NCAAM: Tennessee vs Arkansas
California quarterback Nicholaus (Nico) Iamaleava plans to visit Tennessee on March 5 for a UT junior day, 247sports’ Greg Biggins reported.
Iamaleava is Josh Heupel and Tennessee’s top quarterback target in the 2023 class, and for good reason. The Downey, California native is a universal five-star ranking as the No. 4 player and No. 2 quarterback in the 2023 class according to the On3 consensus rankings.
The 6-foot-6, 200 pound quarterback visited Tennessee in the fall, taking in Knoxville and Neyland Stadium for the South Alabama game.
“I went to a game at Tennessee last year and loved it there,” Iamaleava told Biggins. “I love the coaching staff and had a great time in that atmosphere and they’re recruiting me really hard.”
The sought after quarterback has made his way to a number of campuses in his recruitment, but Georgia, Alabama and Oregon also appear to be major players for the five-star.
Iamaleava visited Alabama last summer and again in the fall for the Arkansas game. While the sought after quarterback doesn’t have another visit planned to Tuscaloosa he would like to plan another.
The nation’s No. 2 quarterback visited Georgia last summer and plans to make his return trip the weekend after he visits Tennessee. Iamaleava visited Oregon for the first time last weekend, taking in Eugene with his family.
Alabama and Georgia are serious players in top-ranked quarterback Arch Manning’s recruitment. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs’ pursuit of Manning — as well as the New Orleans’ native’s timelines will be fascinating to follow through the lens of Iamaleava’s recruitment.
Iamaleava would be a program changing recruit for Josh Heupel and the first five-star the second-year coach has successfully recruited to Knoxville.
