Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been one of the most-discussed players of the offseason. Quarterback Hendon Hooker set the bar for what a signal caller can accomplish at the University of Tennessee under head coach Josh Heupel; many seem to expect that Iamaleava could clear that bar.
247Sports national analyst Brad Crawford previewed the next college football season by identifying the 11 next “rising stars” in the sport. Iamaleava was one of eleven featured, and the national expectations continue to climb for the talented California gunslinger. He’s got a chance to make noise in a crowded SEC quarterback picture, which is already saying a lot.
Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a rising redshirt freshman, has an extremely high ceiling as a player, but he also has a lot to prove.
Iamaleava showed a lot of promise in his one start for the Vols as a true freshman in 2023 — a 35-0 thrashing of Iowa in the Citrus Bowl — but it was just one start. The former five-star recruit has to prove that he can be an elite playmaker for the Vols.
Athlon Sports must feel pretty confident in Iamaleava’s ability to play a high level on Saturdays in the SEC. They ranked Iamaleava as their No. 5 quarterback in the SEC ahead of the 2024 season, just in front of names like Missouri’s Brady Cook and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier.
