Nico Iamaleava didn't think twice about it. He didn't have time to.

On the drive after Chris Brazzell II let a deep ball slip through his hands and then followed it up with holding call that negated a first down run and eventually ended a promising drive, the Tennessee quarterback eyed Brazzell again--this time with everything on the line.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

With two more chances to take a late lead on Alabama and less than six minutes to go, Iamaleava put a ball out in front of Brazzell in the end zone. The transfer, once expected to bolster the Vols' wide receivers room, had yet to make a name for himself at Tennessee.

On this stage against the Vols' biggest and most historic rival on the Third Saturday in October, he did.

Brazzell's view was obstructed, just for a moment when King Mack tugged on his face mask and turned his head as he extended his arms. He recovered, cradled the ball before hitting the turf and completed a moment seven games in the making.

“We got a play call that moved me in the slot," Brazzell said. "I went to the slot, kind of liked that matchup with the safety. They were playing man, I ran my route, caught the ball.

Brazzell didn't just put Tennessee ahead for good and kept its College Football Playoff hopes firmly in place with a 24-17 victory over the Crimson Tide, he etched his name into Tennessee football lore.

He caught 44 passes and five touchdowns at Tulane last season, parlaying a stellar freshman All-American season into becoming one of the most highly-sought wide receivers in the transfer portal after a coaching change there. No catch, at least for now, matches this one.

“Probably No. 1, for sure," Brazzell said. "Just it being Bama, first time playing Bama. That’s special."

For Iamaleava, who himself has had to battle inconsistency in his much heralded and long-awaited campaign as Tennessee's starting quarterback, it was--for the his and the Vols' sake--a throw and catch that could prove to be the turning point in their season.

Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC) was held scoreless in the first half for the third-straight week, but that didn't mean there weren't opportunities. In the last four games, Iamaleava and his receivers have rarely been on the same page.

There had been over-throws, wrong reads and questionable decisions. But even when a ball was perfectly placed by the former five-star prospect, the receivers were unable to haul it in.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Will Brooks, a fitting hero on Third Saturday in October

Those sequences repeated themselves against Alabama, until they didn't. Iamaleava's 55-yard completion to Dont'e Thornton Jr. set up a game-tying touchdown in the third quarter, but none were bigger than the throw to Brazzell for the win on a play that could mean even more for Tennessee going forward.

"Great ball," Brazzell said.

"I’m trusting my guys every time. It doesn’t matter if they had a drop or not," Iamaleava said. "I still got the utmost confidence for our guys to go out there and get it done. I trust I guy to go out there and make that play.”

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.