Tennessee fans enjoyed a nice appetizer serving of Nico Iamaleava in the postseason last year before getting the full meal this fall. The highly-touted freshman from Long Beach made his first career start in the Citrus Bowl, guiding the Volunteers past the Iowa Hawkeyes in a shutout, 35-0, while accounting for 178 total yards and four TDs.
Before Iamaleava gets the keys full-time to Tennessee’s offense, Volunteers’ head coach Josh Heupel let the world know how highly he felt of his new signal caller with rave reviews at SEC Media Days.
Josh Heupel Impressed With Iamaleava’s Leadership, Maturity, and Athletic Prowess
Iamaleava is hardly an underdog story, with a well-documented recruiting journey that landed him lucrative NIL deals before choosing Tennessee over a plethora of other suitors.
According to Heupel, Iamaleava remains grounded despite all of that attention, appealing to his teammates as a leader even as an underclassman redshirt freshman.
“The thing that I loved about Nico, he came into the building, and he wanted to earn the respect of his teammates,” Heupel said at the podium at SEC Media Days. “You do that through your actions actions, not your words. Everybody understands how hard he works to become the best that he can at his craft. He takes great ownership in his skill set and developing it.
As rare as those leadership traits are for a young player, his athletic traits might be even rarer. A dynamic dual-threat that was neck-and-neck with Texas QB Arch Manning for the top overall recruit crown in the class of 2023, Heupel believes Iamaleava demonstrates all the necessary tools to be one of the best QBs in the country right away.
“We expect him to play at a really high level at the very beginning, and we need him to do that,” Heupel said.
“(Iamaleava ) was highly recruited because of his athletic traits. He’s got the ball to throw the football sideline-to-sideline, vertically down the field. Extremely accurate. Loose, quick-triggered arm. He’s got the ability to extend and make plays with his feet.”
Citrus Bowl Proved Iamaleava Is Ready to Takeover Tennessee’s Offense
Iamaleava appeared in five games last season, but he didn’t make his first start until Jan. 1 of this year, behind center for the Volunteers in the Citrus Bowl. He earned Citrus Bowl MVP after completing 12-19 passes for 151 yards with an 18-yard TD pass while rushing for another 27 yards on 15 attempts and three scores on the ground.
A four-touchdown debut in a bowl game was enough evidence for Heupel to confirm he found his QB of the future. Even though he had seen what Iamaleava could do in practice, witnessing how he handled the physical and mental obstacles in real time while maintaining a leader’s poise was paramount for the fourth-year coach.
“One of the best compliments you can give to a quarterback is when it goes from the practice field to the game field, it slows down for them,” Heupel said at the podium at SEC Media Days. “During the course of the bowl game, it slowed down for him. Thought he was in great command out there. There’s a lot of things that he learned from that game.”
After getting his first taste of being a starter, playing in the bowl game further motivated Iamaleava to attack the offseason with vigor
“He’s got a lot of urgency in his preparation all offseason. I’m really excited to see his growth and development as a young quarterback.”
No SEC Media Days Appearance By Iamaleava
Iamaleava didn’t make the trip to Dallas for the SEC Media Days, with Heupel stating he opted to bring “veteran” players in order to honor them. Heupel brought three seniors to speak with the media — OL Cooper Mays, LB Keenan Pili, and DL Omari Thomas.
“It’s not about why I didn’t bring Nico; it’s about why the three guys I talked about earlier are here,” Heupel said.
“These are guys that are in sixth-year plus that have unique stories and are great ambassadors, but great leaders inside of our program. Felt like our track record, my track record, of who we brought here, we’ve brought veteran guys.”
“So it’s not about Nico. It’s about these three guys is why we made that choice.”
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