Heading into the 2023 season, Tennessee football boasts an undisputed and somewhat proven starter.

Joe Milton will take over the offense after Hendon Hooker ran out of eligibility and took his talent to the NFL. Milton has previously started four games in his two-years in Knoxville including two wins to wrap up the 2022 campaign.

With Milton stepping in as the starter, a new second string signal caller has emerged. True freshman Nico Iamaleava joins the Vols after earning a five-star rating by Rivals.

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The path to seeing the field in his first year will either come at the end of blowouts or in the unfortunate scenario that Milton goes down with injury, though.

While being one hit away from being forced into the starting role, a lot of pressure has been placed on Iamaleava to prepare ahead of the season. Afterall, Vols head coach Josh Heupel has a standard for who he puts on the field during game day.

"If we don’t feel like you’re going to play at a championship level then you’re not going to be on the field," said Heupel. "It’s real easy. Coaches have to be able to trust you.”

While practicing with the team since Tennessee's Orange Bowl preperation, Iamaleava is settling into the sometimes tricky offense. While the schemes aren't necessarily difficult to grasp, the speed at which the attack operates can take time to adjust to.

Heupel feels confident in Iamaleava's progression, though.

"I think he’s ready to play at a really high level," said Heupel. "All young quarterbacks, it’s different when you get out there and it’s lot of bullets and you don’t have a red jersey on. But I feel really good about where he’s at. Command of our offense, being a really sound decision-maker, fundamentally being able to get himself in a good position to be consistently accurate with the ball. I like what he’s done.”

One reason Imaleava has progressed well within the system is his mentality. The freshman understands his role isn't to be a day one starter but to learn behind the veteran Milton.

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This is a similar role that Milton took behind Hooker during the last two years. Even though he prepared each week like he would start, he stepped up as a second leader for the team while embracing his role on the bench.

Now, he is taking the next step into truly being capable of running the offense.

“As a young man coming into a program, understanding the standards that we have here, but the demands of playing quarterback at this level," said Heupel. "Being able to start to grasp and understand, what’s going on from up front, protections, defensive structure, being able to see and recognize, anticipate and see post-snap rotations from the back end.

"At the end of the day, controlling his job and having his eyes in the right spot. He’s a dramatically different player than he was in spring ball. Love the steps that he took in the spring, too. This football team’s got a lot of trust in him.”

Iamaleava could see action as early as the first game with Tennessee favored heavily over Virginia. However, if that match stays close and Milton sees every snap, it is even more likely he will see the field in week two as the Vols host Austin Peay in the home opener.

Either way, it is almost certain Iamaleava will gain experience over the course of the year as he prepares to take over the team in 2023. While that job isn't set in stone, Iamaleava's experience, mentality and rare skillset put him in a great position to continue Tennessee's push to competing for an SEC championship.

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