For much of last Saturday night’s 42-17 loss at Ohio State in the College Football Playoff, bad was going to worse for the Tennessee Volunteers.
The Southeastern Conference’s offensive player of the year, Vols running back Dylan Sampson, was sidelined after just two carries. An injury-riddled collection of receivers couldn’t get any separation against the talented secondary of the Buckeyes, and Ohio State’s defensive front was getting significant penetration at the expense of Tennessee’s offensive line.
Ohio State’s offense, even with a patched-up line, was having its way with Tennessee’s defense, but there was Vols redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava doing everything he possibly could to keep the game competitive.
“The kid is going to lay it on the line and compete with everything that he’s got,” coach Josh Heupel said after Tennessee ended its 10-3 season, “and he did that tonight. There are some things that he would want back, whether that’s a read or a throw, but he continued to play and fight.
“There were a lot of moving parts within our personnel around him, and when you’re playing that position, you need to have the guys around you playing at a high level, too.”