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Nico Iamaleava injury update: Chris 'The Bear' Fallica gives concerning speculation on Tennessee QB

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•11/12/24•

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Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Although Josh Heupel said he expects Nico Iamaleava to be in “great shape” for Saturday’s game against Georgia, FOX Sports’ Chris “The Bear” Fallica speculated that might not be the case. He wondered if Iamaleava would be able to go in the matchup due to a concussion, based on his intel.

Iamaleava left last week’s game against Mississippi State as a “precautionary measure,” Heupel said after the game. He took a hit from Isaac Smith and landed hard on his right side, causing him to leave the game.

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Heupel said he Tennessee “anticipates” having Iamaleava back against Georgia. However, Fallica’s intel led him to speculate if he would be able to give it a go.

“That being said, I don’t know what you have heard about Nico Iamaleava playing this week. I have heard that it was a bad concussion and people that I’ve spoken to do not believe that he is going to play,” Fallica told UGASports.com. “We’ll see what happens. Josh Heupel certainly offered a different tune, as you would expect him to do early in the week to probably just have Georgia prepare as if Nico were going to play, have the College Football Playoff committee prepare to rank them as if they’re going to have their starting quarterback for this game.

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“Maybe my intel is wrong. Maybe he is fine, and hopefully for his sake and the health of him in the long-term future, I hope that it wasn’t a bad concussion. I hope he is okay and I hope college football fans get to see him out there on Saturday. I’m sure some Georgia fans probably don’t necessarily want to see him.”

ESPN’s Pete Thamel later confirmed Iamaleava was in concussion protocol. He practiced Tuesday, though, and the Vols are still working to determine his status against Georgia.

At the time of Iamaleava’s departure last week, he completed 8-of-13 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns as Tennessee went on to defeat Mississippi State 33-14. Afterward, Heupel expressed optimism the sophomore quarterback would be able to play against Georgia and did so again during his Monday press conference.

“He was with us today,” Heupel said of Iamaleava Monday afternoon. “He had a really good day. Feel like he’ll be in great shape for Saturday, but you guys can monitor the injury report on Wednesday and track it through the week.”