'This is news to me': Iowa defense caught off guard by Tennessee's quarterback change
The news broke Wednesday morning. Tennessee redshirt senior quarterback Joe Milton III was opting out of the Citrus Bowl and five-star freshman Nico Iamaleava would be getting the start for the Vols against Iowa in the New Year’s Day bowl game.
When the Hawkeyes came off the practice field a little after Noon Eastern Time in Orlando, they were still unaware of the change.
“This is news to me today, to be honest with you,” Iowa free safety Quinn Schulte said, according to the Des Moines Register. “Obviously, we’re going to have to go back and take a look.”
No. 17 Iowa (10-3) has a few more days to prepare before facing Iamaleava and No. 21 Tennessee (8-4) in the Citrus Bowl on Monday, a 1 p.m. Eastern Time start on ABC at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
‘I know (our coaches will) have us ready to go for whoever is back there’
Milton announced Wednesday that he would be skipping the bowl game — he’ll remain around the Tennessee team and be with the Vols on game day on Monday — while beginning his preparations for the 2024 NFL Draft.
“Joe’s been with us throughout bowl preparation,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said after practice on Wednesday in Orlando, “just as he was going through his process of how he was going to handle things at the end. Guys are excited to get an opportunity to play with Nico. They appreciate Joe, obviously for everything that he’s done
“He has been a great teammate to everybody inside of that locker room. He’s been a great teammate to Nico as well. He’s been a part of the preparation. He’ll be with us all week long and continue to help us in that way.”
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Milton this season threw for 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. Iamaleava, appearing in four games as Milton’s backup, completed 16 of 26 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown and ran five times for 48 yards.
No. 21 Tennessee vs. No. 17 Iowa, Citrus Bowl, Monday, 1 p.m. ET, ABC
Iamaleava was the No. 1 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class according to the On3 ratings. He committed to the Vols in March 2022 and arrived in Knoxville last December.
“Our coaches do such a good job of handling that stuff for us,” Iowa defensive end Deontae Craig said on Wednesday, “so we don’t have to worry about it.
“I’ve got the utmost confidence in them, so I know they’ll have us ready to go for whoever is back there.”
Kentucky quarterback Will Levis opted out of the Music City Bowl a year ago, a 21-0 loss to Iowa at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Freshman Destin Wade started the game at quarterback for Kentucky, completing 16 of 30 passes for 98 yards, with two interceptions.
“We’re going to try to replicate that,” Iowa sophomore safety Xavier Nwankpa said.
