Latest report about Nico Iamaleava should be encouraging to Tennessee Vols fans
The latest report about Tennessee Vols true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava should be extremely encouraging to UT football fans. Iamaleava arrived in Knoxville this past December with an insane amount of hype. The California native was rated by On3 as the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 class. He also allegedly signed a lucrative […]
The latest report about Tennessee Vols true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava should be extremely encouraging to UT football fans.
Iamaleava arrived in Knoxville this past December with an insane amount of hype.
The California native was rated by On3 as the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 class. He also allegedly signed a lucrative NIL deal prior to his enrollment at Tennessee.
The NIL deal combined with the hype reportedly led to some non-coaches at Tennessee having some concerns about whether or not Iamaleava would have an ego when he arrived on campus.
VolQuest's Brent Hubbs recently spoke to On3's Andy Staples about Iamaleava and how his first few months have gone at Tennessee.
"There are people in the building who weren’t coaches who were a little bit skeptical about what his attitude would be like," said Hubbs. "They’ve been extremely impressed, as well. I think Nico has a firm understand of where he is, what he needs to work on.”
So far all the feedback about Nico has been incredibly positive. But that comment from Hubbs might be the most important report about Nico that's been put out this offseason.
The assumption is that the non-coaches that Hubbs mentioned are players. And that's understandable. Most of the players on the roster didn't get to know Nico during the recruiting process like the coaches did. And the players weren't part of those NIL negotiations/discussions. It would be easy for players who have been at Tennessee for several years to have some concerns about a true freshman hot shot coming into the program.
But it sounds like those concerns were quickly erased. And that's important for Tennessee's culture, which is centered on a "family feel".
Everything seems to be coming up aces for the Vols these days. I'm sure there will be some bumps along the way, but it would be tough for Tennessee fans to ask for much more than what Josh Heupel has delivered during his first couple of years on Rocky Top.
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Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
