Former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava Ranked In The Bottom of Big Ten QB Rankings

Tennessee Volunteers former quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been ranked at the bottom half of the Big Ten's starting quarterback list.

The Tennessee Volunteers are entering the 2025 college football regular season following a rather drama-filled offseason. Mostly due to their former five-star quarterback and expected starter, Nico Iamaleava,  requested a raise, then held out of practice, and ultimately transferred to UCLA. 

Now, the Vols are set to enter the 2025 season with former App State turned UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar as their starting quarterback. 

There’s been a narrative around Tennessee ever since the drama began that without Iamaleava, there’s going to be some major drop-off. When in reality, the Vols are a running football program that relies on the line of scrimmage and defense to win ten games with a 2600-yard passer. 

In Josh Pate’s latest Big Ten QB Rankings, he’s placed Nico Iamaleava at No. 10 overall with the Bruins. Though Iamaleava’s replacement in the form of Joey Aguilar was not rated by Pate at all during the SEC QB Rankings.