Josh Heupel gives his first thoughts on what he's seen from Vols QB Nico Iamaleava in practices
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel met with reporters on Wednesday to discuss the players that UT signed on the first day of the early signing period. Unsurprisingly, Heupel was asked about five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who arrived on campus last week. Iamaleava has already gone through several practices with Tennessee, which means Heupel was […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel met with reporters on Wednesday to discuss the players that UT signed on the first day of the early signing period.
Unsurprisingly, Heupel was asked about five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who arrived on campus last week.
Iamaleava has already gone through several practices with Tennessee, which means Heupel was able to give some early thoughts on how the highly touted 2023 quarterback has looked so far.
"He's athletic and I say that meaning he understands his body," said Heupel on Wednesday. "He can self-correct and get himself into position. As he's learned what it should feel like in the pocket in a few short days, he can already start to correct himself. He understands when something happens, why it's happening. That's only going to continue to heighten."
"Obviously the raw skills are there," added Heupel. "Arm talent. And extremely athletic and explosive inside of the pocket. Can make plays with his feet. In a short amount of time, we've been able to see some of those things already."
You don't want to hype up a kid that should still be in high school right now too much, but it certainly sounds like Nico is the real deal. There's no doubt about his physical abilities — everyone already knew he had a rocket for an arm and the ability to make plays with his feet.
It's the cerebral aspect of his game that's going to allow him to be a potential star in the SEC. Based on Heupel's comments, it sounds like Nico processes information extremely quickly. That's obviously important in Heupel's up-tempo offense. And it's why I'm confident that Nico will be able to run Heupel's offense with no issues.
Nico has a Heisman Trophy/top 10 NFL draft pick ceiling. If he reaches his potential at Tennessee, there's a very good chance that the Vols end their SEC Championship drought and possibly their national championship drought.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
