The dust has finally settled on the drama that unfolded between the University of Tennessee and now former quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The Vols and Iamaleava have each moved on in what, more or less, ended up being a trade of sorts.
Iamaleava moved closer to home, transferring to UCLA, while Appalachian State transfer Joey Aguilar — who had previously transferred to the Bruins — left for Tennessee.
The move has inspired Vols fans to rally behind Aguilar, hoping he can not only replace Iamaleava but become a better version of the former five-star. CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli, however, doesn't see that happening.
Thanks to Iamaleava's departure, Tennessee has a diminished outlook on returning to the College Football Playoff after last year's appearance. The Vols now have -215 odds to miss the playoff, according to Fornelli.
"I know you're all still going through the part of the breakup phase where you tell yourselves you didn't like Nico Iamaleava anyway, and you'll be much better off without him, but it doesn't look that way from my vantage point!" Fornelli wrote.
"I don't care how you spin it. Going from Iamaleava to Joey Aguilar is not an upgrade. While the offense will still be good, its chance to be elite took a serious hit. Not to mention, there's a lot of turnover on the offensive line, and the best pass-rusher on last year's team left, too."
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Fornelli also points to Tennessee’s daunting schedule, which includes matchups against Georgia and Oklahoma, along with road games at Alabama and Florida.
"It's very difficult to see a path where this team wins 10 games, and if the Vols only win nine, odds are they won't have strong enough wins to convince the committee to give them an at-large with three losses," Fornelli added.
Fox Sports' Joel Klatt wasn’t impressed with how the Iamaleava situation unfolded either, believing there was more to the story than what Tennessee fans might admit — and that it could ultimately hurt the Vols this season.
"It doesn’t help that they lost their quarterback, and there’s more to the story than what the Tennessee faithful would let you believe," Klatt said. "They threw Iamaleava under the bus, essentially. I’m not saying that Iamaleava wasn’t blameless in that ordeal, but now Tennessee doesn’t have a clear answer at quarterback."
Both Iamaleava and Aguilar will be watched closely this season, with each fan base likely keeping score of the other's performance. The prevailing belief is that the Vols got worse, while the Bruins got significantly better.
Still, Tennessee is in a much better position than UCLA to contend. Aguilar now has the better roster, coaching staff, and arguably stronger conference backing to lead the Vols back to the playoff. If that happens, Tennessee will, without question, come out as the winner of this entire ordeal.