This spring, one of the biggest news coming out of Knoxville was Nico Iamaleava’s exit from the Josh Heupel’s roster. It only lasted for 72 hours, but the whirlwind was enough to leave the Vols fans wondering just what had happened. One minute they were driving off to the Neyland Stadium along with the other 30,000 fans for the spring practice wearing the QB’s jersey, the other, they heard whispers of him not attending game and then also leaving the program because the school didn’t agree to his $4 million NIL demand. While it did impact the school, the effects were more on Heupel. Now he has to guess who becomes his primary signal caller before the season starts.
The quarterback room in Knoxville? It’s looking like somebody flipped the lights off and ran out the back door because no one has a clue who’s next. Now so far, the plan is, if an already-available QB is to take Nico’s place, it would either be redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger or freshman George MacIntyre or they will share the duties. However, the other option for UT and Josh is to get a more experienced QB in from the transfer portal, where the HC agrees, “Certainly with only two scholarship players at the quarterback position, we’re going to have to find another guy.” And that’s where the Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli comes in with his two years of eligibility remaining.
It’s not to say that Angeli is the best bet for a SEC program, but in the crunch times, he could be one of the top options available to the Vols. Of course, he has proven his potential at times. Remember when he led the Fighting Irish in Orange Bowl last season? Turned out his opening score was the margin of the win that Notre Dame needed to win over Penn State. However, with redshirt freshman CJ Carr and third-year backup Kenny Minchey making their cases and the QB battle in Indiana. Hence, as he saw the opening, he made his way out of Notre Dame. And now, seems like he may have a landing spot in Knoxville.
On Sunday’s episode of The Ruffino & Joe Show, the hosts practically dropped a mixtape dedicated to the former Notre Dame QB which might as well be named: Tennessee needs to go all in on Steve Angeli. After Ruffino remarked that he was not disappointed by Angeli’s game, Joe DeLeone also kept it real.
