“ Looking back, we are good ”: the sources of Tennessee revisit Nico Iamaleava Saga, embraces Joey Aguilar as better suited

The people of the Tennessee football program would refuse it publicly, but many closely follow Nico Iamaleava Weekly slide from Grace to UCLA. “There are some who pay attention to sure,” said a source of Tennessee.

Even those who are not aware because, as another program source said, “you don’t have to look at, because Twitter Twitter is everywhere.”

Who has not followed an ex?

Right now, Tennessee is booming – with a body of revenge. Flights No. 15 are 2-0 before a force test with Georgia No. 6. The biggest catalyst for this hot start is undoubtedly the player to be later named in the Bancal quarter of Tennessee “trade” This spring with UCLA.

A unique recruit from the high -star high school, Joey Aguilar launched 535 yards and 5 affected against no interception with a completion rate of 66.1%. Last week, he helped lead the flights to a 72 -point program record against the state of East Tennessee.

The quarter-tree which said that the relationship has faced a team in difficulty. The UCLA is 0-2 with losses against UTAH and UNLV. Iamaleava is not the deep cause of the problems of Bruins, but its statistics through two games – 391 yards, 2 affected, 2 ints – do not reflect someone who arrived at university as a five -star recruit with heaps of media threshing.

Tennessee seems to have fully adopted the Aguilar experience. In Knoxville, Aguilar – a former juco prospect – gained respect for the way he progressed to the highest level of university football. The sources around the program describe Aguilar as an elite leader, contrasting his vocal style with the much quieter iamaleava. Said a third -party Aguilar flight source: “He is an adult man. He acts as an adult. He is so assembled.”

Even Aguilar’s grandmother is a viral sensation for the Tennessee fans base after the cameras caught the 82-year-old woman in the stands looking at her grandson play.

For Tennessee, at least, all of this is part of an unexpected quarter -Arrière trade – even if the months led there resemble a nightmare.

“With hindsight, we are good,” said the first source of Tennessee. “(If someone said):” Do it would do that everywhere? “I think everyone would be:” We have Joey?

“The children will be slow to say it because some of them are friends (with Nico). But (Joey) gets the ball more. He hangs out with more people. He is more charismatic. He’s not left for him.”

***

There were signs of an excilocated relationship between Tennessee and Iamaleava during the winter.

The Iamaleava camp approached flights before the deadline for the winter portal in search of a new agreement while the quarter-Arrière wages increased across the country. The Libre QB free agent like Carson Beck (Miami) and Darien Mensah (in Duke) had made the headlines for their new transactions, in particular the $ 8 million Mensah agreement at two years. Iamaleava, who was in the range of $ 2 million, had just led his team to the university football playoffs in 2024. His camp – taking a special opinion from the new Mensah conditions – wanted to see if there were adjustments to make.

Nothing came from these discussions. But problems appear from time to time. Iamaleava even jumped training from the off -season team that raised the eyebrows in Knoxville.

“You can feel the tension,” said the source of the third flight. “I still didn’t believe that he would leave in the spring. Before your junior year and you played well? I spoke with certain NFL teams who could have recovered it in the first round in 2025 (if he had been eligible for the project) because the quarter-Arrière course was weaker. It is physically very talented.”

Things were still on fragile field in April. Tennessee, as a whole, said that the requests for the Iamaleava camp in the spring were still centered on money. The Iamaleava camp, by source, wanted more investment in Tennessee in the offensive line and the team receiver room.

Even a few months later, the messages surrounding the reason for the tension are always mixed. Many in the Tennessee program blame the money and the aggressive camp of Imaleava. Others, both inside the program and near Iamalaeva, say that requests had much more to do with resources.

However, the two parties had to stay together in 2025 until a report appeared publicly that Aumaleava planned to explore the portal. The Iamaleava camp was furious; He thought that Tennessee had disclosed history to influence the perception of the public against a quarter-back already rinse with money. The flights were frustrated, the problem continued to appear. So, even if Iamaleava attended a quarter meeting in the house of his offensive coordinator less than 12 hours before the final split and those around him insisted that he was happy, Iamaleava jumped a practice the next day, insisting that he needed a mental break.

Anyway, he turned out to be the point of rupture and Iamaleava, a Historical recruit which, in high school, signed a zero agreement worth 10 million dollarsTransferred from Tennessee after only two seasons.

“It’s a shame because we really did everything they asked for and we were so much, so accommodating,” said the third source of Tennessee. “I always think it was something that was worth it.

The public nature of the split and the time of computers have limited the options of Iamaleava in the portal. Most of the teams took place in the quarter-Arrière. Those who were not worried about the way Iamaleava added their locker room.

The UCLA was a natural place to connect Iamaleava, since Aamaleava is from Los Angeles. But Ucla had just Addition of Aguilar during the winter transfer window in the condition of the Appalachians, and it was projected (and paid) to be the program starter.

Even after Iamaleava entered the portal, sources say that some in the UCLA program initially declared to Aguilar that they had not planned to continue Iamaleava in the portal. Meanwhile, the Iamaleava camp made its reasonable diligence on what would be with the Bruins. They had questions about the depth table of the line and the UCLA wide receiver after a member of the camp attended a cabinet, reflecting their concerns about what they left in Knoxville.

Despite many public denials and behind the scenes, Iamaleava announced its intention to transfer to the UCLA after eight days in the portal, April 20.

Aguilar would have found at the same time as the rest of his team, via social media.

A day later, Aguilar entered the transfer portal for the second time in less than six months. Flights stretched out immediately. The Tennessee had carried out backchannel work on a few other starting quarters across the FBS, but Aguilar adapted what they needed. He was an experienced starter, he was available and he would not rupture the bank for a program that already engages significant quarter resources in the 2026 class Global recruit n ° 1 Faizon Brandon.

Aguilar in a few hours accepted a transfer agreement in Tennessee. In the unusual quarter of “trade”, Tennessee saved considerable resources in what it would pay Aguilar compared to the more than $ 2 million which he had committed to spending on Iamaleava for the 2025 season.

***

These are only two games, but you can already see areas in which Aguilar has helped to raise the attack on Tennessee.

Josh Heupel’s best offenses run well in its Veer and Shoot style system and stretch the field vertically. Tennessee made the first part last year at a very high level with Dylan Sampson. The second part turned out to be more difficult. The flights were only ranked 96th at the national level in passenger games of more than 20 yards. Iamaleava only completed 32% of its passes to 20 yards plus in the field and only 53.8% of those from 10 to 19 meters, per PFF.

Tennessee ranks 32nd at the national level in games of explosive passes so far in 2025 – despite the 125th classification at the national level in a fall percentage – and Aguilar turns out to be much more precise in the environment (71.3%) and deeply (57.1%) of the fields of the domain.

“Just very stable, and it is a testimony of whom he is,” said Heupel about Aguilar after the victory of week 1 of the flights against Syracuse. “It is who he is as a person … You look at a guy who enters and in three and a half months – anyway – and to be able to learn, grasp and play as he did today, it is a testimony of his work.”

Deshaun Foster, Nico Iamaleava under microscope after 0-2 beginning: why the change of coaching UCLA could be on the horizon

Carter Bahns

Iamaleava does not play badly for the UCLA, in all means. Its 48th QBR classification is actually just behind Aguilar to the 45th, and the situation of Bruins around it is problematic with the UCLA classification last in the power of power in authorized pressure rate (41.4%).

The around Knoxville noticed that UCLA staff have a hard time in Iamaleava, a point that is not lost to them with the way Iamaleava camp criticized the alignment of the team when they left.

“No one wants that someone fails,” said the first source of Tennessee. “But to say that you left here because we were not good enough, it’s Asinine. We have much better O -play.

Iamaleava has more natural talent than Aguilar. He ranked like player No. 1 of the 2025 transfer cycle for a reason. But those around Knoxville wonder how much this talent really translates into the field every week.

“Whoever looks at football can say:” Yes, a guy is much more upwards, “said the first source of Tennessee.” But for any reason, he has not yet reached that. “

Perhaps Aguilar has a ceiling lower than Knoxville that Aumaleava would not have done. But those around the program are delighted with the way he entered, established relationships and led with a charisma that made him a popular figure in a short time and a QB more than capable for a team that may have thought that it was for a year of reconstruction and now seeks to have a chance to perceive to return to the CFP.

“I think fans will give him a short break, it seems to me,” said the third source. “Now, not multiple losses in a way.

Richard Johnson of CBS Sports contributed to this report