Defeating Iowa in a Citrus Bowl overrun with empty seats in the upper decks is one thing.
Running through the “T” before facing Alabama or Florida is something entirely different, as is challenging Georgia in Athens or Oklahoma in Norman.
That Nico Iamaleava became Tennessee’s starting quarterback in the final game of his freshman season can certainly be viewed as an accomplishment, as is the fact the former five-star signee will be guiding the Volunteers for the foreseeable future. Yet being the guy in Knoxville or at any other Southeastern Conference locale with a rich tradition involves a lot more than the weekday workouts and the Saturday showdowns.
“I don’t think you really know what it’s like to be the quarterback at a place like this until you are the quarterback at a place like this where everybody cares about every little thing that you’re doing on and off the field,” Tennessee second-year offensive coordinator and fourth-year quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle said this past week in a news conference. “It’s just reminding him that, ‘Hey, you’re in a fishbowl, but the opinions outside this building don’t affect you. Just go, show up to work every day the same exact way and handle your business.’ We will see if he will go do that after 102,000 people watch him every single weekend, because it’s a different animal, but he is wired the right way.
“Nico is just an extremely even-keeled kid in general. He doesn’t ride high or low. His natural demeanor, I think, will lead very well to him handling the pressures of this position.”