With 58,473 spectators in attendance and thousands more watching the television broadcast at home, it’s safe to say there were a whole lot of eyes on freshman Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava on Saturday in Knoxville.
The former No. 1 overall prospect in the 2023 class made his debut in front of the Tennessee fans on Saturday during the Orange & White spring game in Neyland Stadium.
Iamaleava conducted the Vols’ second-team unit and finished the game with a total of seven drives on the day. Iamaleava ended the game with 112 yards on 8-of-16 passing with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
“I played okay,” Iamaleava said after his Tennessee debut. “I thought we could have scored more when we got to the redzone and finished drives off. We are working. We will get to that point where it is green when we get down in the redzone. I thought overall as an offense we did okay.”
Despite having so many eyes on him, though, Iamaleava says that he wasn’t nervous heading into the game. And while nerves may not have been affecting him at the beginning, it’s certainly easy to tell that the freshman quarterback did get more comfortable as the game went on.
“I was not nervous,” Iamaleava said. “I think for me, at the end of the day, it’s just football. You go out there, play and have fun. It was because I messed up that first play in spring practice this week that I was like, ‘I’m not messing this play up again.’”
Just before the conclusion of the second half, Iamaleava delivered his standout play of the spring game. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound quarterback was leading the Orange team down the field, down by a touchdown, with just under two minutes remaining on a running clock. Iamaleava took the snap around his around 35-yard line, rolled out to the right to avoid pressure, and delivered an absolute strike to fellow freshman tight end Ethan Davis on the right sideline.
“You saw him make a play down the side, and he did a great job on the scramble drill, wheeling it on the sideline,” head coach Josh Heupel said about the play. “Really beautiful, accurate throw by Nico.”
Freshman to freshman🔥
Nico ➡️ Ethan connection down the sideline
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📺ESPN+ https://t.co/yMrqywmSCw pic.twitter.com/1sOCkl8rG5— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) April 15, 2023
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Heupel specifically noted Iamaleava’s ability to be mobile in the pocket and the instincts that he has in doing so.
“His ability to do those things is certainly a skill set that was important to us in the recruiting process,” Heupel said about Iamaleava. “He does have a really good feel for a young guy inside of the pocket: when to step up, when to escape out of the back. He’s dynamic and explosive as just an athlete, so he’s got the ability to get away from defenders.”
On the flip side of Iamaleava was veteran starting quarterback Joe Milton III, who orchestrated a total of five drives on the day. Milton ended his spring game 9-of-13 for 79 yards including a four-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Kaleb Webb.
“For the quarterbacks today, I thought there was a lot of game management that was really good,” Heupel said on Saturday. “You know, all in all, their eyes and decision-making were pretty sound. There are some things accuracy-wise that we have to continue to get better at. There are some things in situational football that you can’t do that they’ll learn from. That group has been really good with the way they compete and help each other in the meeting room, out on the grass. There’s a lot of development that’s left inside of that room. I love what they’ve done this spring, but we’ve got to continue to grow.”
For Milton, there are still plenty of items to check off the list this summer, but all fall under the category of cleaning up mistakes in his game.
“Just my game overall,” Milton said about what he will be working on this summer. “Anything can be cleaned up. It can go from mental to physicality stuff, just everything. Just improve so Tennessee can be Tennessee.”
As Nico Iamaleava continues to develop early into his Tennessee career, Joe Milton III will constantly be one of the biggest factors in that growth. The two quarterbacks represent the present and the future of Tennessee football and both bring so much to the table for Josh Heupel, offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, and the Tennessee offense.
“I’ve always looked up to Joe (Milton III) on my recruiting visits,” Iamaleava said on Saturday. “When I met him, I always knew he was going to be there for me when I got in here. It’s been tremendous, he’s been a real big brother helping me out with the offense and everything, the playbook, and stuff. Off the field too, we’re like brothers. It’s been a cool ride with us.”
