Maybe, Josh Heupel should consult Jeremy Pruitt to find next Tennessee football QB | Adams (2025)

(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)

NIL comes to pass, the transfer portal opens, and college football is forever changed.

But one thing hasn’t changed: Selecting and signing the right quarterback remains an inexact science, even if you have the necessary funds to reward the most talented athletes for their name, image and likeness.

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Now that quarterback Nico Iamaleava has shunned the Vols Lane Kiffin-style, coach Josh Heupel suddenly needs to take a deep dive into the portal in pursuit of another quarterback.

Never mind that Tennessee apparently didn’t meet the exorbitant financial demands of the Iamaleava family. It’s not cash poor and quite capable of taking another school’s established quarterback faster than you can say “I-am-a-leava.”

But can it get the right quarterback? That’s the challenge.

Heupel has led the Vols to four consecutive winning seasons, a significant step up from its procession of failed coaches. Nonetheless, his history of selecting quarterbacks doesn’t inspire confidence that his next pick will have the offense purring as it did with Hendon Hooker in control.

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Hooker was a hand-me-down quarterback from former coach Jeremy Pruitt, who picked him up from the portal after Hooker’s pedestrian career at Virginia Tech. There’s great irony in that.

Pruitt came to Tennessee as an alleged defensive guru, and his UT offenses couldn’t get out of their own way during three forgettable seasons. Yet he provided Heupel, a renowned offensive coach, with his most productive quarterback by far.

The Vols went 11-2 and led the nation in scoring in 2022 with Hooker running Heupel’s up-tempo spread offense. Neither Joe Milton, UT’s starting quarterback in 2023, nor Iamaleava − the much-hyped, five-star recruit – was nearly as effective.

Milton and Iamaleava were Heupel’s picks. You only had to watch them throw a deep-out route to understand why. They had the big-time arms that could stretch a defense to the breaking point.

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But they weren’t as good a fit for Heupel’s offense as a Pruitt recruit.

Milton, who recently was traded from the New England Patriots to the Dallas Cowboys, is better suited for a more conventional offense. And strange as it seems, Iamaleava might be, too.

At first glance, I thought Iamaleava would flourish in Heupel’s system. I was wrong.

He likely would have fared better had he chosen to stick around for another season, particularly if Tennessee’s offensive tackles and wide receivers could have given him more support. But even if he learned to process information faster, he never would have become an elusive scrambler who could turn a failed play into a successful one.

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That’s what I imagined when I watched Iamaleava in his first start. He ran for three touchdowns in a 35-0 Citrus Bowl victory over Iowa to cap the 2023 season. That wasn’t a preview of things to come, though.

He doesn’t have a knack for improvisation. He can gain yardage on designed runs, but he’s not going to befuddle defenders in the open field after a called play breaks down. Whatever school finds Iamaleava’s arm irresistible should take that to heart.

Meanwhile, Heupel should consider a quarterback’s legs as much as his arm in searching for Iamaleava’s successor. He doesn’t have to take some columnist’s word for it. He only needs to rewatch a Hendon Hooker video.

No matter who has been at quarterback, Heupel’s Vols have run the ball effectively. And they can run it best with a dual-threat quarterback.

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Of course, you also want a competent passer since most offenses thrive through balance. But your quarterback doesn’t need to turn an NFL scout’s head with a fastball that could flatten a receiver at close range.

WHAT'S NEXXT?: Tennessee rallied after Nico Iamaleava left. Now comes reality of another QB

Instead, find a quarterback who’s an accurate passer, a good decision-maker and can threaten a defense on the run.

Perhaps, Tennessee can pinpoint that quarterback in the portal. Better yet, maybe it can meet his price and still have enough left over to land a receiver who can beat a defense deep.

Then, the Iamaleava era will be easily forgotten.

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John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football might need Jeremy Pruitt's help to find next QB