Davis doesn't think they'll be as desperate as most would have thought.
Rece Davis Names College Football Powerhouse That's Not As Desperate As We Thought originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
It's easy to feel pessimistic about your favorite college football team after your quarterback opts to transfer out during the offseason. But until you see your next guy line up under center and take snaps in Week 1, you don't truly ever know. It's college football, the greatest sport in the world, and anything is possible.
If you're up in Rocky Top, you're likely a bit nervous about this coming season after quarterback Nico Iamaleava transferred from Tennessee to UCLA in April.
Iamaleava, the former five-star recruit who was the nation's No. 1-ranked transfer player this offseason according to 247 Sports, left the program after the Vols declined to increase his NIL package.
Head coach Josh Heupel made it clear that Tennessee has moved on, and Tennessee's expectations remain the same. That sounds like classic coach talk, but ESPN "College GameDay" host Rece Davis thinks there's some truth to it.
In Week 1, Tennessee plays Syracuse in Atlanta in what will be the program's first game without Iamaleava, who led the Vols to the College Football Playoff a season ago.
Davis was asked about his thoughts on the Vols' season opener, and he had two points to make.
1. The ACC will be a lot deeper than we thought: "I think we learn that the ACC is deeper than we thought," Davis said.
2. The Vols will prove they're not as desperate at QB as most would have guessed: "Tennessee is not as desperate and dire at quarterback as we thought."
Heupel managed to land UCLA's incoming transfer Joey Aguilar, who threw for 6,760 yards in two seasons at App State. He'll compete for the starting job with redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger. There's also true freshman and former 4-star George MacIntyre. Right now, most are guessing it will be Aguilar who wins the starting job.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
