Bowl season has been more like skeleton season for Power Five programs that missed out on the College Football Playoff, and the Tennessee Volunteers haven’t been immune.
The trifecta of season-ending injuries, players entering the NCAA transfer portal, and players opting out to focus on their NFL fortunes has left many rosters dwindled or emaciated altogether. During Wednesday night’s loss to Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl, Texas A&M competed with true freshman quarterback Marcel Reed, the former Montgomery Bell Academy standout who began this season fourth on the depth chart, and with only three scholarship receivers.
Florida State was the first team left out of the four-team playoff, and the Seminoles will face Georgia in Saturday’s Orange Bowl without players who accounted for 96.8% of their passing yards, 100% of their passing touchdowns and 85.8% of their total yards.
The Vols can present similar figures of depletion entering Monday afternoon’s Citrus Bowl against Iowa after quarterback Joe Milton III and running backs Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small all opted out. Their absences, which come on top of season-ending injuries to receivers Bru McCoy and Dont’e Thornton, will result in the starting debuts for freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava and sophomore running back Dylan Sampson.
“I’m just blessed,” Sampson said Thursday afternoon in a news conference. “It’s time to go to work. This has been something I’ve been preparing for my whole time that I’ve been here, so I’m ready to go to work.
“My mindset has been the same — just be dominant, and go out there and show them who I am.”
Tennessee will face the Hawkeyes, who rank among the top five nationally in total defense and scoring defense, with an offense that doesn’t have players responsible for 93.4% of its passing yards and 73.5% of its rushing yards. Iamaleava played in four games and attempted just 26 passes during the regular season, but Sampson possesses plenty of experience with 21 career appearances and an average of 6.5 yards per carry.
Peyton Manning (1994), Casey Clausen (2000) and Tyler Bray (2010) were Tennessee’s first three true freshman quarterbacks to start bowl games, but they had a combined 29 appearances and 18 starts during their respective regular seasons.
“I’ve taken every week like I’m going into the game as a starter,” Iamaleava said Thursday. “I was taking reps like anything can happen with Joe, so I think I’ve gone into pretty much every game with the same mindset and same process. It should be good. My first start is going up against a top-five defense, and I’m ready for the challenge and ready to go out there and compete with my brothers.”
Said Vols coach Josh Heupel: “This is going to be his first start at the end of the day. We have to play well enough, and he has to play well enough to help us go win this football game. Listen, this game is never perfect, and we don’t expect Nico to play perfect. We expect him to reset and give our playmakers an opportunity to make plays.”
Tennessee’s defenders are entering Monday with a competitive spirit as well, even after eight departures to the transfer portal, including the likes of defensive end Tyler Baron and defensive backs Tamarion McDonald and Doneiko Slaughter.
“Some guys may have left, but the guys who are here and the guys who want to be here still have the energy and love for one another,” redshirt junior defensive lineman Bryson Eason said. “We haven’t missed a beat.”
Setting a record
Who has started the most games in Tennessee football history?
As of Monday, that answer will be fifth-year senior safety Jaylen McCollough with 51. The 6-foot, 206-pounder from Austell, Georgia, currently shares the mark at 50 with Jonathan Hefney, who started at cornerback from 2004-07.
“It means I’m old,” McCollough said with a smile when asked about the looming achievement. “I’m thankful to have that acknowledgement and recognition. I’m just glad to have done it here at the University of Tennessee.
“There is truly a lot of gratitude. I’m thankful to have lived this dream.”
Instant comparison
McCollough was asked Thursday to compare Iowa’s offense to one from the Southeastern Conference and didn’t hesitate.
“It’s a Kentucky-style offense,” he said. “They’ll have multiple tight ends on the field. They like to run the ball a lot, and they’ll run boots and play-action off of their runs.”
Taking those steps
Tennessee’s backup quarterback Monday will likely be redshirt junior walk-on Gaston Moore, who has seven career appearances, with freshmen Cameron Seldon and Khalifa Keith backing up Sampson at running back. Seldon and Keith have combined on 19 carries for 65 yards this season.
“Cam Seldon and Khalifa are both going to take a step up,” Sampson said. “They will be ready. They’re athletic, and you know they’re going to put it on film and show it on TV.
“I’m excited, because you all are going to see flashes from them.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.