Nico Iamaleava injury update: Tennessee QB's status vs. Georgia revealed

Nico Iamaleava is expected to return to the Tennessee starting lineup against Georgia, barring a setback, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. He entered concussion protocol after leaving last week’s game against Mississippi State.

Iamaleava went down in the first half of last week’s victory and Josh Heupel said the staff kept him out for the second half as a “precautionary measure” afterward. During the week, news broke he entered concussion protocol – throwing his status for Week 12 into question. However, Iamaleava was seen boarding the team bus to head to Athens.

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. On the SEC teleconference, that optimism grew.

“Nico has been good here in the early part of the week,” Heupel said. “And at this point in the week, I’ll refer everybody to the availability report that comes out later tonight. Everybody can wait with anticipation for that.”

Nico Iamaleava enters Saturday’s game averaging 208.8 yards as he looks to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark. He put together a big game against Kentucky, throwing for 292 yards and a touchdown, and was impressive through the first half against Mississippi State.

As for how Georgia was preparing, Kirby Smart said the staff was getting ready for whichever quarterback Tennessee started. He pointed out how the offense operates and the way that would impact preparation.

“You treat it like he’s going to play and you adjust if he doesn’t,” Smart said on The Pat McAfee Show. “Offensively, there’s not a huge change for them when he’s not in. I do think he’s a great talent. I mean the ball comes out like a missile.

“I’ve never seen a ball – we call it a bazooka around here. It comes out and it’s really flat and fast. And the ball travels 53 yards really quickly. But he is talented. He’s got great arm talent. And he’s got great wideouts to throw it to.”

Iamaleava is in his first full year as the starter after sitting behind Joe Milton a year ago. A former five-star recruit, he was the No. 6 overall player from the 2023 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.