Few football stories in the nation this week are more significant than the status of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava ahead of Saturday night’s top 10 matchup between the Vols and Georgia.
ESPN College Football insider Pete Thamel provided an update on Iamaleava’s status on Tuesday night, reporting that the Vols’ quarterback is currently in concussion protocol after taking a hard hit late in the first half against Mississippi State last Saturday.
The good news from Thamel is that Iamaleava dressed out and was a participant in Tennessee’s Tuesday morning practice with kickoff still four days away.
Sources: Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava is in concussion protocol after leaving the Mississippi State game last week with an injury and not returning to the sideline for the second half. He did dress and practice on Tuesday, and his status for the Georgia is undetermined.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 13, 2024
Iamaleava finished the first half against Mississippi State but backup Gaston Moore replaced him in the second half of the Vols’ 33-14 win over the Bulldogs. The redshirt freshman quarterback has been playing well in recent weeks, starting with the second half against Alabama.
The redshirt freshman quarterback played well in the first half against Mississippi State, completing eight-of-13 passed for 174 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Squirrel White for a 34-yard touchdown and Dont’e Thornton for a 73-yard touchdown.
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It’s unclear what play Iamaleava was injured on but this play late in the first half seems most likely as he took a hard hit and only was in for two more plays afterwards.
This was the last hit Nico took, but then came back in for two plays before the half pic.twitter.com/BlDvfn7g3E
— gmannVOLS (@gmannVOLS) November 10, 2024
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel provided an optimistic injury update about Iamaleava both after the game and again on Monday.
“He was with us today,” Heupel said. “Had a really good day. Feel like he’ll be in in great shape for Saturday. But you guys can monitor the whatever the report is that comes out on Wednesday and and track it through the week. But certainly feel like he’ll be in a good spot.”
Tennessee’s meeting with Georgia has major SEC Championship and College Football Playoff ramifications. A win over Georgia would solidify the Vols playoff position and put them a win away from advancing to the SEC Championship for the first time since 2007.
