Nico Iamaleava leaving Tennessee for UCLA has shocked many fans, and this has many predicting that the former Vols quarterback’s transfer has led to the team’s decline. Some have even predicted that Tennessee will be at the bottom four of the SEC. However, football analyst Josh Pate disagrees with this take.
On Wednesday, Pate read an X comment from a user named James Pettus on his YouTube channel, Josh Pate’s College Football Show, with Pettus claiming that the Volunteers will be at the bottom four of the SEC this season. Pate explained that the prediction was too much.
“Well that is hateful,” Josh Pate said in his YouTube channel. “That is hate speech and I think it is pretty bold. I think this is a 9.25 on the boldness scale.”
“Understand, I think the markets are too high on Tennessee. I think FanDuel’s too high on Tennessee,” he added. “I already bet the under at eight and a half wins and if they surprise me, I just think it there were already a lot of question marks on that team, then you have the quarterback thing happen. I think it’s a bit of a rebuild year for Tennessee, so I’m already a little bit down on them, but I’m not this down on them.”
Tennessee may have lost its starting quarterback, but as Pate pointed out, it is still not over for the Vols, as they can still rebuild in time for the season to begin in fall. While there were many detractors, the team still shows plenty of potential and may not even fall in the bottom four of the SEC, as one person predicted.
Who Will Take Nico Iamaleava’s Place at Tennessee?
Despite its starting quarterback leaving the Vols, Tennessee still has its hopes up in the position. The most probable is Joey Aguilar, who is going to Knoxville from Appalachian State. The former Mountaineers quarterback is the probable QB1 for the Vols, and he will likely improve under Josh Heupel’s system.
Still, Nico Iamaleava has raised the bar for quarterbacks at Tennessee, and Aguilar has plenty to prove. There is also returning quarterback Jake Merklinger, who will possibly challenge Aguilar for that QB1 spot for next season.
Beyond that, Tennessee also has five-star commit Faizon Brandon to look forward to. The No. 13-ranked Class of 2026 star still has one year of high school to play, but he already has Volunteers fans excited for 2026.
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