NASHVILLE — Nico Iamaleava is certain to face some challenging situations during his career with the Tennessee Volunteers.
Saturday afternoon at Nissan Stadium wasn’t one of them.
The five-star freshman quarterback out of Long Beach, California, entered Tennessee’s opening 49-13 romp versus Virginia with the Vols already up 42-10 with 12:46 remaining. Iamaleava helped finish off the Cavaliers by engineering a seven-play, 40-yard drive that culminated with a 3-yard touchdown run by Dylan Sampson.
“It was the same things that we’ve seen,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “He’s really calm and cool and has a good demeanor. He was able to communicate and handle all the pre-snap stuff the right way. He was able to get his eyes in the right place.
“I thought he showed some athleticism, and I love his feel in the pocket and being able to step up and get out of it and go make a play with his feet. He’s athletic enough to be used in the run game.”