California Connection: Nico Iamaleava recruiting Bru McCoy to return to Tennessee

Chris Brazzell never tried to downplay the significance that Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava played in his recruitment. The Tulane receiver, one of the more coveted names in the NCAA Transfer Portal, picked the Vols in large part because of their five-star freshman at quarterback. 

“I like Nico,” Brazzell, who committed to Tennessee on December 21, told Volquest during his portal recruiting process. “He has a lot of potential. If it takes me two years, I’ll have him for both years.”

Brazzell turned heads at Tulane as a redshirt freshman this season, catching 44 passes for 711 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games we the Green Wave.

Now it’s Iamaleava’s turn to star, as he’s set to start for No. 21 Tennessee (8-4) against No. 17 Iowa (10-3) in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Monday (1 p.m. Eastern Time, ABC) at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

Iamaleava headlined Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting class, signing with the Vols as the No. 1 overall player in the country in the On3 ratings.

Brazzell described Tennessee’s offense as “pass-first” and, moving forward, highlighted the importance of it being centered around what is expected to be a young, elite quarterback. 

“Nico is the anchor of the offense,” Brazzell said, “so that’s a big factor in that too. And he’s a freshman, so it’s not like I’m going somewhere where he’s leaving or they get a transfer quarterback. He is going to be here for numerous years.”

‘(Bru McCoy) coming back would be huge for me and I’m working on it’

Now Iamaleava has moved on to his next recruiting target: Redshirt senior Bru McCoy.

McCoy was lost to a season-ending leg injury in the win over South Carolina in September and could return to the Vols for another season of college football should he choose to do so.

He caught 17 passes for 217 yards and one touchdown in five games before the injury. He had 52 catches for 667 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games in 2022, after transferring to Tennessee from USC.

Both McCoy and Iamaleava are California natives, with Iamaleava from Long Beach and McCoy from Palos Verdes Estates. 

“I’m trying to get Bru back,” Iamaleava said after Tennessee’s bowl practice Thursday in Orlando. “It’s huge, man. I think a guy like that coming back, he’ll be the leader of the receiver room — we’ll be a little young next year, so just him coming back would be huge for me and I’m working on it.”

Squirrel White, Tennessee’s leading receiver this season (64 catches, 764 yards, two touchdowns) is set to return next season alongside Chas Nimrod and Kaleb Webb, two redshirt freshmen who were pressed into action after the McCoy injury. 

Oregon transfer Dont’e Thornton will also be back after suffering an injury at Missouri in November that ended his regular season.

No. 21 Tennessee vs. No. 17 Iowa, Citrus Bowl, Monday, 1 p.m. ET, ABC

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel after practice Wednesday did not sound concerned about chemistry between Iamaleava and his receivers on Monday against Iowa. 

“During the course of the season, we get a lot of reps with our guys that would be considered twos,” he said. “So (Iamaleava has) had a lot of growth throughout the course of the season during game preparation, but out on the practice field as well. 

“During the bowl prep, we emphasize the young guys a lot early. We have some young wide receivers that have played a lot of football. Those guys were considered young. 

“He’s gotten a lot of reps with those guys even before we got into the actual game prep,” Heupel added. “So he’s gotten a lot of work with those guys. It’s not an entire season of volume with them, but I anticipate those guys being on the same page.”