'I'm going to let it sting': What Nico Iamaleava said after Tennessee's loss at Georgia
ATHENS — Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava returned from concussion protocol this week to start for the Vols at Georgia Saturday night, throwing for 167 yards and rushing for 18 yards in the 31-17 loss at Sanford Stadium.
Iamaleava completed 20 of 33 pass attempts for his 167 yards and ran 12 times for 18 yards. He was sacked five times by Georgia defense, which finished with six tackles for loss. The Bulldogs ended Iamaleava’s night with a strip sack on fourth-and-6 at the Tennessee 42-yard line with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter.
Iamaleava suffered the concussion on one of the final drives of the first last week in Tennessee’s 33-14 win over Mississippi State at Neyland. He was ruled out at halftime, with fifth-year senior Gaston Moore, a former walk-on, finishing the game.
Iamaleava slowly worked his way back into practice this week before being cleared by Tennessee trainers Friday night.
Tennessee jumped out to a 10-0 in the first quarter, including a 12-play, 78-yard touchdown drive to open the game. Iamaleava completed 4 of 6 passes for 33 yards on the drive before handing off to tight end Miles Kitselman on a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Vols the early lead.
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Here’s everything Iamaleava said after the loss:
What Tennessee players feel after a loss like that, if it’s frustration, anger, disappointment …
“Yeah, man. A lot of frustration, a lot of anger. We put a lot of work in to come out with a win in this game. And (we) came up short. Didn’t play smart in the second half. And it’s going to sting. I’m going let it sting, and just learn from this.”
How he felt in the game after the week he had, coming back from concussion protocol
“Felt great, man. Felt great out there. Was happy I could go out there and battle with my brothers. And I wouldn’t go to battle with anybody else besides these guys.”
Georgia’s adjustments in the second half to stop Tennessee
“Obviously they adjusted well in the second half. But everything we were running, I thought was still there. Got to do a better job at executing.”
What Tennessee’s mindset has to be moving forward
“Shoot. We got to flush this one and move on, man. Like Coach Heup says, this is (like the) NFL, you got to move on and get ready for these last two games.”
