Watch: Nico Iamaleava scores four touchdowns in Citrus Bowl MVP performance
Orlando, Fla.— In his debut as Tennessee’s starting quarterback, freshman sensation Nico Iamaleava delivered in the Citrus Bowl. He scored four total touchdowns for the Vols and earned MVP honors, as he played a huge role in Tennessee’s 35-0 rout of Iowa. You can watch all four of Nico’s touchdown plays in the video player above.
What Iamaleava Said following the performance
How it felt to play a full football game for the first time since high school
“Felt great, man. Finally, to play a whole game, I have not done that in a while. Felt good to get back out there and get my feet wet. Yeah, I am proud of the guys and how they played. The receivers played a tremendous game, and O-line did good. Receivers did good. I still think there is a lot of room for us to get better.”
His excitement to continue growing and developing during Tennessee’s offseason
“We have a great team around us, great coaching staff, and I really think sky is the limit for this team. It is up to us to go out there and get it done.”
What he wants to do himself to get better this offseason
“Right now, I have not thought about that yet. I have really just been soaking up this W we just got. A lot of stuff we want to work on. Not off the top of my head right now. Still thinking about the win we just had.”
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What Josh Heupel said following the performance
On overall offensive performance
“Offensively, efficient enough. Nico (Iamaleava) played really well. First-time starter. There was nothing that was too big for him, never got rattled. Very composed, in control of the communication, in control of the run game, just did an unbelievable job — decision-making and the plays with his feet as well.
How Nico Iamaleava’s play against Iowa impacts his outlook for Iamaleava moving forward
“I believe he’s gonna be a great dynamic player. And I know that. I thought he handled himself really composed all day long. Subtle things, little things, breaking the huddle, communication inside of the hall, controlling the run game. His eyes went in the right place. Great to see a young guy go out and perform in that way in his first career start. There’s a lot of things that Nico can continue to grow and grow in. The challenge early in the football game was guys playing at a really high level around him, too. I didn’t think we played as well as we were capable at times around him, but we got great confidence in him and that quarterback toom. We got great confidence in those young players. A lot of guys got an opportunity to play a lot more football today than they had. And a lot of them played extremely well. But it also showed some things where they’ve got an opportunity to grow and how those things impact our game unfolds. And I’m really excited about who’s in that locker room, who’s coming back, and where we have an opportunity to go in ’24.”
