Urban Meyer worried about development of Nico Iamaleava: ‘They look like a mess’

Nico Iamaleava was lighting the world on fire through three games, living up to the five-star billing he was given during the recruiting process. The next three contests have not been as pretty, though, with the Tennessee offense struggling. Dropping a game before the Alabama game was not what the Vols expected after Iamaleava’s great start.

It’s gotten to the point where Urban Meyer is worried about the track the quarterback is on. Meyer was initially a fan of Iamaleava, calling fellow Big Noon Kickoff hosts Matt Leinart and Brady Quinn, wondering if an NFL team was going to be selecting him in the first round.

But after watching Iamaleava play against SEC opponents, he calls the situation “a mess.”

“They are in reverse right now,” Meyer said. “Twenty points per game the last three games. Twenty points per game, that’s usually in the first half. They just don’t look right, they look a mess.”

Meyer mentioned the team’s lack of offensive success from a scoring standpoint but from a personal standpoint, the stats do not pop out for Iamaleava. Four straight games have seen him go for under 200 yards passing with just two touchdowns. If there is a positive to take, the first-year starter is not turning the ball over as his lone interception of the stretch came on Saturday against Florida.

Even so, there is no worry about Iamaleava’s play from his head coach. Josh Heupel wants to just prepare for what’s next on the schedule — a huge rivalry game against Alabama in Knoxville. He still sees a lot of positives and believes the growing process is taking place.

“Nico’s played well. He hasn’t played his best football the last couple of weeks. Let’s go prepare and practice and go play the next game, the next play with an aggressive mentality. And there’s a lot of things that he did well in the football game too, so just got to continue to grow,” Heupel said.

Iamaleava will get to experience the Third Saturday in October in front of a packed Neyland Stadium for the first time as a player. Meyer might be worried about the Tennessee offense heading in but internally, there appears to be some confidence.