What Nico Iamaleava can expect in his first career start, according to Josh Heupel
Nico Iamaleava is about to kick off a genuine, live football game, which is the moment most of us have been waiting for. As the season came to an end and Tennessee’s hopes of winning the championship were shattered by a couple of defeats to Missouri and Georgia, the calls for the true freshmen became stronger. In those decisive games, the coaches ultimately decided to continue with Milton, relegating Nico to mop-up duties solely.
Since bowl games don’t count against that total (4), Tennessee was able to maintain Iamaleava’s redshirt status.
This is where it becomes real.
Iamaleava has played in four games so far this season, but his performances against Vanderbilt and UConn in November were the most notable. With just 16 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown this season, the 6’6”, 206-pound rookie is just 16–26 overall. Josh Heupel’s remarks from the beginning of the season suggest that this season didn’t go exactly as planned because Iamaleava didn’t have much experience in blowout scenarios.
That is expected to change when they play a formidable Iowa club in the Citrus Bowl on Monday.
Heupel described Iamaleava as “smart and competitive” on Wednesday. Young players will always make mistakes, but instead of repeating them, he learns from them and keeps improving. He has the capacity to restart every day, from play to play.
“Extremely talented, as everyone knows.” However, I adore the way he operates inside our structure. In addition to having a wonderful manner, he excels at interacting with his teammates.
According to On3, Iamaleava arrived at Knoxville as the best prospect in the entire class of 2023. As a senior, the Californian quarterback who had thrown 25 touchdowns guided Warren High School to a 9-2 record. 33 was his throw as a junior. Iamaleava had an MVP performance in the Polynesian Bowl after finishing high school.
Heupel went on, “He’s continued to grow so much fundamentally.” Permitted him to participate at this level. kept improving (in terms of) reliability, basics, judgment, accuracy with the football, and command over our offensive play. I’m delighted to play alongside him even though this will be his first chance to start against a strong defense.
In the Citrus Bowl, Iamaleava will only be a small part of a youth movement in Tennessee. With Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright opting out, the Volunteers will look to Dylan Sampson in the backfield along with true freshman Cam Seldon and Khalifa Keith. In addition to all the young players who will play in the secondary on the other side of the ball, players like Chas Nimrod and Kaleb Webb will also be important members of the attack.
The game on Monday will perhaps be a preview of Tennessee’s future. Is there going to be chemistry? That will be this situation’s x-factor.
He has made significant progress both in the practice field and in game preparation over the course of the season, according to Heupel. “We get a lot of reps with our guys that would be considered twos,” Heupel said. “We put a lot of emphasis on the young guys early in the bowl practice.
We have a few youthful wide receivers who have extensive football experience. Those men were regarded as youthful. Even before we started the actual game preparation, he had a lot of reps with those guys. He has so had a lot of work with those individuals. Although we won’t be working with them for the full season, I think those men will get along well.
Since the spring, Nico has shown glimpses of his potential, most notably with this absurd throw to Ethan Davis on the sideline.
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