Josh Heupel addresses Nico Iamaleava injury after No. 7 Tennessee's win over Mississippi State
Josh Heupel had good news on the health of quarterback Nico Iamaleava after the redshirt freshman was injured against Mississippi State Saturday night at Neyland Stadium, saying he expects Iamaleava to be available next week at Georgia.
“We anticipate having him ready for next week,” Heupel said during his postgame press conference. “Precautionary measure at halftime. Feel like we’ll be ready to roll Saturday.”
Iamaleava was ruled out at halftime after being injured late in the first half of Tennessee’s 33-14 win over the Bulldogs. Gaston Moore replaced Iamaleava, finishing the game 5-for-8 for 38 yards while leading Tennessee on three scoring drives in the second half.
The Vols also lost Dont’e Thornton to what the ESPN game broadcast described as an upper-body injury in the second half.
Thornton caught three passes for 104 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown, before leaving with the unknown injury. Dylan Sampson left the game briefly after appearing to hurt his lower left leg late in the first half, but returned after missing one series to start the second half.
No. 7 Tennessee at No. 2 Georgia, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Tennessee (8-1, 5-1 SEC) goes on the road next week facing No. 2 Georgia (7-2, 5-2) at Sanford Stadium in Athens, a 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time start on ABC. The game should have major College Football Playoff implications after Georgia lost 28-10 at Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon.
ESPN reported Iamaleava’s injury was suffered when he ran left for seven yards on second-and-11 at the Mississippi State 13-yard line, just before a 24-yard Max Gilbert field goal. Video showed Iamaleava appearing to be shaken up after taking another shot on the final drive of the first half, after rolling right and getting hit after passing.
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The first half ended with a 38-yard field goal from Gilbert, putting Tennessee up 20-7 at halftime.
Nico Iamaleava threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns in first half
Iamaleava completed 8 of 13 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. He ran four times for 22 yards.
Thornton caught the 73-yard touchdown pass from Iamaleava to give Tennessee a 14-0 lead with 13:35 left in the second quarter. Iamaleava threw a 34-yard touchdown to Squirrel White caught on Tennessee’s opening drive of the game, giving the Vols a 7-0 lead on fourth-and-3.
Iamaleava entered Saturday night’s game with 1,705 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions through eight games. He had completed 136 of 208 passes on the season.
He had 292 yards and a touchdown in the 28-18 win over Kentucky last week at Neyland Stadium and 194 and a touchdown against Alabama in the 24-17 win on October 19. Iamaleava briefly left the Alabama game with an injury but returned after missing just one play.
Iamaleava set a new Tennessee program record with 314 yards in the first half against Chattanooga on August 31, throwing three touchdowns in his first home start with the Vols on the way to a 69-3 win.
