"It gets real for Tennessee very quickly" - Paul Finebaum serves Josh Heupel with blunt reality check while naming pressure game for Vols

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel is entering a critical season, and according to analyst Paul Finebaum, the early support from fans may soon see an end. After the unexpected exit of quarterback Nico Iamaleava due to NIL issues right after the Volunteers’ spring game, the program turned to transfer Joey Aguilar.

Finebaum believes Aguilar is a capable quarterback, but he also cautioned that Heupel’s ability to manage this change will determine how much support he retains from the fanbase that applauded him for how he handled Iamaleava’s exit.

“Everyone loved Josh Heupel last spring when all of this happened,” Finebaum said on his show on Friday. “But that was last spring. You know the reality. You know the schedule, by now, everybody knows it. Nobody can look too deep, but it gets real for Tennessee very quickly. They have a big game here, and then they see Georgia in a couple of weeks.”

Finebaum has discussed the situation in detail since SEC media days, saying that the full picture won’t be clear until Aguilar sees meaningful game time. The Vols will open their season on Aug. 30 at home, playing against Syracuse.

In Week 3, they will be up against Georgia, a team they lost to in the previous season. It will become clear in time whether Joey Aguilar can weather the storm.

NCAA Football: South Alabama at Appalachian State - Source: Imagn

Aguilar played two seasons at Appalachian State and was briefly at UCLA before he transferred. In two years, he has tallied 6,760 passing yards, 56 touchdowns and 452 rushing yards and five scores.

Finebaum also predicted the program to end with a 9-3 record, but warned that anything worse than 8-4 could cause fans to lose patience with Josh Heupel. The Vols ended the 2024 campaign with a 10-3 record (6-2 in SEC play).

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CFB analyst expressed concern regarding Josh Heupel’s new quarterback

College football analyst Cole Cubelic shared a concern about Joey Aguilar on “Josh Pate’s College Football Show” on Thursday.

“Nico made plenty of mistakes last year,” Cubelic said. “He missed throws, he missed reads, but it was that ceiling that we all saw, the possibility that we saw, where he had the real potential to take them. Joey Aguilar doesn't have that now, that's okay. He's got to cut down on the turnovers.”

Cubelic also said Aguilar is not experienced in an offense like Josh Heupel’s, which moves fast and requires quick decisions. Aguilar will have to learn new things, like where receivers line up and how to manage the pace of the game.

However, Cubelic remains optimistic. He said Aguilar has proven he can play quarterback and with a talented group of receivers and tight ends, if he plays well in the system, he’ll be fine.

Edited by Alvin Amansec