REPORT: Will Tennessee End Up Losing in UCLA's Iamaleava's Departure?

Will fires start to pop up in Knoxville with the loss of UCLA's new QB1?

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel turns to quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) after their post game interview after winning the Citrus Bowl NCAA College football game on Monday, January 1, 2024 in Orlando, Fla. against Iowa. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Winning solves everything. UCLA Bruins On SI has covered the Nico Iamaleava situation from every angle, and I have given my own opinions on the situation, as have many in sports media. He has been the one in an unenviable spotlight.

But what about Tennessee? The Volunteers have been deemed the wronged party and have been supported across the situation. However, time changes opinion and perspective.

If Tennessee does not have a successful season, will that change opinion on Iamaleava?

The Vols have been underachievers for most of my life. After Phillip Fulmer retired, they suffered under Derek Dooley and Jeremy Pruitt. Lane Kiffin's departure to USC remains a sore spot in Knoxville and Butch Jones' end marred a few successful seasons in Tennessee.

But Vols fans want to compete for National titles and view their program as one that should be competing for them year in and year out, especially with the recent success the program has had, qualifying for the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history last season.

College Football Analyst Josh Pate shared his view on the current state of Tennessee football.

"So, my buddy hits me and he says, man, what if the worst were to happen this year? What if they go eight and four?" Pate said on his show, "Josh Pate's College Football Show."

"And I said, excuse me, the worst being eight and four, they may have gone eight and four with Nico, the worst. You don't know much about Tennessee football if you think the worst is eight and four. This is a very, very new concept in the modern age.

"Tennessee having the audacity to fancy itself a perennial playoff contender, like you can criticize Josh Heupel or credit Josh Heupel -- you need to understand he pulled you out of the wilderness is what you need to understand.

"Tennessee football was an afterthought for a decade and a half because they couldn't get out of their own way, and Josh Heupel came in there. They were in the playoff last year. You can remember them getting their skull crushed in by the eventual national champ, but you know what? They were there. Where was Alabama last year? Tennessee was there.

"So, that's a new concept. So, to sit there -- and I had this conversation with my buddy, so I'm just reiterating what I said -- 8-4 is not the worst case scenario.

" ... The worst case is like a Florida State implosion. OK, probably not that bad, but the worst case is you miss a bowl game. That's the worst case, because with Nico or without Nico, you still had over 160 starts to replace on your offensive line. With or without Nico, you had questions at wide receiver, questions at running back. You're retooling your defense.

"The ice is so much thinner in this sport than you ever think it is. You don't get to carry over success. Because you made the playoff last year, it doesn't raise the floor to where all right now, on the low end, we're an eight-win team. No, on the low end, you're still a four-win team. You're not immune to disaster just because you made the playoff last year. So, I believe in Josh Heupel, but I believe Josh people had a tall order on his hands, even if Nico stayed this year."

While Iamaleava's departure in the spring portal instead of the winter portal does give the Volunteers some time, and the way he left gives Heupel grace, but if they fail to achieve a winning season, some may question if Tennessee was wrong to not give Iamaleava more money. Especially if Iamaleava takes the Bruins back to championship contention.

As UCLA may be on the verge of a new era, Tennessee is in a precarious situation moving toward the 2025 season.

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