Two weeks ago, Tennessee redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava had his head and shoulder slammed to the Neyland Stadium turf just before halftime of an eventual 33-14 triumph over Mississippi State.
Iamaleava did not play in the second half of that contest and was listed as questionable leading up to last weekend’s game at Georgia. The 6-foot-6, 215-pounder not only competed in Athens but was needed to throw 33 passes and rush 12 times as the Volunteers played the Bulldogs to a 17-17 draw midway through the third quarter before Georgia pulled away for a 31-17 win.
“That guy is a warrior, man,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said late last Saturday night. “He’s a young quarterback and is going to keep getting better, but the guy is a warrior. The guys around him play for him, and they believe in him.
“He’s tough, man.”
As this week’s assignment turned from the Georgia loss to Saturday afternoon’s contest against visiting UTEP, the opinion of Iamaleava did not.