Look: Nico Iamaleava's odds to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy
Nico Iamaleava has exactly one start under his belt, but Tennessee’s five-star freshman quarterback is tied for the sixth best odds to win the Heisman Trophy in 2024, according to odds released by BetOnline on Friday.
Iamaleava has 16/1 odds, tied with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe is the favorite at 7/1, just ahead of Georgia’s Carson Beck and Texas’s Quinn Ewers, at 8/1.
Dillon Gabriel, who recently transferred from Oklahoma to Oregon, has 9/1 odds and Will Howard, who transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State, has 10/1 odds.
Notably, Iamaleava has better odds than Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold (18/1), Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard (22/1), Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders (25/1), Clemson’s Cade Klubnik (28/1), Florida State’s DJ Uiagalelei (28/1), Missouri’s Brady Cook (50/1) and Colorado’s Travis Hunter (50/1).
Josh Heupel: ‘I believe (Iamaleava) is going to be a great, dynamic playmaker’
Iamaleava got his highly anticipated and long awaited first career start for No. 21 Tennessee in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Monday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, leading the Vols to a 35-0 win over No. 17 Iowa.
He completed 12 of times passes for 151 yards and a touchdown and rushed 13 times for 27 net yards and had three rushing touchdowns.
“Nico played really well,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said during his postgame press conference. “First-time starter. There was nothing that was too big for him. Never got rattled. Very composed, in control, communication, controlling the run game, just did an unbelievable job, decision-making, and then made plays with his feet as well.”
Iamaleava backed up Joe Milton III during the regular season, appearing in four games. He completed 16 of 26 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown and ran five times for 48 yards.
His most extensive time on the field came during the 59-3 win over UConn on Homecoming in November, when he completed 5 of 9 passes for 86 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end McCallan Castles, and ran once for 25 yards.
Tennessee has never produced a Heisman Trophy winner
Iamaleava was the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class according to the On3 Industry Ratings.
Tennessee has never had a Heisman Trophy winner. Hendon Hooker’s fifth-place finish in 2022 was the highest since Peyton Manning finished runner-up in 1997. Four others had top-five finishes George Cafego (fourth in 1939), Hank Lauricella (second in 1951), Johnny Majors (second in 1956) and Heath Shuler (second in 1993).
“I believe (Iamaleava) is going to be a great, dynamic playmaker,” Heupel said. “I thought he handled himself composed all day long. Subtle things of breaking the huddle, communication inside of the huddle, controlling the run game, his eyes were in the right place.
“Great to see a young guy go out and perform in that way in his first career start. There are a lot of things that Nico can continue to grow and will continue to grow in.”
