Nico Iamaleava shares how his first start felt

Tennessee fans got a taste of the future in the Citrus Bowl last week as true freshman Nico Iamaleava started at quarterback. The former five-star led the Vols to a 35-0 victory against Iowa to close out the season strong and provide a glimpse at his potential.

Iamaleava finished the game with four total touchdowns — three of which came on the ground — as he went 12-of-19 (63.2%) passing for 151 yards. It was quite the debut in his first career start as he looked every bit as advertised. Speaking postgame, the quarterback opened up on how he thought it went.

“It felt great, man,” Iamaleava said. “Finally to play a whole game. I haven’t done that in a while, so it felt good to get back out there and get my feet wet.”

Iamaleava completed his first two passes of the game, but Tennessee’s opening drive ended up stalling out after some penalties and a sack. He ended the first quarter with the score still tied at 0, but it wouldn’t be long before he got going. The freshman broke free for a 19-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to put the Vols on top.

Iamaleava scored his next two touchdowns on the ground as well. It wasn’t until under five minutes in the game that he threw for his first score, connecting with McCallan Castles for an 18-yard TD. He ultimately scored all four of Tennessee’s offensive touchdowns and was named the game’s MVP.

Nico Iamaleava had high expectations when he arrived at Tennessee as the No. 3 quarterback in the 2023 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. After his performance in the Citrus Bowl, Tennessee has to feel good about what lies ahead in the coming seasons.

Still, it wasn’t all the quarterback play that helped the Vols to victory. The defense, of course, also had a spectacular game as it pitched a shutout and came away with a pick six. Iamaleava made sure to give credit to the rest of his teammates for their part in the victory.

That said, he knows there’s room for everyone to improve this offseason as Tennessee hopes to be a contender in the SEC.

“I’m proud of the guys and how they played,” he said. The defense played a tremendous game and the O-line did good, receivers did good. I still think there’s a lot of room for us to get better.”