GREAT NEWS: vols five star ,Nico Iamaleava Ward Signs Big NIL Deal Worth $90 Million Dollars…
Nico Iamaleava
GREAT NEWS: vols five star ,Nico Iamaleava Ward Signs Big NIL Deal Worth $90 Million Dollars…
Why Dylan Sampson’s record can be talked about for generations of Tennessee football
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How Nico Iamaleava delivered efficient performance despite lack of help from receivers in win over Kentucky
Trevor McGee, Assistant Sports Editor Nov 3, 2024
Nico Iamaleava vs Kentucky
Nico Iamaleava (8) waits for the ball during a game against Kentucky at Neyland Stadium. Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024
Cambree Gliessner / The Daily Beacon
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If you ask Nico Iamaleava about his performance against Kentucky, he would say it was just OK.
If you watched the 28-18 win for Tennessee over the Wildcats, you would likely say it was efficient.
“It was OK,” Iamaleava said. “Got to keep getting better. The sky is the limit for this whole offense and for me, too. We’ve got to keep getting better.”
In the Vols’ 10-point win, Iamaleava delivered a 28-for-38 showing with 292 yards passing and a lone score through the air. It showed signs of promise for the once highly-touted recruit that is settling into the SEC slate.
“I thought he played with great confidence, great poise,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “Made plays when they presented themselves. It was close on some deep balls down the football field. Close, man. I thought he saw things really well. So all in all, really, really good command presence from him throughout the course of the night.”
Key drops hindered Iamaleava’s night. With a change of outcome on a few plays that hit his receivers in the hands, the redshirt freshman’s night would have looked a lot different.
The tone of the night was determined in the first quarter. Iamaleava dropped back in a clean pocket and delivered a 48-yard strike to Chris Brazzell II. The ball hit Brazzell in the hands as he fell to the ground, but the transfer receiver could not maintain possession through the process of the catch. It fell incomplete, and Tennessee’s drive stalled.
“I don’t feel like the playbook hasn’t been open,” Heupel said. “I’m not sure that’s the right way to verbalize it. Situational football, like understanding the scheme, all 11 matchups, like it all goes into how to play the game.
“But we got great trust in Nico. Quarterback’s not a position of perfect. It’s just not. He’s a young player that continues to get better with every play. You guys heard me say that before the season. But his competitive makeup and ability to make plays, be a good decision maker back there. He had a great night, man, and has probably a lot of good football. Good news for him and for us is the best football still in front of him.”
As the night grew later, other drops affected Iamaleava’s stat line. In the second quarter, the signal-caller delivered a dart across the middle of the field into a tight window. The ball was secured in the hands of Miles Kitselman as he crossed the goal line until Kentucky defensive back Jordan Lovett jarred it out with his helmet on the ball.
In the fourth quarter, Iamaleava found an open Chas Nimrod across the middle of the field. Fitting it through another tight window, Nimrod was not able to complete the catch — despite an open field ahead of him.
“I’m still instilling confidence into my guys on the sideline,” Iamaleava said. “Everybody has their play. You’ve got to be able to go pick your teammates up. I just told those boys, ‘I’m going to keep coming to y’all. On any of those routes, I’m still going to keep coming to you.'”
While the night cannot be dreaded on what could have been, Iamaleava did not let that affect him. The highlight of the night came on the quarterback’s lone touchdown pass. Rolling out to his right side, Iamaleava fired the ball across his body to Kitselman for a 6-yard score.
“Player making a play. Understanding all the traffic that’s going on on the backside of it, too. So that’s a big-time play by him.”
Aside from his throwing efforts, Iamaleava assisted in Dylan Sampson’s record-breaking night. On the rushing score in the fourth quarter, when Sampson needed six yards to cross paydirt, Iamaleava joined in on the pile-push to get his running back across.
“I think I contributed some,” Iamaleava said. “Just seeing him break a couple of tackles and, man, he was at like the 4 and I was like, ‘Man is he really going to get in?’ Decided to go help him push that pile, and I was happy to see him break that record.”
On that same scoring drive, Iamaleava’s abilities were shown. On a third-and-7 play in Kentucky territory, Iamaleava fired a pass that only Dont’e Thornton Jr. could catch — and he did for the 9-yard completion, good for a first down.
“I think I’m confident in every throw,” Iamaleava said. “Any throw out there, I think I’ve got the most confidence in my receivers to go make that play. My tight ends to go make that play. For sure.”
Iamaleava’s 38 attempts were a season-high, surpassing the 29-attempt mark in Tennessee’s loss to Arkansas on Oct. 5.
“Some of it’s just what they’re giving you,” Heupel said. “And situational football can dictate that too. End of the night, he gave us an opportunity to move the football.”
His 292 yards are the second most this season, behind his 314-yard passing half against Chattanooga to open the year. The turnover sheet was also clean, posting the first turnover-free game for Iamaleava since Arkansas.
“There is still too many missed opportunities out there,” Iamaleava said. “We’ve got to put it all together one of these games and I believe it will be the next game. So, we’ve got to clean up a lot of stuff. A lot of penalties in the first half. Just missed opportunities down the field that we’ve got to connect on. It’s coming. I keep telling my guys, ‘We’ve got to keep coming and it’s going to pop eventually.
