public affair.”

Then, Boogie Bentley took a different angle, thinking Rickey Gibson might have just freaked out after McCoy’s injury. He explained, “What I don’t like is you taking advantage of your misfortune of your teammate, right, that’s what we don’t like.” But he wasn’t mad at Gibson for wanting a better NIL deal. He blamed the system itself.

Thing is, this whole situation got a ton of attention, which could mess with other players trying to get their own deals. Bentley was worried about how Heupel would handle it, asking, “How does Josh Heupel handle this, like how you gonna give Rickey Gibson reps, when he’s gonna walk when the portal opens…how do your teammates feel about that?” With Gibson back, guys like Boo Carter and Mike Matthews might start thinking about their own paychecks. It’s a domino effect that could really shake up the locker room, and Heupel’s got to keep his roster together, because this could set a seriously bad example.