Tennessee and UCLA may have pulled off college football’s first-ever trade without even intending to after Nico Iamaleava left the Vols for the Bruins, and Joey Aguilar left the Bruins for the Vols.
Those moves not only reordered the quarterback depth charts for their respective teams, but also had a notable impact on the betting odds for the early Heisman Trophy race in 2025.
And it appears the Vols clearly made out on the better end of things.
Aguilar now has significantly better odds than Iamaleava to win college football’s highest individual honor, according to the lines at FanDuel Sportsbook.
The book lists Aguilar with +4500 odds to win the Heisman, while Iamaleava sits at +8000.
That sizable shift in the odds is largely a reflection of the quarterbacks’ respective teams, given that team success plays a big role in the eventual Heisman voting at year’s end.
Tennessee went 10-2 in the regular season and secured its first appearance in the College Football Playoff with Iamaleava at the helm a year ago, while UCLA went 5-7 and didn’t even go bowling.
Iamaleava is an immediate upgrade at the most important position for the Bruins after he passed for 2,616 yards with 19 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions a year ago.
But he won’t be surrounded by the greatest assemblage of talent in the game this time around.
UCLA lost several of its best receivers, its offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, was 95th in yards per play, 128th in rushing, 107th in sacks allowed, and 126th in scoring last fall.
It’s safe to say Tennessee is the better option between the two, and that Aguilar is an upgrade at the quarterback position over the two inexperienced options the team had after Iamaleava’s exit.
Aguilar had 3,003 passing yards and 23 touchdowns at Appalachian State a year ago and has over 6,700 yards in his career with 61 all-purpose touchdowns.
2025 Heisman Trophy odds
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU: +800
Arch Manning, Texas: +800
Cade Klubnik, Clemson: +1000
Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State: +1200
Julian Sayin, Ohio State +1300
Dante Moore, Oregon: +1600
LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina: +1600
DJ Lagway, Florida: +1600
Drew Allar, Penn State: +1600
Carson Beck, Miami: +2500
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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