Josh Heupel has Tennessee Volunteers football on a strong trajectory after leading the program to the College Football Playoff for the first time last season, but that momentum was threatened unexpectedly last week before the Tennessee football spring game. Starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava didn’t show up to a Friday practice before Saturday’s Orange & White Game and rumors that he was shopping around for a bigger NIL deal began to swirl. Then Heupel announced that Tennessee would move on from Iamaleava and the former five-star prospect officially entered the college football transfer portal.
Now, the Volunteers have two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman George MacIntyre, while five-star prospect Faizon Brandon is committed in the Class of 2026. However, Heupel has already announced his intention to add a quarterback in the spring transfer portal to round out his roster, so who are the top Nico Iamaleava replacement options? If you want the latest Tennessee football news, be sure to see what the proven team of insiders are saying at GoVols247, the 247Sports affiliate that covers the Tennessee Volunteers.
The GoVols247 insiders are providing on-the-ground updates on every development in the Tennessee football program, including insights from Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Ben McKee, who have deep-rooted ties inside the Tennessee Vols community. Get all the inside scoop on the football program, plus VIP intel on Tennessee football, basketball, recruiting and more. Plus get access to the Irish Illustrated message boards where you can connect with other Tennessee fans and insiders. Get it all right here.
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Tennessee football roster news
Projected by many pundits to be a College Football Playoff contender once again with Iamaleava returning, the Volunteers will have to adapt quickly to overcome the sudden loss of their starting quarterback. The spring college football transfer portal opens on April 16 and will close on April 25, leaving Heupel a limited amount of time to find a quarterback who can compete with Merklinger and MacIntyre for the starting quarterback role.
However, that’s not the only position of need for Tennessee in the CFB transfer portal. The Volunteers had five wide receivers enter the portal already this offseason, including starter Squirrel White, so finding targets for whoever winds up starting at quarterback for Heupel will also be a priority. The Volunteers have already received a commitment from Alabama wide receiver Amari Jefferson, who was originally a four-star prospect in the Class of 2024 out of the Baylor School in Chattanooga.
Some of the top available wide receivers in the college football transfer portal include Emmett Mosley V from Stanford, Christian Fitzpatrick of Marshall and Karate Brenson of Tennessee State. Some new Tennessee transfer targets will also emerge once the portal opens on Wednesday, so who will Heupel go after and how might the Nico Iamaleava saga impact Vols recruiting? Get more Tennessee football roster updates at GoVols247.
How to get insider Tennessee football updates
The GoVols247 team is bringing up-to-the minute updates on the latest transfer portal targets at quarterback, staff news and 2026 football recruiting. You can only get it all at GoVols247.
What will the 2025 Tennessee football roster look like, and what shocking offseason moves are in store for the Volunteers after Iamaleava’s decision to leave? Go to Irish Illustrated to get all the latest Tennessee football news, all from a team of dialed-in insiders, and find out.
And reminder, GoVols247 is offering 50% off an annual VIP membership, so subscribe now before it’s too late.
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