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Nico Iamaleava cleared to play for No. 6 Tennessee at No. 11 Georgia

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•11/15/24•

GrantRamey

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BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nico Iamaleava has been cleared to play for No. 6 Tennessee against No. 11 Georgia Saturday night, sources told Volquest’s Brent Hubbs. The redshirt freshman quarterback left last week’s win over Mississippi State due to a concussion.

Tennessee (8-1, 5-1 SEC) and Georgia (7-2, 5-2) are scheduled for a 7:30 Eastern Time (TV: ABC) at Sanford Stadium in Athens.

Iamaleava was listed as questionable on the first three injury reports of the week. The final injury report will be updated approximately 90 minutes before kickoff. 

Head coach Josh Heupel has been optimistic throughout the week that Iamaleava would be available this week, including the immediate aftermath of the 33-14 win over Mississippi State at Neyland Stadium.

Nico Iamaleava vs. Miss. State: 8-13, 174 yards, 2 TDs, 22 rush yards

“Feel like we’ll be ready to roll Saturday,” Heupel said during his postgame press conference, adding that Iamaleava being removed from the game was a precautionary measure.

“He was with us today,” Heupel said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “Had a really good day. Feel like he’ll be in great shape for Saturday … certainly feel like he’ll be in a good spot.”

Iamaleava completed 8 of 13 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns against Mississippi State in the first half. He ran four times for 22 yards. 

He entered Saturday night’s game with 1,705 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions through eight games. He had completed 136 of 208 passes on the season.

Iamaleava had 292 yards and a touchdown in the 28-18 win over Kentucky last week at Neyland Stadium and 194 and a touchdown against Alabama in the 24-17 win on October 19. Iamaleava briefly left the Alabama game with an injury but returned after missing just one play.

WR Dont’e Thornton, OL Andrej Karic also left Miss. State game with injuries

Gaston Moore replaced Iamaleava, finishing the game 5-for-8 for 38 yards while leading Tennessee on three scoring drives in the second half.

The Vols also lost Dont’e Thornton to what the ESPN game broadcast described as an upper-body injury in the second half. Starting right guard Andrej Karic also left the game with an injury.

Thornton has also been listed as questionable on the injury report this week. Karic has not been on the injury report.

“Nico has had a good start to the week and we will continue to monitor him as we get closer to game day, just like we do with all of our guys,” Heupel said Wednesday night on Vol Calls, “… we will see where we’re at at the end of the week.”

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