Quarterbacks who could be ideal for Tennessee's football roster in 2025

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Quarterbacks who could be ideal for Tennessee's football roster in 2025

Dan Harralson, Vols Wire · Vols Wire

Tue, Apr 15, 2025 ·

6 min read

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The NCAA transfer portal will open on Wednesday and close on April 25.

Tennessee redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal after no-showing for the Vols' final spring football practice and not playing in the Orange & White Game .

"Today's landscape of college football, it's different than what it has been, and it's unfortunate, just the situation and where we're at with Nico," Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said . "I want to thank him for everything that he's done since he's gotten here. That's as a recruit to who he was as a player and how he competed inside of the building, so a great appreciation for that side of it.

"Obviously, we're moving forward as a program without him. I said it to the guys today, there's no one that's bigger than the Power T and that includes me, and they hear me say that a lot inside of that team room. This program's been around for a long time with a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players that came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football . It's going to be around a long time after I'm done and after they're gone, and that's what's special about being here is that there is a legacy and a tradition that is so rich and a logo that's recognized not just across the nation but across the world, too."

PHOTOS: Vols' QBs through the years

Ahead of the NCAA transfer portal opening Wednesday, Vols Wire looks at quarterbacks who could be ideal targets for Tennessee to replace Iamaleava. The Vols have redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and early enrollee freshman George MacIntyre on roster for their quarterback unit following the Orange & White Game.

Joey Aguilar, UCLA

Aguilar transferred to UCLA after the 2024 season from Appalachian State. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound quarterback played at Appalachian State from 2023-24 after transferring from Diablo Valley Community College.

Luke Altmyer, Illinois

Altmyer transferred to Illinois from Ole Miss ahead of the 2023 season. He played in five games as a backup quarterback for head coach Lane Kiffin and the Rebels in 2021. Altmyer appeared in four games, including one start, and redshirted in 2022. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound quarterback is a senior.

Steve Angeli, Notre Dame

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound quarterback appeared in 21 games, including one start, at Notre Dame from 2022-24. He completed 58-of-80 passing attempts for 772 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception. Angeli also rushed for 36 yards on 17 attempts.

Angeli is from Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey, home of former Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano . Former Notre Dame offensive lineman Sam Pendleton transferred to Tennessee ahead of the 2025 season.

Rocco Becht, Iowa State

Becht started 14 games at Iowa State in 2024 and was named Pop-Tarts Bowl MVP. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound redshirt junior has played for the Cyclones since 2022, recording 6,690 passing yards, 48 passing touchdowns, 383 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. Becht is the son of Anthony Becht who played at West Virginia and 12 years in the NFL.

Jalon Daniels , Kansas

Daniels has played at Kansas since 2020. The redshirt senior has completed 536-of-875 passing attempts for 6,751 yards, 45 touchdowns and 24 interceptions, while rushing for 1,043 yards and 19 touchdowns. The 6-foot, 220-pound signal-caller signed with Kansas over Middle Tennessee State, Army, Louisiana, Air Force and others.

Jeremy Hecklinski, Wake Forest

Hecklinski played three snaps for Wake Forest in 2024 against North Carolina. The 6-foot, 185-pound redshirt freshman is from Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia. Hecklinski's father, Randy Hecklinski, played quarterback at Bowling Green from 1990-95, and his uncle, Jeff Hecklinski, played quarterback at Illinois and Western Illinois.

Josh Hoover, TCU

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior appeared in 13 games for TCU in 2024, setting the Horned Frogs' season passing record with 3,949 yards. In 24 games from 2022-24, Hoover has completed 499-of-770 passing attempts for 6,157 yards, 42 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He also recorded minus-14 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 67 attempts. Hoover's father, Alex Hoover, was a linebacker at Colorado State and in the NFL.

Avery Johnson, Kansas State

Johnson has appeared in 21 games at Kansas State from 2023-24. The 6-foot-3, 188-pound junior has completed 254-of-438 passing attempts for 3,191 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Johnson also has 901 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.

Haynes King , Georgia Tech

King has played at Georgia Tech from 2023-24 after transferring from Texas A&M. He played for the Aggies from 2020-22. King was offered a scholarship by Tennessee on Jan. 8, 2019 and visited the Vols two times in 2019 after being offered by then-coach Jeremy Pruitt.

Sam Leavitt, Arizona State

Leavitt guided Arizona State to the College Football Playoff in 2024. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound redshirt sophomore transferred to the Sun Devils after appearing four games at Michigan State in 2023. Leavitt is from West Linn High School in West Linn, Oregon.

Gaston Moore

Moore played at Tennessee from 2021-24. He is no longer on roster, but has one year of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound signal-caller also played for Heupel at UCF in 2020. The 2020 season does not count toward Moore's eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chandler Morris, Virginia

Morris transferred to Virginia in Dec. 2024 as a graduate student. He played at North Texas in 2024, TCU from 2021-23 and Oklahoma in 2020. His father, Chad Morris, served as head coach at SMU and Arkansas.

Reese Poffenbarger, North Texas

Poffenbarger transferred to North Texas in Dec. 2024 from Miami. The 6-foot, 210-pound senior appeared in four games for the Hurricanes in 2024, completing 6-of-7 passing attempts for 20 yards as Cam Ward 's backup. Poffenbarger also played at Albany from 2022-23, leading the Football Championship Subdivision in passing touchdowns and yards in 2023. He played at Old Dominion in 2021.

Sawyer Robertson , Baylor

Robertson has played at Baylor from 2023-24. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound redshirt senior completed 295-of-485 passing attempts for 3,935 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with the Bears. He played at Mississippi State from 2021-22 before transferring to Baylor. Robertson's father, Stan Robertson, was a first-round pick of the Montreal Expos in the 1990 MLB draft and his cousin, Jarrett Stidham , played quarterback at Baylor and Auburn.

Caden Veltkamp, FAU

Veltkamp transferred to Florida Atlantic in January after playing at Western Kentucky from 2022-24. He totaled 3,108 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns in 2024.

Mike Wright, Northwestern

The 6-foot-4, 195-pound graduate student played at Northwestern in 2024 after transferring from Mississippi State. Wright also played at Vanderbilt from 2020-22.

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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Ideal quarterbacks for Tennessee to replace Nico Iamaleava in 2025

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