Quote from Vols teammate makes Nico Iamaleava sound like Patrick Mahomes
There's only one Patrick Mahomes, but a comment from Tennessee Vols true freshman tight end Ethan Davis on Thursday certainly makes it sound like the second coming of Mahomes could be in Knoxville. Mahomes, the superstar quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, is known for his ability to extend plays while making incredible off-platform throws […]
There's only one Patrick Mahomes, but a comment from Tennessee Vols true freshman tight end Ethan Davis on Thursday certainly makes it sound like the second coming of Mahomes could be in Knoxville.
Mahomes, the superstar quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, is known for his ability to extend plays while making incredible off-platform throws that often end up on SportsCenter's top 10 plays of the week.
A lot of quarterbacks try to mimic what Mahomes does on Sundays, but no one has been able to duplicate his results so far.
Vols true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, however, is showing some early signs that he might have the talent/football IQ combination to give Mahomes a run for his money.
(Before anyone laughs at the suggestion that there will be another Mahomes, the history of sports suggests that another superstar will eventually come along to challenge him.)
Iamaleava, the No. 1 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class, showed flashes of his elite abilities during Tennessee's spring game in April.
During the spring game, Iamaleava was forced out of the pocket and he had to improvise. The true freshman quarterback, who should've still been in high school at the time, directed Davis down the field and proceeded to throw a pass with pinpoint accuracy that dropped into Davis' arms just past the reach of the defender.
Here's the play.
Davis was asked about that play on Thursday and his response sounded like he was talking about a veteran NFL quarterback instead of a true freshman.
"So we got the play and then I ran the route," explained Davis. "So when I was running, I see Nico scrambling and then Nico just pointed up. And I already knew — I trust Nico. I trust everything he does, trust everything he knows. So once he pointed up, I just turned up field because it was a scramble drill. So I just turned up field, [he] threw it to me. [I] had to make the play, made the play."
That comment from Davis led to this exchange with a reporter:
Reporter: Is that a normal thing to see from Nico?
Davis: Yeah. Yeah. He's a high level, high level quarterback. Extremely high level.
Nico told reporters this week that he can make a lot of different off-platform throws, but he's trying to reduce the usage of those off-platform throws in his game in an effort to be more technically sound in how he plays.
That's obviously the right approach by Nico and Tennessee's staff — off-platform throws aren't always ideal. But it's nice for Vols fans to know that Nico has those throws in his arsenal if he needed (and they'll certainly be needed at some point).
No one knows if Nico will turn into the next Mahomes — the kid hasn't even taken a snap during a regular season college football game yet. But the way that Davis talked about Nico on Thursday sounds a lot like something you'd hear Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce say about Mahomes.
Nico has a long way to go before he delivers on the hype that accompanied him during the recruiting process, but he's certainly giving plenty of signs early in his career that he'll be able to meet the expectations that come along with being the top recruit in the nation.
Tennessee offensive coordinator speaks on bond between QBs Joe Milton and Nico Iamaleava
Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle spoke on the bond between QBs Joe Milton and Nico Iamaleava
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports
