Nico Iamaleava is set to be the starting quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers next season and the expectations are high.
In March of 2022, Iamaleava committed to play college football at the University of Tennessee. Coming out of Long Beach, California, Iamaleava was a five-star recruit who had his pick of the draw when it came to choosing where to go play college football.
While playing quarterback for Warren High school, he threw for 3,248 yards and 50 touchdowns while only throwing two interceptions over his two-year varsity career. He averaged a 123.8 quarterback rating while in high school. There is no doubt that Iamaleava deserved the five-star rating he had as a recruit but is he built to carry a Power five conference college football program to success?
Iamaleava’s first collegiate start for Tennessee
In the 2023 season, Iamaleava sat behind starting quarterback Joe Milton III, who led the Vols to an 8-4 season. After the season, they were granted the opportunity to play in the Citrus Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes, who had one of the best defenses in college football in the 2023 season.
Before the Vols played in the Citrus Bowl, quarterback Joe Milton declared for the 2024 NFL Draft and opted out of the bowl game, setting the way for Nico to get his first collegiate start.
He isn’t just liked by the media and Vols fans, even his teammates were sending him high praise before the Vols played in the Citrus Bowl.
Runningback Dylan Sampson, who is set to be Tennessee’s starting runningback in 2024, had great things to say about his confidence in Iamaleava before the Citrus bowl.
“We all have great confidence in Nico. Joe still being around (and) helping— he’s a true leader. But I think Nico is ready and everybody has full faith and confidence in him and it’s just time to let him go. I’ll be alongside him helping him out but it’ll be fun.”
In the Citrus Bowl, Iamaleava showed fans of the Tennessee Volunteers that there are many things to be excited about with him at the helm.
