Josh Heupel points out one area where Nico Iamaleava can improve this summer
Tennessee Vols true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has received plenty of praise so far this offseason. Iamaleava, a former five-star recruit who was rated by On3 as the No. 1 player in the 2023 class, is viewed as a potential superstar in college football. And the praise this spring has only served to amplify those […]
Tennessee Vols true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has received plenty of praise so far this offseason.
Iamaleava, a former five-star recruit who was rated by On3 as the No. 1 player in the 2023 class, is viewed as a potential superstar in college football.
And the praise this spring has only served to amplify those expectations.
While the expectations are high for Nico, it's important to remember that he should be finishing up his final semester of high school right now. Iamaleava is a rare talent, but he still has a lot of growing to do before he becomes an elite college quarterback.
One area where Vols head coach Josh Heupel wants to see Iamaleava grow is as a leader.
Nico has been praised for the way he's quickly won over teammates. But being a great teammate and a great leader are two different things. Iamaleava has the intangibles to be an elite leader for the Vols, but he has a lot of learning to do, too.
“He’s continued to grow throughout the course of spring ball in his understanding of what we’re doing," said Heupel during an appearance on The Swain Event this week. "Day one, the game was moving really fast for him. It’s continued to slow down every single day. He’s been resilient. After a bad play or maybe not his best practice, he’s responding the right way and coming back the next play or the next day.”
“Someone that’s going to have to grow in the leadership role as we go through this summer and through the fall, for sure, as he becomes more entrenched and understanding of what we’re doing,” added Heupel.
Heupel isn't saying that Iamaleava has done a poor job as a leader — far from it, in fact — he's just simply pointing out that it's an area where Nico can show some growth this summer.
Nico has an opportunity to do some really special things for the Vols. He just needs a little time to get acclimated to the college game and learn how to become a Hendon Hooker/Joe Milton-type leader. Once that happens, he'll be ready to dominate in the SEC.
