Sam Pittman on Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava: 'He's scary'
Sam Pittman didn’t start with Nico Iamaleava’s arm. The Arkansas head coach didn’t go straight to the legs of Tennessee’s athletic, ultra-talented redshirt freshman starting quarterback.
Instead, when Pittman was asked this week what has impressed him most, he pointed to Iamaleava’s approach.
“He plays within the offense so well,” Pittman said on Wednesday. “He doesn’t make mistakes. He’s so talented. He can make every throw. But the thing that you see about him, just the way he carries himself and how he handles the team as a young redshirt freshman.”
Iamaleava has No. 4 Tennessee off to a perfect 4-0 (1-0 SEC) start with the Vols going to Arkansas (3-2, 1-1) Saturday night (7:30 Eastern Time, ABC) for its next road test at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
‘(Iamaleava is) not going to make mistakes and he is going to run the offense to a perfection’
The Vols were off last week, after a 25-15 win at Oklahoma two weeks ago, where Iamaleava completed 13 of 21 passes for 194 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown to Dont’e Thornton.
Through four games he is 61-for-88 (.693) passing with seven touchdowns and two interceptions.
He completed 22 of 28 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of the 69-3 season-opening win over Chattanooga on August 31, setting a new Tennessee passing record for a half.
A week later Iamaleava had a 31-yard touchdown run while completing 16 of 23 passes for 211 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
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“I was really going back to the (Citrus Bowl),” Pittman said, referencing Iamaleava making his first career start in the bowl game on New Year’s Day, “really, really shocked at how mature he is. So I think that’s the thing that sticks out. He’s very, very, very talented, but his leadership skills seem to be off the chart.”
Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee at Arkansas, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Tennessee’s explosive offense is paired with a defense that has been consistently dominant.
The Vols held Oklahoma to less than 100 total yards through the first three quarters in Norman, forcing three turnovers and recording a safety for a second straight week while Tennessee built a 22-3 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Josh Heupel rode that defense in the second half, relying on the run game to run down the clock .
What Iamaleava has not done has been just as impressive to Pittman as what he has done.
“He does what he needs to do,” Pittman said. “He’s got a lot of opportunities to shine in his offense. He doesn’t make mistakes. And then he does it at a high, high, high, high level.
“He’s scary because he’s not going to make mistakes and he is going to run the offense to a perfection. And for a young guy like that, he just really impressive.”
