Georgia's Kirby Smart addresses 'dilemma' preparing to face Tennessee Vols
Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava may or may not be available Saturday night when they play the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. According to college football insider Pete Thamel, lamaleava is currently in concussion protocol but the positive sign is that he has dressed and practiced this week. "Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava is in concussion protocol after […]
Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava may or may not be available Saturday night when they play the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens.
According to college football insider Pete Thamel, lamaleava is currently in concussion protocol but the positive sign is that he has dressed and practiced this week.
"Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava is in concussion protocol after leaving the Mississippi State game last week with an injury and not returning to the sideline for the second half." Thamel reported via X/Twitter on Tuesday. "He did dress and practice on Tuesday, and his status for the Georgia is undetermined."
Because of Nico's unclear status, Georgia has to work twice as hard this week to not only prepare to face the starting quarterback but also Tennessee's backup quarterback Gaston Moore.
"Yeah, that's a dilemma," Smart said on preparing for Tennessee's quarterbacks. "You know, we don't know a lot. I'm talking about his injury. Like, we don't really know what's going on there. It's hard to figure. We do have, because they had those games early in the year where they beat teams so bad, you know, that Gaston had to play up quite a bit. Then we obviously have the game that he played in. That kind of happened in the Florida game because I didn't know a lot about the kid that came in in the Florida game. And, you know, in this situation, we don't know. So, there is a threat there.
"And Nico's such a high-level athlete and some of the runs he's made, I knew the kid was a great thrower, but I didn't know he was this kind of athlete. And hitting the speeds, he's hitting GPS-wise. And they made a run on Alabama that was really elite. So, just recognizing his skill set is a lot and trying to prepare for kind of two guys, you know, because philosophically I don't know how they'll approach it with the other quarterback."
Moore completed five of eight passes for 38 yards in the Vols' 33-14 win over Mississippi State. The redshirt senior has seen action in four games this season, completing 16 of 25 pass attempts for 201 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. He has also rushed three times for 15 yards.
As for Iamaleava, the dual-threat quarterback has thrown for 1,879 yards and 11 touchdowns with just four interceptions this season. He also has 64 carries for 215 yards and a score.
Georgia should have a better idea of Nico's status on Friday, but for now, they will be ready to play both.
Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs should be pissed off heading into Week 12 vs Tennessee
This is your warning, Tennessee.
