Former National Championship-winning head coach Urban Meyer didn’t hold back his excitement for Nico Iamaleava after Week 1.
On Wednesday’s episode of The Triple Option with Meyer, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone, the former Florida and Ohio State coach shared his excitement about what Iamaleava is going to bring to the table for Tennessee this season.
Meyer also revealed a conversation he had with a couple of former college football greats about Iamaleava’s future down the road:
“I went back and watched Tennessee and they have a quarterback that, I called Matt Leinart and Brady Quinn this morning after watching this thing, his name is Nico Iamaleava,” Meyer said. “I’m telling you this now, Mark. And I watched, it’s Tennessee-Chattanooga so they were overmatched, the opponent they played, they were so much better. But this guy, as far as a body type, to stand there athletically and throw the ball, the ball came out like a missile! He was a five-star product coming out of high school. I asked this question, is he a Top 10 pick in the NFL Draft, to Brady and Matt. Obviously, he has another year left. This guy is unbelievable, Mark. I know they had Joe Milton last year but this guy is a monster.”
The former NFL coach was so impressed with what he saw from Iamaleava and Tennessee’s offense in just two quarters last Saturday, he’s slotting the Vols in as a playoff team in the expanded 12-team format.
“Because of him, I’m putting them to cover the spread [against NC State] and I think they’ll be a playoff team because of this guy,” Meyer said to close his thought on Iamaleava. “I know it’s Chattanooga, but go check him out, Mark.”
Urban Meyer knows a thing or two about high-level collegiate quarterbacks. While his guys haven’t always panned out at the NFL level, their legacies at the collegiate level won’t soon be forgotten. Meyer’s list of college-coached quarterbacks includes Utah’s Alex Smith, Florida’s Chris Leak and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, and Ohio State’s Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett, and Braxton Miller. Meyer’s track record with college quarterbacks gives more than enough credibility to his projections for Iamaleava.
Meyer, an analyst on Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff Show, also teased using Iamaleava’s footage in his upcoming show this weekend.
“As far as a ball coming out of a guy’s hand, Mark, it’s beautiful,” Meyer said. “I’m going to show it on the Big Noon.”
More from RTI: ‘They Love Playing For Their Guy’: Tennessee Receivers Benefiting From Belief in Nico Iamaleava
Urban Meyer isn’t the only prominent name in the college football world to be talking about the Vols’ quarterback, though. Yes, in fairness, tons of analysts this week are talking about Iamaleava after his 314-yard first-half showing against Chattanooga.
One day before the Vols’ Week 1 opener, though, CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli made a bold claim about Iamaleava.
“Three years ago I was telling you Caleb Williams was the best quarterback in the country and he wasn’t even the starter at Oklahoma,” Fornelli said on Barstool’s Pardon My Take. “I’m telling you Nico is the best quarterback in the country. Size-wise, talent-wise, ability-wise, fit in the offense that he’s in, which is an offense that somehow made Joe Milton into an NFL quarterback … Nico can throw to all parts of the field, Nico is mobile, I just think that him in that offense with what they have, that is going to be a really tough team to beat.”
In his first regular-season start against the Mocs on Saturday, Iamaleava set Tennessee’s all-time single-half passing record with 314 yards and three passing touchdowns. While Tennessee did play an FCS opponent, Iamaleava was ultra-efficient as he dissected the Mocs’ secondary in all three levels of the field.
Iamaleava and the No. 14-ranked Vols will face their first true test this weekend when they take on No. 24 NC State on Saturday. The Vols and the Wolfpack will square off at 7:30 p.m. ET in Charlotte, NC, in the Duke’s Mayo Classic.
Catch the full clip from The Triple Option below:
