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Josh Heupel on Tennessee's QBs: 'I love what that group is doing right now'

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•05/13/23•

GrantRamey

Tennessee QBs Joe Milton, Nico Iamaleava
(Ian Cox | Tennessee Athletics)

Joe Milton III was a leader inside the Tennessee football program a year ago, even when he wasn’t the starting quarterback for the Vols. Now, with Hendon Hooker off to the NFL, Milton is simply continuing down the same path. 

“(He) supported Hendon in a great way,” third-year Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said this week during an appearance on Josh & Swain. “Everybody saw the impact that Hendon had. But Joe had impact inside of our building, stepping into that role. 

“He’s continued to grow as a man and as a leader.”

As Heupel put it, Milton “continued to refine himself” during spring football, as he stepped back into the role of Tennessee’s No. 1 quarterback.  

“I thought he was extremely efficient and effective inside of the pocket,” Heupel said. “Had great bounce. Eye discipline was really solid. Extremely accurate with the football during the course of our spring practice.”

Tennessee freshman QB Nico Iamaleava’s “teammates absolutely love him”

Freshman Nico Iamaleava fills Milton’s shoes as the backup quarterback. The five-star prospect was the No. 1 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class and the celebrated headliner in Heupel’s signing class. 

All he’s tried to do since arriving at Tennessee in December, Heupel said, is “just to prove it and work for it every single day.”

“That’s during (Orange) Bowl preparation,” Heupel said of Iamaleava, who arrived in Knoxville in time to participate in bowl practices before Tennessee’s 31-14 win over Clemson. “He was on the scout team during bowl prep. 

“Everybody on the defensive side, coaches and players, got a chance to see what he looked like. He was extremely impressive during that.” 

That continued throughout spring practice and, if all goes according to plan, will carryover through summer workouts.

“He’s handled himself in a very mature way,” Heupel said. “It’s really hard to be 18 years old and on a college campus with the type of fanfare he has. He’s handled it in a really good way. His teammates absolutely love him.”

Third-string QB Gaston More threw two TDs in Orange & White Game

And then there’s Gaston Moore, the redshirt junior who followed Heupel from Central Florida to Tennessee. It was Moore who accounted for a bulk of the production in April during the Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium. 

Moore, Tennessee’s third quarterback on the depth chart, finished 8-for-11 passing for 94 yards and two touchdowns in the annual split-squad spring scrimmage.

“(The spring was) the most work he’s gotten in his time with our staff,” Heupel said, “at the previous stop or here at Tennessee. (It was an) opportunity for him to grow. I thought he handled it, continued to get better every single day. Performed really well in the Orange & White Game, his first real opportunity to get a bunch of snaps in a situation like that. 

“That (quarterback) room competes with each other, but they do it in a positive way. I love what that group is doing right now.”

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