EA Sports boldly plants flag in Tennessee Vols-Nico Iamaleava debate with latest player ratings release for new video game
The Tennessee Volunteers will assuredly have plenty of talent for the 2025 season. As far as EA Sports College Football 26 goes, it isn't unreasonable to expect that they'll have a fun roster to compete with on the game. Their offseason change at quarterback is one piece to the puzzle that plenty of folks will […]
The Tennessee Volunteers will assuredly have plenty of talent for the 2025 season. As far as EA Sports College Football 26 goes, it isn't unreasonable to expect that they'll have a fun roster to compete with on the game.
Their offseason change at quarterback is one piece to the puzzle that plenty of folks will have their eye on when the game comes out.
Iamaleava ranked in top 20 for CFB 26
The former Vols quarterback is ranked as the 16th-best QB based on his EA Sports College Football 26 rating. He's rated as an "88 overall" along with five other starting QBs around the country, including Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia.
There have been plenty of analysts and fans that contend that Joey Aguilar, the expected new starter at QB for the Vols will outplay Nico. Aguilar was not listed in the top 20 QBs for the game as of now.
This ranking for Iamaleava actually comes extremely close to his spot in A to Z's recent QB rankings for every starter in the power four (and Notre Dame).
The former Vols QB was ranked 16th in those rankings, in the second tier of quarterbacks overall. There was an array of ranks for him, specifically, though, between the teens and twenties.
Nico is a bit of an enigma in my head. I may be a bit clouded from the offseason shenanigans, but his play from last season just underwhelmed me in about every way imaginable. In an offense under Josh Heupel that’s built to make life easy on the quarterback, far too many plays looked harder than they actually were for Iamaleava. Add in some processing and decision-making issues that he hasn’t kicked yet, and I’m just not sold that his physical tools will take him far enough to find consistent success at UCLA.
— Adam Holt, A to Z Sports
Aguilar is facing a clear uptick in competition as he ascends from Appalachian State. That being said, his mobility and potential as a passer were both probably key factors in Josh Heupel's decision to bring him in through the transfer portal.
We will see if the swap of Aguilar for Iamaleava works out in the long run in Knoxville. Only time will tell.
