The 3 traits that make 5-star Tennessee Vols commit Nico Iamaleava a can't miss prospect
The Tennessee Vols landed their biggest recruit in more than 20 years on Monday with the commitment of 2023 five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Iamaleava, 6-foot-5/195 lbs from Long Beach, CA, is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 3 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class. There's a chance, however, that 247Sports is actually ranking Iamaleava too […]
The Tennessee Vols landed their biggest recruit in more than 20 years on Monday with the commitment of 2023 five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
Iamaleava, 6-foot-5/195 lbs from Long Beach, CA, is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 3 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class.
There's a chance, however, that 247Sports is actually ranking Iamaleava too low.
247Sports national recruiting director Steve Wiltfong appeared on The Buck Reising Show on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville on Tuesday and he had some extremely encouraging things to say about Iamaleava.
"He's got a natural arm with easy arm strength to make every throw on the football field," said Wiltfong of Iamaleava
"He's still developing physically — there is a little bit of rawness to him. But he is an exceptional athlete. He's a world-class volleyball talent, comes from a talented family. He's going to be a big young man once he gets through that Tennessee strength and conditioning program. But right now [he] has all the tools to make all the throws you're asking for on the field. He's a fluid athlete."
"When you look at how prolific quarterbacks have been under Coach (Josh) Heupel, this is a young man that has got a chance to be very effective and prolific in Knoxville," added Wiltfong.
"I just think that this is a young man that's not close to his ceiling. And he's already flashed a ton of ability. A guy that's extremely competitive and has that multi-sport background."
Wiltfong mentioned three attributes of Iamaleava in his interview with Reising that I think make the California native a can't miss recruit for the Vols.
- Elite arm strength and physical ability
- Competitiveness
- Multi-sport background
I know nothing is ever certain in recruiting — there have been plenty of five-star busts. But Iamaleava has everything you'd ever want in a quarterback.
The physical abilities speak for themselves — if you're the best athlete on the field, there's a good chance you'll thrive.
Competitiveness, I think, is the most important trait for a quarterback to have. That's what we see from guys like Joe Burrow and Tom Brady — just a complete refusal to lose. That type of attitude is infectious and can permeate the air around a program.
And then being a multi-sport athlete is something I'm placing more and more importance on as the years go by. Look at some of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and the other sports they excelled at.
- Patrick Mahomes — Baseball
- Russell Wilson — Baseball
- Joe Burrow — Basketball
- Matthew Stafford — Baseball
- Josh Allen — Basketball
That's just to name a few. Being a multi-sport athlete is something I think is vital to a quarterback's development. And Nico being an elite volleyball player is something that I believe will help him on the football field in the future.
I don't want to hype Nico up too much. But there's really nothing to dislike about this kid. He is, by all accounts, a great person, a tremendous leader, and one of the most physically gifted players in the 2023 recruiting class.
The Vols hit a walk-off grand slam by landing Nico Iamaleava.
Featured image via Rivals.com
