Tennessee Vols just dunked on the rest of college football
Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols dunked on the rest of college football on Tuesday. Well, technically On3 dunked for them. But the point remains. On Tuesday, On3 revealed that Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a five-star recruit who signed with Tennessee last month, is the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 recruiting class. This […]
Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols dunked on the rest of college football on Tuesday.
Well, technically On3 dunked for them. But the point remains.
On Tuesday, On3 revealed that Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a five-star recruit who signed with Tennessee last month, is the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 recruiting class.
This is the first time that Tennessee's had the No. 1 overall recruit in the nation since 2009 when running back Bryce Brown signed with the Vols (he later transferred to Kansas State).
Two things really stand out about Nico jumping to No.1.
The first thing is that it's incredible that Heupel and his staff were able to land the No. 1 player in the nation, who happens to be a quarterback, after just a year on the job. Remember, Nico committed to Tennessee last spring, so he put a lot of faith in the staff before they delivered an 11-2 season in 2022.
And for folks saying that Nico only committed to the Vols because of an NIL deal, that's simply not true.
Sure, NIL was a factor. But do you really think that the No. 1 recruit in the nation didn't have other programs trying to woo him with cash? Of course he did.
Nico, however, believes in the staff at Tennessee and he's made it clear that he loves Knoxville. If those things weren't true, Nico wouldn't be a Vol right now.
The other interesting thing about Nico jumping to No. 1 is that he's now ranked higher than media favorite Arch Manning, a Texas signee and the nephew of Vols legend Peyton Manning.
Manning is a good player who likely had his rating inflated a bit because of his last name. Nico, however, is rated at No. 1 not because of his name but because of his abilities.
Recruiting rankings ultimately don't win games. But they matter when it comes to the perception of a program. And the perception of Tennessee right now is as good as it's been in two decades.
The scary thing for the rest of the NFL is that the Vols are just getting started.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
