Nico Iamaleava sets Tennessee passing record in first half against Chattanooga
Nico Iamaleava set a new Tennessee Football record in his first career start at Neyland Stadium on Saturday. The redshirt freshman quarterback passed for 314 yards in the first half, the most by a Tennessee player in program history.
Tyler Bray held the previous record with 313 yards in the first half against Troy in 2012.
Iamaleava on Saturday against Chattanooga finished 22-for-28 for 314 yards and three touchdowns. He became just the fourth Tennessee quarterback in program history to pass for 300 or more yards in any half.
Redshirt senior backup Gaston Moore replaced Iamaleava to start the second half, after the Vols led the Mocs 45-0 at halftime.
Iamaleava started the day 8-for-8, including a 4-yard touchdown to redshirt freshman tight end Ethan Davis on Tennessee’s second drive. He added a 36-yard touchdown to Dont’e Thornton on the Vols’ third drive and threw another 10-yard score to Thornton early in the second quarter.
Tennessee in the first half racked up 506 yards of total 5-3 yards of total offense, with 189 rushing yards to go with Iamaleava’s 314 passing.
Bru McCoy was Iamaleava’s favorite target, catching six passes for 89 yards while being targeted seven times. Thornton caught all three of his targets for 105 yards and the two touchdowns and Tulane transfer Chris Brazzell caught three passes fro 41 yards.
Running back Dylan Sampson caught three passes for 29 yards while also rushing 12 times for 124 yards and three touchdowns. Squirrel White caught two passes for 22 yards and Davis had two catches for 20 yards.
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Iamaleava made his first career start for Tennessee in the 35-0 Citrus Bowl win over Iowa on New Year’s Day, finishing with 178 total yards and four total touchdowns. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown and ran 15 times for 27 yards, with al long of 19.
He appeared in five total games last season while backing up Joe Milton III. He passed for 314 yards and two touchdown and ran 20 times for 71 yards and three scores on the ground.
Iamaleava was ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the On3 ratings in 2023, picking Tennessee over Miami, Alabama, Georgia and others while headlining Tennessee’s recruiting class.
“I think that’s the thing, his talent level, the sky is the limit,” Chattanooga coach Rusty Wright said on Tuesday. “At the end of the day, he can do everything that they’re trying to ask him to do in that offense. And I think you’ll see him continuously get better, especially as the season goes along, gets more comfortable with everything.”
