A little over a year ago, it looked like the Tennessee Vols had the perfect quarterback plan in place.

When spring practice started for the Vols in 2025, the expectation was that Nico Iamaleava would be under center for his second season as a starter on Rocky Top. And then if he had a great season, he could turn pro and hand the offense over to George MacIntyre, a 2025 four-star signee.

Tennessee, however, learned how quickly things can change in college football. The relationship between the Vols and Iamaleava went south, leading to the quarterback’s transfer to UCLA (Iamaleava is from SoCal).

The Vols landed UCLA transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar in a de facto swap between the two programs, essentially resetting Tennessee’s quarterback plan.

Aguilar ended up starting every game for the Vols last season. And now that Aguilar is off to the NFL, it’s still possible that MacIntyre could be Tennessee’s starter in 2026 (he’ll have to beat out true freshman Faizon Brandon).

MacIntyre, though, is still looking to add weight to his thin 6-foot-6 frame.

Oddly enough, Iamaleava will be spending the summer doing the same thing.

George MacIntyre and Nico Iamaleava are both looking to put on some pounds

MacIntyre’s weight has been a big topic on Rocky Top this spring.

The Tennessee native was listed at 182 pounds when he committed to the Vols in early 2024. MacIntyre is currently listed at 201 pounds, but Tennessee is hoping he can add another 10 pounds before the season gets underway.

“George MacIntyre is going to know (new UT strength coach) Derek Owings really, really well throughout this entire offseason,” said VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs in February. “And he’s not mad about it. They’ve had George tested for everything under the sun — food allergies and everything else — to try to look at him and make sure that there’s nothing else going on that’s being a problem for him to gain any weight and all those things. So you just keep fighting it. You just keep working at it every day… I don’t know what his body makeup is that prevents him from gaining weight, but that’s something they’re certainly continuing to explore as he works as hard as he can to add pounds, just to create some stability and durability for him.”

Iamaleava, who was notably thin as a high school recruit, is also looking to add weight this offseason. The California native, who is also 6-foot-6, is currently at 218 pounds, but he’s hoping to get to 225 pounds by the time the 2026 season starts.

“I’ve got to keep eating, keep getting that protein in,” said Iamaleava recently.

Iamaleava has had trouble getting to 225 pounds — that was his goal a year ago before he left Tennessee.

Gaining weight is a challenge for some athletes — these guys burn an insane amount of calories each day. But maybe MacIntyre and Iamaleava can take solace in the fact that they’re not alone in their struggles to add good weight.