How Nico Iamaleava performed in No. 25 Tennessee's 48-24 win over Vanderbilt
Nico Iamaleava made his fourth appearance for Tennessee football this season when he took over for Joe Milton III in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 48-24 blowout win over Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium.
Milton passed for a career-high 383 yards and four touchdowns and accounted for six total touchdowns on the day, with a pair of 2-yard rushing touchdowns, before Iamaleava, Tennessee’s five-star freshman back up, took control of the offense.
Iamaleava completed 9 of 12 passes for 66 yards and ran two times for 15 yards in two possessions on the field.
“I thought he did a really good job off of our run game,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said during his postgame press conference, “throwing the ball out on the perimeter. Was accurate, decisive, when we pushed it down the field. Just normal drop back, (would) like him to pitch the speed option, you know what I mean? Did a good job stepping through the tackle, but all in all, really good job.”
It was Iamaleava’s first appearance since Tennessee’s 59-6 Homecoming win over UConn on November 4 in Knoxville. He did not play in the 36-7 loss at No. 10 Missouri two weeks ago or in the 38-10 loss to No. 1 Georgia last week.
Nico Iamaleava: No. 1 overall prospect in 2023 On3 recruiting rankings
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel was asked during his postgame press conference after the loss to Georgia if a redshirt was the reason Iamaleava didn’t play last week.
“Well, at this point,” Heupel said, “just because there’s only one regular-season (game left), you know, I mean there’s a lot of variables that are taking place outside on that field today. And what type of situation you want put (him in).”
Iamaleava this season played in the 49-13 win over Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on September 2, in the 45-14 win over UTSA at Neyland Stadium on September 23 and the win over UConn.
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He entered Saturday’s regular-season finale 7-for-14 passing for 97 yards and a touchdown. He had rushed three times for 29 yards, with a long of 25. Iamaleava threw his first career touchdown in Tennessee’s 59-3 afternoon win over UConn, a 19-yarder to tight end McCallan Castles pass in the third quarter.
Vols OC Joey Halzle: ‘That guy is mature beyond his years’
Iamaleava headlined Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting class, signing with the Vols as the No. 1 overall player in the On3 ratings, committing to the Vols out of Long Beach, Calif.
Iamaleava was in the games for two drives against UConn, finishing the day 5-for-9 for 86 yards with one rush for 25 yards.
“That guy is mature beyond his years,” Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said of Iamaleava in August. “He didn’t come in like a true freshman. He came in, one, wanting to learn, not thinking like I know I’m a highly graded recruit, I got it figured out. He came in understanding I want learn, I need to know.
“And then the way that guy just has his calmness on the field, just his demeanor. I think the guys believe in him as well, that if he’s called upon to do a job like that, he will step in and compete at a high level, a high level. So we have a ton of confidence in that guy.”
