Cooper Mays evaluates his personal adjustment to Nico Iamaleava at quarterback

Nico Iamaleava has settled in to his role as Tennessee‘s starting quarterback this offseason.

Leading an offensive line and poised for a run at the Outland Trophy in 2024, veteran center Cooper Mays is high on the young QB1. He recently spoke on his relationship with Iamaleava and how they’re meshing. After all, it’s the fifth-year Kingston native’s job to keep Iamaleava’s jersey clean this season.

“Nico is so mature for his age, you know, he’s a younger guy, but he doesn’t act like that,” Mays said on Monday. “But like you said, I’ve had guys that weren’t just mature, they were like 24-25 years old, like older guys. So it’s been a little bit of an adjustment. Just got to be really committed to kind of the whole offense in general. But especially with being the quarterback, you’ve got to talk a lot and kind of pick each other’s brains.

“He tries to see how I’m seeing things and I’m trying to see how he sees things. So just trying to get on the same page here, it’s been really cool.”

Fans were able to see first-hand what Iamaleava looked like as Tennessee’s starting quarterback during the Vols’ annual spring game in April.

During the scrimmage, Iamaleava showcased his passing skills during Saturday’s spring game, completing his first seven of his passes for 93 yards and a touchdown during his time on the field. He capped the first half of action for his squad with a 27-yard strike to Chas Nimrod in the end zone.

During the only start of his true freshman season, Iamaleava led Tennesee to a 35-0 Citrus Bowl victory over Iowa. He scored three rushing touchdowns on 15 attempts while going 12-of-19 passing to go with one touchdown pass and no interceptions.

He finished his true freshman season with 31 completions for 314 yards and two touchdowns to set up what many expect to be a breakout sophomore year on Rocky Top. As a former five-star recruit, there’s a lot of hype for Iamaleava to live up to. Based on the general consensus from players and coaches so far this offseason — he’s right on track.

With only small sample sizes of Iamaleava’s game available, fans are warranted in their excitement for what he brings to the table for Tennessee. He’ll begin his first campaign as the Vols’ full-time starter on Aug. 31 against Chattanooga.