Joel Klatt: Nico Iamaleava makes Tennessee a ‘factor’ in college football

The Tennessee Volunteers looked excellent in their opening win against Chattanooga. That win, in many ways, was largely because of the play of quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

As college football analyst Joel Klatt explained on The Joel Klatt Show, if Iamaleava is able to continue to play like he did in Week 1, then he’s capable of making the Volunteers a threat in both the SEC and for the College Football Playoff.

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“Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava…if he’s the real deal, then Tennessee is going to be the 2022 version of Tennessee and not the 2023 version,” Joel Klatt said. “Nico looked incredible. Granted, it was Chattanooga and I understand that but you could say the same thing about Akron for Jeremiah Smith. These are young guys that are getting a chance to play. I know Iamaleava played in the bowl game but, man, if this guy is the real deal, then Tennessee becomes a factor. They become a 2022 version of Tennessee, which was a problem in the SEC.”

Like everyone else on Tennessee, Iamaleava put up massive numbers in the win. That was to be expected against an FCS opponent. However, what was more impressive to Klatt was his accuracy and the quality of his throws.

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“Nico Iamaleava…was 22 of 28 for 314 yards and three touchdowns. All in the first half. So, that’s incredible stuff, and it wasn’t just that he put up huge numbers. His wide receivers weren’t having to adjust a lot. You watch him and you watch some of the film and some of the highlights, he was throwing the ball so accurately, driving the ball downfield. Our colleague on Big Noon Kickoff…Matt Leinart has known Nico for a long time because Nico’s a Southern California, so he’s seen him throw from a young age. Matt has always said that Nico is one of if not the most impressive young passers of the football that he’s seen and that came to fruition on the field for Tennessee,” Klatt said.

“Now, all of a sudden, Tennessee makes it a really deep race in the SEC. Similar, really similar, to what Miller Moss has now made USC…so if USC is real, now the Big Ten becomes much different and more difficult…We know this intuitively. Well, the same thing can be applied in the SEC to Tennessee.”

There are already several SEC teams expected to compete for the conference championship and the Playoff. Now, that group includes a Tennessee team that’s going to be tough to beat.

“That becomes a problem and now, all of a sudden, their schedule, which is very difficult. They’ve got Georgia on there. They’ve got Alabama. They’ve got Oklahoma. Now, it becomes a huge problem for those teams,” Klatt said. “How do those teams navigate Tennessee? Because if Nico is really this good, then this is a version of Tennessee that can go and compete for a spot in the SEC Championship Game. That becomes a really good team and now you know why they were so aggressive with him in recruiting because he seems to be that guy.”

Tennessee will be back in action in Week 2 when the Volunteers take on NC State in a more challenging matchup.