For the first time in the Josh Heupel era at Tennessee, the Volunteers will not have a veteran quarterback.
A talented quarterback, but not a veteran.
Nico Iamaleava will enter this season as a 6-foot-6, 215-pound redshirt freshman who possesses five career appearances and one career start. He made the most of that starting opportunity, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for another to lead the Vols to a 35-0 thrashing of Iowa in January’s Citrus Bowl, and his actions in the months since have further impressed his teammates.
“He’s grown up and matured,” fifth-year senior center Cooper Mays said last week at the Southeastern Conference’s annual media days event in Dallas. “He came in ready to take on a role, whatever that was, and from the very first day, he was very humble and very eager to learn. He’s done a great job.”
Iamaleava, the former five-star signee out of Long Beach, California, is following two consecutive seasons of sixth-year seniors who held Tennessee’s offensive reins. Hendon Hooker was 24 years old when he guided the 2022 Vols to an 11-2 record that included the thrilling 52-49 upset of longtime nemesis Alabama.