Georgia HC Kirby Smart makes strong statement about Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava after Bulldogs' win over Vols
Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava's status for UT's game against the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 12 was up in the air for much of the week after the California native suffered a head injury last weekend against Mississippi State. Iamaleava was cleared for the Georgia game on Friday, around 24 hours before game time. The […]
Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava's status for UT's game against the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 12 was up in the air for much of the week after the California native suffered a head injury last weekend against Mississippi State.
Iamaleava was cleared for the Georgia game on Friday, around 24 hours before game time.
The former five-star recruit played well despite the tough week, accounting for nearly 200 yards of total offense in a tough environment in Athens.
After the Bulldogs' 31-17 win over the Vols, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart told reporters that he has "a lot of respect" for Iamaleava after what he went through this week.
“It’s hard to get him down," said Smart when asked about Iamaleava. "I mean, that guy’s a tough competitor now. I mean, I got a lot of respect for him to go through what he went through this week and break tackles. He’s got great quickness, great vision, and he’s a really talented quarterback with a bright future.”
Vols head coach Josh Heupel also praised Iamaleava's toughness after the game, calling the young quarterback a "warrior" while meeting with reporters.
“That guy’s a warrior, man, you know what I mean? He’s a young quarterback, going to keep getting better," said Heupel. "But, yeah, he’s a warrior, man. Guys around him play for him, believe in him. He’s tough, man."
Heupel also told reporters that he thought Iamaleava played well in general against the Bulldogs.
"Nico, I don’t know what his numbers were, man, he played well tonight," said Heupel. "He really did. There’s some things that we’re close on. There’s some things we’ve got to be better in protection, keeping him a little cleaner. But I thought he played really well tonight."
It's easy to forget that Iamaleava is still a young quarterback who is early in the development process. But despite his youth, he still has the Vols in the College Football Playoff picture.
Kirby is right — the future is bright for Iamaleava, and that's the silver lining that Tennessee fans should take from a tough road loss to Georgia.