Josh Heupel details the plan for Vols freshman QB Nico Iamaleava in 2023
Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the highly touted true freshman who was rated as the top player in the 2023 recruiting class, made his college debut in UT's 49-13 win against the Virginia Cavaliers this past weekend. Iamaleava entered the game late and completed 2 of 3 passes for 11 yards. He also rushed for […]
Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the highly touted true freshman who was rated as the top player in the 2023 recruiting class, made his college debut in UT's 49-13 win against the Virginia Cavaliers this past weekend.
Iamaleava entered the game late and completed 2 of 3 passes for 11 yards. He also rushed for eight yards while leading a drive that was capped by a Dylan Sampson rushing touchdown.
On Wednesday night during Vol Calls, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel was asked about the plan for Iamaleava this fall. And Heupel quickly pointed out that Iamaleava won't be redshirted this season.
"The plan is whenever the opportunity presents itself to have him in the football game," explained Heupel. "There’s no plans to redshirt him. We want to get him as much football as possible. I really do love where he’s at, his focus every day, his continued growth and understanding of what we’re doing. He’s dynamic, he’s got the ability to be a playmaker. I thought he handled Saturday extremely well. There’s some things that he saw from the sideline that he went in and actually operated and handled really well. Anticipate him continuing to grow through this season, but we expect him, if he’s in the football game, to operate extremely well.”
Heupel followed up his comment about Iamaleava by sending a message to young players who are waiting on their opportunity.
"Don’t be concerned about whether you’re playing or not," said Heupel. "It’s about being ready when your opportunity comes. I’ve been around a lot of great players. There’s only a couple of them that played immediately like that. One of them is Adrian Peterson."
"These guys have got a great journey in front of them," added Heupel. "I love this group of young guys that we brought in. Continue to fight, strain, compete for it every day. That’s in the meeting room. It’s on the practice field. It’s in our weight room. This football journey that this team’s on, you don’t know when your opportunity is going to come. But it’s going to come at some point and you’ve got to be ready for the moment."
It's clear that Tennessee wants Iamaleava to get as many reps as possible. That's in part because they want him to be ready in case his number is called this season. But it's also so he can be ready to hit the ground running in 2024 when he'll step into his role as Tennessee's undisputed starting quarterback.
Butch Jones reacts to negativity on social media while calling out an unnamed fan base
Former Tennessee Vols head coach Butch Jones reacts to negativity on social media while calling out an unnamed fan base
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
