For the first time in 15 games, Tennessee will feature a new starting quarterback in its Cheez-It Citrus Bowl clash with Iowa on New Year's Day.
Joe Milton III is out after announcing on Wednesday that he was shifting his focus to the 2024 NFL Draft and skipping the bowl game, paving the way for highly touted freshman Nico Iamaleava, who is set to make his first career start.
Iamaleava appeared in four games during the regular season, accounting for 163 yards and one touchdown on 16-of-26 passing.
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Tennessee (8-4) arrived in Orlando on Tuesday, beginning the last stretch of its preparation for a Hawkeyes (10-2) team that ranks top 10 nationally in total defense, presenting the Vols' new-look offense, which will also be without 1,000-yard rusher Jaylen Wright.
Head coach Josh Heupel met with the media for the first time since Milton's announcement following the team's practice at UCF.
Here is everything Heupel said about Iamaleava's first start.
On Milton's involvement in Iamaleava's transition to starter
"Joe (Milton) has been with us throughout bowl preparation just as how he was going through his process of how he was going to handle things at the end. Guys are excited to get an opportunity to play with Nico (Iamaleava). They appreciate Joe, obviously for everything he's done. He's been a great teammate to everybody inside of that locker room. He's been a great teammate to Nico as well. He's been a big part his preparation. He'll be with us all week long and continue to help us in that way."
On where Iamaleava is in his development
"He's smart, he's competitive. When he makes a mistake, and young players are always going to do that, he continues to learn and grow from it. Doesn't repeat it. He's got the ability to reset from play to play, day to day. Extremely talented. Everybody has known that. But I love the way that he works inside of our building and he's got a great demeanor about him. But he's great at communicating with his teammates, as well."
On where Iamaleava is different since joining the program
"He's continued to grow so much fundamentally. It has allowed him to play at this level, continued to grow, consistency, fundamentals, decision-making, being accurate with the football, in command of what we're doing offensively. This will be his first opportunity to start against a really good defense, but excited to go play with him."
On setting expectations for Iamaleava
"This is going to be his first start. At the end of the day, he's got to play well enough to help us go win this football game. That's ultimately what we're trying to accomplish. I said it to the guys earlier. Anytime you have a young player--I don't care what position he's playing--that the other 10 guys around him play at a really high level and do the ordinary things really consistently to allow that guy to function and operate at the level that he's capable of. Listen, this game is never perfect. We don't expect Nico to go out and play perfect. (We) expect him to reset and give our playmakers an opportunity to go out there and make plays."
On importance of Iamaleava leaning on veteran players
"That's the nature of bowl season, now is that a lot of young guys that have played throughout the course of the season, not necessarily in the roles that they're going to have an opportunity to play in during the bowl game itself. So, young guys have got to step up and go take advantage of that opportunity. You can look back at the last couple of years and see the young guys that have stepped up in those roles. This is (Iamaleava's) first opportunity to go out and start in a football game, be in command of. A week of preparation. I expect him to go out and handle the week the right way and play extremely well."
On Iamaleava's communication in practice
"I think during the course of all offseason, throughout the course of the fall, he's gained command of what we're doing. Being able to communicate with wide receivers after a play or our offensive linemen. He does it in a way that they react and respond extremely well to. That's just the part of growing into the player that you're going to be. The quarterback position, the first thing you have to do is learn your job and learn what's going on around you. Then those leadership traits and those communication traits start to come out."
On Iamaleava's chemistry with wide receivers
"During the course of the season, we get a lot of reps with our guys that we consider twos. So, he's had a lot of growth throughout the course of the season, during game preparation, but out on the practice field as well. During the bowl prep, we emphasize the young guys a lot early. We have some young wide receivers that have played a lot of football. Those guys that are considered young. He's gotten a lot of reps with those guys, even before we got into the actual game prep, so he's gotten a lot of work with those guys. It's not an entire season of volume with them, but I anticipate those guys being on the same page."
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