There’s only one winner in the Nico Iamaleava-Tennessee breakup, and it’s neither of those parties.
UCLA won this divorce. Everyone else lost.
The saga reached a can’t-make-this-up conclusion on Monday, when Tennessee secured a transfer quarterback to replace Iamaleava – and it’s the quarterback UCLA nudged aside in favor of the Tennessee turncoat.
Joey Aguilar is expected to transfer to Tennessee, four months after he transferred from Appalachian State to UCLA. Bruins coach DeShaun Foster got a look at Aguilar this spring and decided he’d rather have Iamaleava as his starter.
So, there you have it. Tennessee dines on UCLA’s scraps.
Oh, and UCLA also reportedly plans to add Iamaleava’s brother, Madden, a true freshman quarterback who would transfer in from Arkansas.
Iamaleava emerged a loser. So did Tennessee. Only UCLA upgraded its situation, acquiring a talented quarterback on a cut-rate deal.
Nico’s left with reputational damage to remedy. His camp engaged in negotiation stupidity when Iamaleava jilted an upper-tier SEC program coached by a proven quarterback developer in favor of a worse team.
Iamaleava tried to leverage Tennessee for a raise, and when that didn’t work, he absorbed a significant pay cut to transfer to UCLA, while moving from a state without state income tax to one with a wallet-stinging tax rate. Dave Ramsey would cringe.
Tennessee fans celebrated a brief victory lap as Iamaleava’s fate unfolded, while retaining hopes that coach Josh Heupel would plunder a quarterback upgrade. Alas, Tennessee couldn’t pry loose a premier quarterback at the 11th hour, and Heupel landed on a quarterback who completed 18 of 41 passes against Clemson last season.
Tennessee’s pickup of Aguilar ranks as the 86th-best transfer quarterback acquisition of the offseason in the 247Sports rankings. UCLA’s bargain buy of Iamaleava ranks first, although Miami and Carson Beck might like a word.
Josh Heupel wins press conference, loses offseason
After Tennessee refused to cave to Iamaleava’s quest for a lofty raise, Heupel declared “no one is bigger than” the program. Heupel won the news conference that day, but he’s losing the offseason.
Good luck finding a scout who would say the Vols wound up with the more talented quarterback in this switcheroo.
Tennessee’s transfer class ranks among the SEC’s worst. The Vols would do well to apply the cost savings of swapping Iamaleava for Aguilar to sweeten the roster with a few last-minute additions. Their depth chart is inferior to last season’s that got Tennessee to the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Aguilar will compete with redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger, Tennessee’s third-string quarterback in 2024, and true freshman George MacIntyre for the starting job.
Aguilar’s experience looms large, but peg Tennessee’s quarterback situation within the bottom 25% of the SEC following this quarterback swap with UCLA.
The purpose here isn’t to knock Aguilar. How could you not pull for the guy after UCLA pulled the rug out from under him? Learning Heupel’s warp-speed spread offense in just four months before the season opener will challenge Aguilar. His career completion rate won’t turn heads, but he led the Sun Belt Conference in passing yards last season.
Don’t ignore Heupel’s history. Hendon Hooker was an average quarterback for Virginia Tech. He developed into a star for Heupel after transferring to Tennessee. Heupel worked with Hooker for two seasons. Aguilar has one season of eligibility remaining – a season he’d planned to use at UCLA.
Nico Iamaleava, UCLA make for duplicitous duo
Coaches are quick to bemoan their lack of roster control. Players enjoy two transfer periods, during which they can freely move from school to school, but coaches contribute to this free agency carousel with their thirst for transfer solutions.
When Aguilar transferred to UCLA, he told ESPN it would “be amazing” to play for his home-state school and that he looked forward to the Bruins’ coaching staff developing him.
“Excited to see him take command of the team,” Foster said of Aguilar three weeks ago.
So much for that. Iamaleava and Foster are made for each other, a duplicitous duo.
But, hey, if nice guys finish last, where does that leave loyal guys? Not in Westwood.
The Vols stood on principle when backed into a corner. They rid themselves of a money-hungry quarterback but emerged with a damaged roster.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com. Follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
