What an opposing coach told ESPN about Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava
Nico Iamaleava showed off his athleticism at quarterback for Tennessee Football in its 35-0 win over Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day in Orlando, even if the game plan was simplified while the five-star freshman made his first career start.
That was the takeaway from an anonymous coach who will face Iamaleava and the Vols this season, in a report from ESPN senior writer Adam Rittenberg.
Rittenberg collected thoughts from opposing coaches on some of the top quarterbacks in college football entering the new season, including Iamaleava.
“He’s really athletic,” the anonymous coach told Rittenberg. “In the bowl game, they made it pretty simple for him. He’s long, he’s got a good arm and he was a really highly recruited kid in high school, highly touted.”
Season Opener: No. 15 Tennessee vs. Chattanooga, Saturday, 12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Iamaleava accounted for 178 total yards and four total touchdowns, throwing for one score and running for three more.
He made five total appearances as a freshman last season while backing up Joe Milton III. He completed 28 of 45 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns and ran 20 times for 71 yards and the three rushing touchdowns in the bowl win.
Iamaleava takes over as Tennessee’s full-time starter at quarterback on Saturday, when the 15th-ranked Vols host Chattanooga in the season opener, set for a 12:45 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff on SEC Network.
He said on Thursday he feels like he has “a great grasp” on Tennessee’s uptempo offense, one he’s been working in since he enrolled early in December 2022.
“I think the tempo part, we use that as a weapon,” Iamaleava said. “Every day we’re working on pushing our tempo.”
Iamaleava was a five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle out of Long Beach, Calif., ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the country by the On3 Ratings.
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“The kid grasps football is the best thing to say,” Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said last week. “And I know it sounds like an obvious statement, but he understands what you’re trying to accomplish. He feels space, he feels timing, he understands what’s going on just innately. The kid gets football and he studies really hard. Like his offseason preparation is really, really good.”
ESPN: Nico Iamaleava ‘looks like the total package’
Halzle added that Iamaleava is “older than he appears,” despite being a redshirt freshman with one career start.
“Because of that I feel like he’s grasped it well,” Halzle said. “He goes out there, takes the field, you don’t feel like you’ve got a freshman quarterback that’s never done it full time before.
“You’re not pulling him back, you’re not holding him back from anything. You’re just letting the kid go play because that’s when he’s at his best when you just cut that guy loose and kind of enjoy watching.”
ESPN had Iamaleava at No. 92 overall in its ranking of the top 100 players in college football this season. Tennessee junior edge rusher James Pearce Jr. was ranked No. 1 overall.
“A top-25 recruit in 2023,” ESPN’s David Hale wrote in the ESPN ranking, “Iamaleava gave us a taste of what he’s capable of in 2023, completing 28 of 45 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns, scrambling nine times for 72 yards and rushing for three bowl TDs versus Iowa. He looks like the total package.”
