So much of the anticipation and optimism surrounding Tennessee’s 2024 football season can be attributed to the talents of redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
What about the next in line?
The Volunteers will enter Wednesday’s start to preseason practice with one of the Southeastern Conference’s most obscure backup quarterbacks, fifth-year senior Gaston Moore. The 6-foot-2, 212-pounder from Hilton Head, South Carolina, is light years from Iamaleava when it comes to a recruiting background, but coaches have confidence in the 22-year-old who began his college career as a UCF walk-on and continued it as a walk-on with the Vols.
“Gaston has been in this system for five years, so he’s a guy who knows it from the inside out,” Tennessee fourth-year quarterbacks coach and second-year offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “That’s from the run game to the RPO (run-pass option) game to the shot game. Anything that we’re doing, he can operate efficiently with the tempo.
“He’s a huge asset to us. When he got into the portal at UCF, we knew we wanted to bring him here. He gives us that stability and that understanding.”
That stability and understanding could be very important.
Despite Tennessee’s unexpectedly strong 27-12 record the last three years under head coach Josh Heupel and some of the dizzying offensive numbers that have come along with it, the Vols have never had the same quarterback start all 13 games in the same season. The most notable setback was Hendon Hooker’s torn ACL during the 11th game of the 2022 season, while Joe Milton III had the chance to start every game last season but opted out of the Citrus Bowl.
Iamaleava stepped in for Milton in Orlando and helped lead the Vols to a 35-0 dismantling of Iowa, but that also elevated Moore to the second spot and the proverbial one play away.
“When I first got here, I was the seventh quarterback,” a smiling Moore told reporters Tuesday, “and slowly I just got an opportunity. The coaches have stuck with me and trusted me, and I’ve trusted them. Every little opportunity I get I try to make the most of it.
“I just love the way they operate around here.”
Moore threw for 2,016 yards with 20 touchdowns and four interceptions as a Hilton Head High senior in 2019, and he walked-on at UCF in 2020 under Heupel, who was entering his third year with the Knights. Heupel accepted the Tennessee opening in January 2021, and Moore followed him to Knoxville that July.
His playing career to this point could already be considered a mild surprise, because he has appeared in eight games during the past three seasons. The eight appearances have yielded 10 completions out of 17 attempts for 72 yards and an interception, with his top accomplishment arguably being that he held off four-star early enrollee Jake Merklinger this past spring.
Moore’s most extensive action occurred in April’s Orange & White Game, when he completed 12 of 18 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63-yard scoring strike to touted freshman Mike Matthews.
“We’ve got great trust and belief in Gaston,” Heupel said. “He has great command and understanding in what we’re doing, and he has the ability to operate within it.”
Moore admits there were times he considered getting in the portal again, but he is now a two-time member of the SEC honor roll and graduated in May in supply chain management. There could be a coaching career down the road, but now is not the time for that.
Not when he may be one play away.
“He’s a better athlete than people give him credit for,” Halzle said. “From an arm strength standpoint, he can make every throw on the field. He can drive the football, and you guys saw that in the spring game. He can handle it athletically, and mentally the guy is extremely sharp and understands everything we are trying to accomplish.”
The road warrior?
Tennessee has to face North Carolina State in Charlotte and Oklahoma in Norman before a power conference program visits Knoxville, and Iamaleava is fine with that.
“I definitely love road games more than home games,” Iamaleava said. “I don’t want to upset our Neyland fans, because I love playing at Neyland Stadium, but I just feel like all the odds are against you in away games. Going on the road is something I’ve loved to do since a young age.”
Mature newcomers
Heupel was quick to bestow praise Tuesday on those who will be wearing Tennessee orange for the first time.
“This is the most mature group of newcomers — that’s transfers and high school kids — that we’ve had inside of our program,” he said, “and that certainly goes for the high school kids. I think that stems from us being intentional for further along in the recruiting process as coaches and recruiting to our culture.
“I think it also stems from the leadership inside of our locker room and making sure our younger guys understand the standards of what it means to be a Tennessee Vol.”
Vols defensive coordinator Tim Banks was told of Heupel’s praise for the newcomers and asked how that applied to former Bradley Central defensive back Boo Carter.
“Boo has great energy all the time and is always going 100 miles an hour,” Banks said. “As he continues to grow in our program, I think he’ll continue to get a little bit more mature. We definitely like what he brings from a football perspective, because he’s a kid who works hard and wants to do well.
“He’s shown some maturity, but I think you’ll see even more once he gets his feet wet a little bit.”
Seldon health update
Cam Seldon served as the backup running back to Dylan Sampson in the Citrus Bowl, but Seldon’s spring was derailed quickly by a shoulder injury.
“Cam has done a great job during the rehab process,” Heupel said. “He works extremely hard and is on pace right now. As we go throughout training camp, his ability to be a part of everything we’re doing will increase from the beginning to the end.
“I hope to have him healthy early in the season.”
And Smith makes 21
Tennessee is up to 21 commitments for the 2025 signing cycle after receiving a nonbinding pledge Tuesday night from Darrion Smith, a 6-2, 265-pound defensive lineman from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
The three-star prospect is the nation’s No. 69 defensive linemen and the No. 650 overall prospect on the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.