People around Tennessee Football Program will publicly deny it, but some are closely following Nico Iamaleava's UCLA's Grace Weekly Slide. “Some people are sure to pay attention,” said a Tennessee source.
Even those who don’t have side-by-side, as another planned source said, “You don’t have to watch because Tennessee Twitter is everywhere.”
Which of us didn't keep up with our ex?
Currently, Tennessee is thriving – the Revenge Body. Volume 15 is 2-0 before the family showdown with Georgia No. 6. Arguably, the biggest catalyst for a hot start was the player named later from Tennessee's bizarre quarterback “trading” This spring with UCLA.
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Joey Aguilar is a one-time star-free high school recruit who threw 535 yards and five touchdowns with 66.1% completion rate without interceptions. Last week, he helped Vols score 72 points against East Tennessee State.
The quarterback announced the relationship was over, and it was a struggling team. UCLA sat 0-2, losing to Utah and UNLV. Iamaleava isn't the root cause of the tan problem, but his stats in two games – 391 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs – don't reflect a person who used to be a five-star recruit who once promoted five-star recruits.
Tennessee seems to have fully embraced the Aguilar experience. In Knoxville, Aguilar – the prospect of former Juco – earned respect for his way toward the highest level of college football. Sources of the program described Aguilar as an elite leader, comparing his vocal style with a quieter Iamaleava. Aguilar's volume 3 source says: “He is an adult man. He behaves like an adult man. He is such a combination.”
Even Aguilar's grandmother was a viral sensation for Tennessee fan base as the camera caught the 82-year-old crying in the stands watching her grandson perform.
It's all part of the unexpected quarterback deal for Tennessee at least – even if the months that led to it resemble a nightmare.
“In hindsight, we're fine,” said the first Tennessee source. “(If someone said), 'Will you do that?' I think everyone would say, 'Did we get him here?
“The kids will be slow because some of them are friends (with Nico). But (Joey) gets the ball more. He hangs out with more people. He's more charming. He doesn't go with himself.”
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There are signs of a wear relationship between Tennessee and Iamaria in winter.
Iamaleava's camp approaches VOLS by the winter portal deadline in search of new deals as quarterback salaries soar across the country. Free agent QBs, such as Carson Beck (to Miami) and Darien Mensah (to Duke), especially Mensah’s two-year, $8 million deal. Iamaleava's range is $2 million lower, and he just led his team to the college football playoffs in 2024. His camp – paying special attention to Mensah's new terms – wanted to see if there were any adjustments.
There is nothing about these discussions. But problems arise from time to time. Iamaleava even skipped offseason team workouts, causing some eyebrows inside Knoxville.
“You can feel the tension,” the third Vols source said. “I still don't believe he'll leave in the spring. Going into junior year, you're playing well? I talked to some NFL teams who might have selected him in the first round of 2025 (if he's right) because of the weak quarterback class. He's physically talented.”
In April, things are still on the shaky ground. Tennessee, the entire state of Tennessee, believes that the demand for the spring Iamaleava camp remains money-centric. According to sources, Iamaleava's camp hopes to provide more investment in the team's offensive line and receiving room.
Even after a few months, the causes surrounding tensions remain mixed. Many in the Tennessee plan blame money and Iamaleava's aggressive camp. Others, both inside the plan and close to Iamalaeva, say the requirements are related to resources.
Nevertheless, the two sides are expected to be together in 2025 until public reports that Iamaleaeva is considering exploring the portal. Iamaleava's camp was angry. It believes Tennessee leaked the story to influence public perceptions that quarterbacks have been rinsed with money. Vols was frustrated and the problem continued to arise. So even though Iamaleava attended a quarterback meeting at his offensive coordinator's home less than 12 hours before the last minute and the people around him were happy to insist that he was sticking to himself, Iamaleava skipped a practice the next day, insisting that he needed a psychological break.
Either way, it proves to be broken points and Iamaleava, a In high school, historic recruits signed zero deals worth up to $10 millionTransferred from Tennessee in just two seasons.
“It's shameful because we did everything they really asked, and we were, and so,” said the third Tennessee source. “I still believe it's one thing we did worth mentioning. Nico was in (Jeremy) Pruitt. The five-star quarterback moved the needle. We went into the playoffs. I do think we might have already earned Nico's value after the playoffs, our Nico and we're going to win.”
“I do think that after the playoff game, we probably got as much value from NICO as we were going to get”
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The public nature of the split and IT timing limit Iamaleava's choice in the portal. Most teams are quarterbacks. Those who don't worry about adding iamaleava will disturb their locker room.
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a natural location that connects iamaleava to Iamaleava, because Iamaleava is a Los Angeles native. But UCLA has only Added Aguilar to Appalachian's winter transfer window, who is expected (and paid) to be the starter of the program.
Sources said that even after Iamaleava entered the portal, some people in the UCLA program initially told Aguilar that they did not intend to pursue Iamaleava on the portal. During this time, the camp at Iamaleava is due to investigate the situation of the brown bear. After camp members took part in the practice, they had questions about UCLA’s O-line and extensive receiver depth maps, reflecting their concerns about what Knoxville left behind.
Despite a lot of public and behind-the-scenes denials, Iamaleava announced its intention to move to UCLA eight days after the portal on April 20.
Aguilar is said to have discovered it simultaneously with its other teams through social media.
A day later, Aguilar entered the transfer portal for the second time in less than six months. Vols immediately stretched out. Tennessee has gone back to the degree at the other quarterbacks in the FBS, but Aguilar is right for what they need. He is an experienced starter and he is free and he won't undermine the bank for plans to already invest a lot of quarterback resources in his class in 2026 First place recruit Faizon Brandon.
Aguilar agreed to the transfer to Tennessee within a few hours. In the unusual quarterback “trade”, Tennessee has saved a lot of resources, and compared to the 2025 season Iamaleaeava spending more than $2 million, it will pay for Aguilar.
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It's just two games, but you can already see Aguilar helps to improve the Tennessee offense.
The best Josh Heupel offense runs the ball well in his Veer and Shoot style system and stretches the court vertically. Tennessee got along well with the first part of Dylan Sampson last year. The second part proved to be a struggle. Vols ranked only 96th in passing games with over 20 yards. Iamaleava completed only 20 yards over 32% of his passes, only 53.8% of his 10 to 19 yards per PFF.
Tennessee ranked 32nd in explosive passes so far in 2025, and despite being ranked 125th across the country, Aguilar ranked higher in the media (71.3%) and deep (57.1%) regions in the field.
“It's just very stable, which proves his identity,” said Aguilar after Hruel defeated Syracuse in Week 1. “That's who he is as a human being…you look at a person who comes in, for three and a half months – whatever it is possible – being able to learn, master and play him in the way he learns today, and it proves his work.”
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Anyway, Iamaleava's game against UCLA will not be very bad. His QBR ranking is actually No. 45 Aguilar, and the situation around him is problematic, while UCLA's ranking ranks fourth (41.4%) in the allowable stress rate (41.4%).
People around Knoxville noticed UCLA personnel struggling around Iamaleava, which did not criticize the team's lineup when they went out with Iamaleava training camp.
“No one wants anyone to fail,” said the first Tennessee source. “But to say you leave here because we are not good enough is asinine. We have better O-line games. The running game is good. We have some good receivers. To say you are leaving because we are not a talented team and we are not putting talent on you, this is Asinine.”
Iamaleava has more natural talents than Aguilar. For some reason, he ranked No. 1 in the 2025 transfer cycle. But those around Knoxville want to know what talent is actually about each week.
“Anyone who watches football can say, 'Yes, one has more room for going up,” said the first source in Tennessee. “But he hasn't reached that point for whatever reason.”
Perhaps the ceiling in Knoxville is indeed lower than that in Iamaleava. But the people around the program were excited about the way he came in, built relationships and with a charisma that made him a popular figure in a short time, and for a team that might think it was a rebuilding year, it was a better QB than ability, and now there seems to be a chance for a hole punch to go back to the CFP.
“I think the fans will give him a little rest, and to me it feels like,” a third source said. “Not a lot of losses now. I think people really take root for him. They want him to succeed. They will understand a little bit.”
Richard Johnson of CBS Sports contributes to the report