Breaking down where Nico Iamaleava can improve heading into second year at Tennessee

Tennessee freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava impressed during the first extended action of his college football career.

Iamaleava led the Vols to a 35-0 victory over Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Monday, while accounting for 178 yards and four total touchdowns.

Still, there is room for Nico Iamaleava to improve as he turns his attention to Year 2. Brent Hubbs of Volquest joined On3’s Andy Staples to recap Iamaleava’s first career start and discuss where the young quarterback can still grow.

“He’s put on about 15 pounds since he’s been at Tennessee, maybe 18 pounds, somewhere in that range. It doesn’t really look like it, because he’s 6-6,” Hubbs said. “But when you watch him run, he’s a little more slippery than you think.”

There’s no doubt that Iamaleava is a dangerous runner, but one area he can improve is protecting himself more, according to Hubbs.

“He had the one touchdown where he got popped pretty good at the goal line. Josh Heupel met him at about the hash marks and was kind of like, ‘Hey, that was great. But let’s throw that one there. … If it’s not there, you can throw that one away,’” Hubbs recalled. “So how they use him in the run game, I think, is going to be interesting.”

The game will naturally slow down for Nico Iamaleava as he plays more, and Hubbs believes he has a chance to be an excellent dual-threat quarterback.

Iamaleava has already displayed the ability early on in his career to make plays with his legs but also keep his eyes down field and make plays in the passing game when defenses expect him to run. Hubbs expects him to get better and better at that the more that he plays.

“The thing he does where I think his game will grow as it slows down a little bit … the game was fast at times for him. It’s just natural. He keeps his eyes down field. He’s not one of those drop your head and run guys,” Hubbs said.

“I’m not calling him Patrick Mahomes… but he could be a guy who looks like he’s getting ready to take off and boom, might just dump it over the top of somebody or side arm somebody to create an improv there.”

Hubbs doesn’t want expectations to get too high for Iamaleava too early, but Tennessee fans have to be excited about the future with Iamaleava at quarterback based on what he did against a top 5 Iowa defense.

Hubbs added that Iamaleava is a perfect fit for Josh Heupel’s offense.

“I want to pump the brakes a little bit myself… but man, he was in total control. There’s nothing about that where you come out of it and say, ‘What a cannon, what a physical play there.’ You say, ‘Mentally he looked like a veteran on the football field.’ I think that’s where you take a lot of encouragement moving forward if you’re a Tennessee fan,” Hubbs said.

“I think in this offense there are going to be times where a guy’s cut loose. You’re going to get a free EDGE rusher or a free blitzer — can you make a play off of that? … Hendon Hooker was fantastic at it. … Nico has that ability. Everything’s got a burst to it. There’s a suddenness to it. He can stop on a dime. He’s got a quick enough release he can get it out if somebody’s in his face. He makes quick decisions. He can accelerate quickly. There’s a lot of things that he can do that can get you out of trouble. And I think that’s what Hendon did well, and I think that’s what helps this offense really hum along.”