Why Tennessee Was The Spot For Nico Iamaleava

Nico Iamaleava

Tennessee has officially locked down a commitment from five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava on Monday. After rolling out the red carpet for Iamaleava and his family during a visit to Knoxville, head coach Josh Heupel and his staff were able to secure one of the most highly-coveted recruits in the class.

Iamaleava has shown throughout his recruitment how important his family is to him. During his visit to Knoxville, Iamaleava and his family had the chance to attend the final home game of the Tennessee basketball season. And during the game, Tennessee’s student section broke out a “We Want Nico” chant. Nico’s mother, Marleinna, recalls being brought to tears at that moment.

“The atmosphere in Knoxville is crazy,” Marleinna Iamaleava said in her son’s commitment video. “I don’t even know if there is a word for it. Everywhere we went, and I don’t like that kind of attention, but I thought it was pretty cool to experience. To witness that and to experience that was super, super cool. The basketball game that we went to, was, I cried! I couldn’t be any more happy and blessed. I’m just proud of my son.”

Iamaleava spent a large chunk at his video speaking about his family and giving them thanks. It’s easy to tell that Iamaleava’s family finding comfort in Knoxville was a factor in his commitment to Tennessee.

“First off, I want to thank the Lord for blessing me with this opportunity to further my education and play the game that I love,” Iamaleava said in his commitment video. “Thank you to everyone that has been a part of my process. I want to thank every university that invested their time in recruiting me. I really appreciate the love that you guys have shown. I want to thank my parents for pushing me to be the best. Thank you guys for sticking with me through it all – the late nights and early mornings, football and volleyball. Thank you, Mom, for fighting strong every day to stay here with us. You’re the strongest woman I know. Thank you, Dad, for pushing me since day one – my first coach, my biggest supporter. I love you. Thank you to my brothers and sisters for always being there for me, through the good and bad. I want to thank my family, my uncles, my aunties, I love you guys, my cousins.”

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“But that being said, I will be committing to the University of Tennessee,” Iamaleava said. “Go Vol Nation.”

Off the field, Iamaleava is a proven leader who can thrive in an environment like the one at Tennessee. A quarterback has to be a strong leader and someone who can rally the troops. By all accounts, that is the type of player that Nico Iamaleava is.

On the field, there’s no question that Iamaleava will be able to thrive in Josh Heupel’s offensive system. With a build of 6-foot-6 and 195-pounds, Iamaleava can do it all on the field. The rising high school senior has the throwing power and accuracy to light up opposing defensive backs, while his size makes him hard to handle when he is running with the football.

In one season, Heupel took Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker from a Virginia Tech transfer to the most efficient quarterback in the SEC. And that was with Hooker starting the year on the bench, as well. Hooker and Heupel produced an offense that finished the season ninth in the country in total scoring at a staggering 38.8 points per game. The year prior, Tennessee was 108th in the country at just 21.5 points per game. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Heupel and offensive coordinator Alex Golesh, with the help of quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle, have a pretty good handle on the whole points scoring objective.

Iamaleava will be able to thrive with the Tennessee offense. Again, look at what Hendon Hooker was able to do. Hooker finished the season as the fourth passing quarterback in the SEC and as Tennessee’s second-leader rusher.

While the NIL is still a huge factor while recruiting, the other pieces still have to fit into place as well. Make no mistake, Iamaleava will certainly be making a good chunk of change using his name, image, and likeness in Knoxville. But again, the other pieces must be there as well.

With the approval of his family and the potential on the table with Josh Heupel’s offense, Iamaleava is set up for success before his Tennessee career even begins on campus.