Josh Heupel lays out the expectations for Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava in first career start

The hype started the day Nico Iamaleava committed to Tennessee in March 2022. It continued when the five-star freshman signed with the Vols as On3’s No. 1 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class. And kept going in December, when he made his debut on the practice field.  

In the second of half of Tennessee’s 49-13 win over Virginia to open the season at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on September 2, the hype found its voice when Tennessee fans starting chanting for Iamaleava before he made his debut with the Vols.

Now, with Joe Milton III announcing on Wednesday that he is opting out and starting his preparations for the 2024 NFL Draft, Iamaleava is set to make his first start for the Vols (8-4) against Iowa (10-3) in the Citrus Bowl on Monday (1 p.m. Eastern Time, ABC) at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

After Tennessee’s first on-site practice on Wednesday, Josh Heupel was already being asked how the massive expectations should be gauged for Iamaleava, the new face of Tennessee’s football program. 

“This is going be his first start,” Heupel said. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to play well enough. He’s got to play well enough to help us go win this football game. That’s ultimately what we’re trying to accomplish.”

‘We don’t expect Nico to go out and play perfect’

It won’t squarely be on the shoulders of Iamaleava, especially in his first start. Heupel said he talked about as much with his team after the news of Milton’s opt out.

“It’s important anytime you have a young player — and I don’t care what position he’s playing — that the other 10 guys around him play at a really high level,” Heupel said, “and do the ordinary things really consistently to allow that guy to function and operate at the level that he’s capable of. 

“Listen, this game’s never perfect. We don’t expect Nico to go out and play perfect. Expect him to reset and give our playmakers an opportunity to go make plays.”

Iamaleava’s opportunities were limited while backing up Milton this season. He appeared in just four games, allowing him to keep his redshirt, and passed for 163 yards and a touchdown. He completed 16 of his 26 pass attempts during the regular season and ran five times for 48 yards. 

His most productive outing was the 59-3 win over UConn on Homecoming in November, when he completed 5 of 9 passes for 86 yards, including a touchdown to tight end McCallan Castles. He added one rush attempt for 25 yards in his most extensive playing time of the season. 

No. 21 Tennessee vs. No. 17 Iowa, Citrus Bowl, Monday, 1 p.m. ET, ABC

Heupel said Wednesday that freshmen or other players making their first career starts is the new normal in bowl season, with more and more players opting out and getting a head start on professional careers or entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. 

This is just a more high-profile example. And it’s one that Iamaleava has to capitalize on.

“A lot of young guys that have played throughout the course of the season — not necessarily in the roles that they’re going to (play) — have an opportunity to play in the bowl game itself. So young guys got to step up and go take advantage of that opportunity.

“You can look back at the last couple of years and you can see the young guys that have stepped up in those roles when given the opportunity. 

“This is (Iamaleava’s) first opportunity to go out and start a football game,” Heupel added, “be in command of it, the week of preparation. Expect him to handle the week the right way and go out and play extremely well.”