Big Crisis Hits Josh Heupel & Tennessee as Unforeseen Disaster Puts $8M Nico Iamaleava’s Future in Jeopardy

If the slap on the face by OSU wasn’t bad enough, Josh Heupel now had to deal with a full-blown exodus. As the “Big SEC” team, the Vols were a joke against the Bucks. The whole playoff game was nothing but a full-blown kick to where it hurts the most. Barely 100 yards on passing, Nico Iamaleava was out there daydreaming instead of landing the football. 45% completion? Are you serious? How on earth was the SEC even planning on invading the Big 10? By throwing cotton candy at their head? This entire game was a disaster, and not only did it prove that Vols and Josh Heupel pretty much survived the entire season off of their defensive line, but it also showed how one-dimensional Tennessee’s offense is.
And if all of that wasn’t enough, going forward, you won’t even have half of the actual offensive strength left. Why? Yeah, thank the draft and the transfer portal for that. Back on X, Bear Bryant’s Burner shared a list of 9 pass catchers who have called it quits and are leaving the Vols. “Tennessee is losing 9 of their top 11 pass catchers on their roster,” Bear pointed out. The entire running and receiver corp is trashed. Heupel is going to lose out on some notable names like Squirrel White, Dylan Sampson, Chas Nimrod, Bru McCoy, and many more.

First, you got a quarterback who can’t even throw to save his life and now you have to go through a full-blown draft exodus. This puts Nico in a really bad spot. More so because Heupel is losing out on his star RB Sampson. But then again, we can’t blame him for declaring for the draft.

Sampson had a massive season with over 1400 yards and 258 carries. He has done more for the Vols than Nico could dream of. 22 massive touchdowns with a 5.8 average. On the bright side, the only 2 players who are coming back for the next year are WR Chris Brazzell and TE Ethan Davis. But then again, does it matter?

Like what exactly is the WR or the RB supposed to do against big-time teams like the Bucks or even Georgia when the only time their QB makes proper throws is when he is put up against stat-padding teams like Kent State, Miss State, or Chattanooga? $8 million for this dude? Get a refund, Heupel.

40,000 people stormed into Columbus that day, and for what? And if you thought the worry for Heupel ends here then you are dead wrong.

Mike Matthews calls it quits

No.6 WR for the 2024 class, and you gonna lose him to the portal? How worse can the situation get? Hayes Fawcett broke the news that Mike Matthews has finished filling up all the paperwork and is ready to hit the transfer portal.

The final decision will come on Monday. Heupel, this is a guy you HAVE to keep at Knoxville. If you plan on keeping Nico as QB1, then Matthews is the perfect pairing for him. The fact that he was used so little this entire season is just mind-blowing

Why not put this guy up for the Bucks game? The difference in skill between the Vols receiver room and OSU’s was so obvious. But nope. Mike Matthews ends the year with 90 yards and 2 TDs. He could’ve done much more, but what else can you expect from a team that is blindly relying on a QB with the worst QBR compared to any staring quarterback in CFP?

 

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