Josh Huepel details the skill set, mentality, growth of Nico Iamaleava

All eyes will be on Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava in Knoxville this upcoming season ahead of his first full season as a starter for the Volunteers. Showing flashes of his high potential last season in the five game appearances of his true freshman season.

Iamaleava was a highly touted high school prospect with the build of a future quarterback in the NFL. A five-star prospect ranked the No. 6 overall player and the No. 3 quarterback of the 2023 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 215 pounds. And Tuesday at SEC Media Days, his head coach Josh Heupel gave a detailed breakdown on what he’s seen from his young signal caller ahead of the 2024 season.

“[Iamaleava] was highly recruited because of his athletic traits,” Heupel said. “He’s got the ability to throw the football sideline to sideline, vertically down the football field, extremely accurate. Loose, quick triggered arm. He’s got the ability to extend and make plays with his feet as a runner, that’s evading and making a play down the field.”

In the Citrus Bowl Iamaleava had the first career start as a college player and put on a show in a dominant 35-0 win over Iowa. Completing 12 of his 19 pass attempts for 151 yards and a touchdown along with three rushing scores on the ground.

But according to Heupel, his leadership and intangibles may be even more impressive than his skills on the field.

“The thing that I loved about Nico is when he came into the building, he wanted to earn the respect of his teammates and you do that through your actions, not your words. Everybody understands how hard he works to become the best that he can at his craft. He takes great ownership in his skill set and developing it, understanding of our offense,” Heupel explained.

Iamaleava steps into a Tennessee offense that has been prolific since Heupel’s arrival, highlighted by a vertical passing game that’s given SEC defenses headaches over the past three seasons. A scheme that Iamaleava has continued to grow within with more room for improvement to compliment his high ceiling as a player.

“As a young player, gets his first start in the bowl game. One of the best compliments you can give to a quarterback is when he goes from the practice field to the game field, it slows down for them. During the course of the bowl game it slowed down for him,” Heupel said. “Thought he was in great demand out there.”

“Now there’s a lot of things that he learned from that game. He’s had a great urgency in his preparation all offseason. I’m really excited to see his growth and development as a young quarterback throughout the course of this ’24 journey,” Heupel concluded.

It will be fascinating to see if Iamaleava can reach similar heights that quarterback Hendon Hooker was able to achieve in 2022. Or potentially even new heights ahead of an exciting 2024 season for the Vols.