National media outlet ranks the QBs in the College Football Playoff; Where Tennessee Vols QB Nico Iamaleava ranks
Earlier this week, CBS Sports ranked the 12 starting quarterbacks in the College Football Playoff and they don't seem to think very highly of Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava. CBS Sports has Iamaleava ranked No. 11 among the 12 quarterbacks in the playoff. The only quarterback that CBS Sports ranked lower than Iamaleava is Georgia […]
Earlier this week, CBS Sports ranked the 12 starting quarterbacks in the College Football Playoff and they don't seem to think very highly of Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
CBS Sports has Iamaleava ranked No. 11 among the 12 quarterbacks in the playoff. The only quarterback that CBS Sports ranked lower than Iamaleava is Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (who is expected to start for Georgia in the quarterfinals of the playoff due to the elbow injury that Carson Beck suffered in the SEC Championship game against Texas).
From CBS Sports: Nobody was a bigger Iamaleava-hype man to start the season than me. I admittedly kept him in the rankings longer than his performance deserved, and while I'm still a believer in the long term, the fact is he doesn't deserve to be ranked higher than this right now. Tennessee is a team built on running the ball and defense this season. However, Iamaleava is one of the biggest X-factors in the playoff field. If he taps into his potential, Tennessee becomes a very difficult out.
Iamaleava doesn't have the gaudy stats that some of the other quarterbacks in the playoff have, but he's 10-2 as a starter this season with big wins over Oklahoma (an emotional game for the Vols), Florida (a tough rivalry game, similar to Michigan vs Ohio State), and Alabama (only the Vols' second win against Bama since 2006).
The former five-star recruit may not have crazy numbers, but he's a winner. And that's all matters this time of year.
Iamaleava will get a chance to prove that he should be ranked higher on Saturday night in Columbus when the Vols take the field against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
ESPN’s Greg McElroy just provided Tennessee DB Boo Carter with plenty of motivation for playoff game against Ohio State
Extra motivation for Boo Carter
