Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava headlines a trio of Vols named to the 2024 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award Watch List by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame on Thursday.
Tennessee’s three selections include quarterback Nico Iamaleava, veteran linebacker Keenan Pili, and transfer defensive lineman Jaxson Moi.
Iamaleava is the center on the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame’s Watch List tab online.
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The Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award is “presented annually to the most outstanding college football player of Polynesian ancestry that epitomizes great ability and integrity,” according to the organization’s website.
Tennessee’s trio are three of the five SEC representatives on the list. Texas is the only other SEC team on the list with two selections: DL Jermayne Lole and DL Tiaoalii Savea. Overall, there are 96 players on the list from 37 FBS programs.
Iamaleava will lead the charge as Tennessee’s new starting quarterback this season as he follows up on a big win over Iowa to close out last season in the Citrus Bowl. The hype around Iamaleava has been loud this offseason, but it’s also been warranted. Iamaleava has continued to impress in the little that has been seen on the field during fall camp but the real weight comes from the praise he has received from his teammates and coaches. While Iamaleava only has one start under his belt, Tennessee believes he is the key to unlocking this offense.
Keenan Pili transferred to Tennessee from BYU prior to the 2023 season but suffered a season-ending injury in the opening game. Pili absorbed the Vols’ defense on the sideline throughout the season, though, and is primed to continue what he started this season. Pili is the veteran in a room of younger players and is a critical voice in the middle of Tennessee’s defense.
Jaxson Moi has been one of the surprise players from fall camp after transferring in from Stanford this offseason. After just one week of camp, Moi garnered the attention of Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner.
“I was really excited about Jaxson when he went in the portal and us recruiting him and all that,” Garner said during fall camp. “Obviously, I had one plan for him. He came in and he probably exceeded what I had in mind so he sort of deviated my plan. But I think Jaxson’s gonna be a really good player for us and obviously he’s a tremendous leader.”
When Moi spoke to the Vols’ media during spring camp, the Tennessee transfer mentioned the comfort with other Polynesian players on Tennessee’s roster already.
“The Samoan community, it’s really tight,” Moi said. “So even if you may not know them personally, you’ll definitely have family members who know them. So it’s an awesome community to be apart of, just being able to relate to people that are out here and knowing that you have others that come from the same upbringing as you, it’s cool.”
Moi, along with Iamaleava and Pili, has even begun to intertwine some of that Samoan culture into the locker room.
“Yeah, I definitely have brought that here,” Moi said with a laugh. “A word in Samoan is ‘Uce’, it’s called ‘Bro’. So everybody in the locker room, they’re all like, ‘Oh, what’s up Uce?’ or ‘What’s up bro?’ So it’s just cool to be able to bring part of my culture and see how everybody embraces that here, it just means a lot.”
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more on Tennessee football fall camp.
