The one thing that could hurt the Tennessee Vols' pursuit of 5-star QB Nico Iamaleava
The Tennessee Vols appear to be the frontrunners to land 2023 five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Iamaleva, 6-foot-5/195 lbs from Long Beach, CA, is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 3 quarterback in the country and the No. 3 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class. The elite recruit took a visit to Tennessee earlier this […]
The Tennessee Vols appear to be the frontrunners to land 2023 five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
Iamaleva, 6-foot-5/195 lbs from Long Beach, CA, is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 3 quarterback in the country and the No. 3 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class.
The elite recruit took a visit to Tennessee earlier this month that went extremely well and left numerous recruiting analysts feeling like the Vols are the team to beat in this battle.
On Wednesday, Iamaleava revealed his top five schools. He included Tennessee, along with Alabama, Georgia, Miami, and Oregon.
The feeling is that Oregon is the Vols' main comeptition in this recruiting battle. Alabama and Georgia, who would normally be the programs to beat in a battle for the No. 3 overall recruit in the nation, are busy chasing five-star quarterback Arch Manning.
And that's where this could get interesting.
I've noted before that Manning isn't expeceted to commit until in the the year, while Nico is expected to commit sometime this spring.
Alabama and Georgia aren't going to take a commitment from a quarterback not named Arch until after Arch says where he's going.
UNLESS, and this is what could be bad for Tennessee, Manning eliminates some more schools.
Currently, it looks like Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and Texas are in the mix for Manning. Clemson was in the running, but Manning eliminated the Tigers in late January.
If Manning were to eliminate Alabama or Georgia in the next couple of weeks, that could spell trouble for the Vols in the battle for Nico.
Now, I'm not saying that if Arch eliminates Georgia then the Bulldogs will automatically jump to the top of his recruitment. But I do think Nico took take a step back and reevaluate what he wants to do.
If that happens, I still think the Vols would be the team to beat, due to how hard they've recruited him the entire time. Nico has been Tennessee's top 2023 quarterback target from day one. And that's something that's important to the stud recruit.
Still, if the national champs or Nick Saban come calling, Nico will at least have to pick up the phone and listen.
Featured image via Rivals.com
