Former Alabama QB says there were things that 'irritated' him about Vols QB Nico Iamaleava's performance in Citrus Bowl
Former Alabama quarterback turned college football analyst Greg McElroy said this week that there were a few things that "irritated" him about Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava's performance in UT's 35-0 win against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Citrus Bowl. McElroy, who co-hosts McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, was asked this week by Cole […]
Former Alabama quarterback turned college football analyst Greg McElroy said this week that there were a few things that "irritated" him about Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava's performance in UT's 35-0 win against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Citrus Bowl.
McElroy, who co-hosts McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, was asked this week by Cole Cubelic, his co-host, about Iamaleava and where he can improve in 2024.
The former Alabama quarterback said he thinks Nico needs to learn to be more patient in the pocket.
"I would probably just say staying in the pocket, being patient in the pocket," said McElroy. "You watch the bowl game — and look, it's one game. It's a tough one to put much stock into. Bowl games are just not as applicable as they have been in the past. I've seen guys lay eggs in bowl games and go out and have great years the following year. I've seen guys have amazing bowl games and stink it up the next year."
"Nico Iamaleava, yeah, there were some positive moments in that game (against Iowa)," added McElroy. "But I also thought there were some missed throws. I thought he left the pocket too early. I thought he left the pocket to his right too quickly. There's just things that irritated me about the performance as well. Granted, first start, hey, you gotta feel good about it."
"Everyone's making it out to be 'oh that was against an Iowa defense'. Y'all, Iowa's defense is not super elite when playing against teams with speed. So I don't think it was a great matchup for Iowa. But I also will be really interested to see how much he can grow from one place where he was last year to where he's going to be this year. Because I do think he can improve."
There's a couple of things to unpack here. For starters, downplaying Iowa's defense seems a bit unfair. The Hawkeyes finished the season with the No. 4 scoring defense in the nation. They muddied up a game against the Michigan Wolverines, losing to the eventual national champions 26-0 in the Big 10 conference championship game.
Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy, a potential top five selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, passed for 147 yards and zero touchdowns and rushed for -35 yards in the Wolverines' win against Iowa last December. Let's not suddenly act like the Hawkeye's defense wasn't elite when that's all we heard last season.
Nico, meanwhile, passed for 151 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 27 yards and three touchdowns against Iowa. And sure, a bowl game isn't quite the same as a conference championship game, but this was a game that the Hawkeyes badly wanted to win (opt outs weren't an issue and Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz was hoping to become the first Big 10 coach with 11 bowl game wins).
Also, I'm not sure why McElroy was "irritated" by anything that Nico did in the bowl game. It was his first career start! Of course it wasn't going to be perfect. It was Nico's first real chance to put some plays on tape. Nico had only seen action in garbage time before the start against Iowa. There wasn't really anything on tape for Josh Heupel and his staff to correct before Nico received the start in the Citrus Bowl.
The growth that typically happens between a quarterback's first and second starts is massive. McElroy should know that as well as anyone. The Nico that Vols fans saw in the Citrus Bowl isn't going to be the same Nico that they see in 2024. He's going to be more polished, more comfortable, and he's going to have all offseason to review the tape from the Citrus Bowl to see where he can improve.
I know the expectations are high for Nico in 2024, but there will still be some growing pains for the young quarterback — like we saw at times in the Citrus Bowl. Nico's not a finished product. And he shouldn't be. That's how development in college football works — it's a process, it doesn't happen overnight.
