Nico Iamaleava shows flashes during pair of drives against UConn
This season, Tennessee hasn't had many chances to get five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava into the game.
With scores narrow and lesser opponents not dealt with early, Iamaleava has only seen the field in two matches to this point. Both were in blowout wins over Virginia and UTSA.
However, even in these moments, it was late in the fourth quarter with limited opportunities to see what he can do.
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This changed on Saturday.
With Joe Milton III and the Vols jumping out to a 35-3 halftime lead over UConn, Iamaleava came out of the break ready to take over the offense. While the Huskies gave up two consecutive pick-sixes, Iamaleava finally got his chance a few minutes into the third quarter.
On this first drive, he marched Tennessee down the field for a two and a half minute, 78-yard touchdown drive. He wrapped it up with a 19-yard throw to tight end McCallan Castles for his first score as a college quarterback.
The next drive, Iamaleava continued to make plays but was stopped on his drive resulting in a punt.
He finished 5-for-9 through the air with 86 yards and a touchdown along with a 25-yard rush.
Head coach Josh Heupel was satisfied with this performance but understands there is more work to be done.
“Just the way the season has unfolded, we haven’t had a lot of opportunities for some guys that are a little bit down our depth chart, are not starting, to get some of that action," said Heupel. "Nico went out, I thought he handled all parts of the game really well, for the most part. There’s a couple of learning opportunities for him. I thought he was timely using his feet, accurate with the football for the most part. There’s a couple things that he would want back, really solid performance from him.”
Heupel elaborated on the areas that Iamaleava needs to grow in.
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“There’s a couple things in communication and then fundamentally just where his body was at on one of the throws," said Heupel. "But man, I thought he did a really good job.”
Helping out the young signal caller is the starting quarterback in front of him. Milton played the role of an assistant coach after his day was done while helping out his backup.
The pair have been said to have a relationship that helps each other grow.
“A couple of things that I saw, Joe saw, during the course of it and to help him continue to grow," said Heupel. "So, Joe’s got a great relationship with him. They help each other out."
Despite the final whistle being blown, Milton isn't done coaching up Iamaleava.
Instead, he said he was going to continue to work with him right after the conclusion of the press conference.
"I mean, Nico is a baller, man," said Milton. "Ya'll know that. Every opportunities he gets, make sure at practice you make all the opportunities real. So when that game time do come and you never know what can happen, he'll be be ready for his moment. Out there today, I felt like he did good. There's also things to learn from. We'll go over that today. What time is it? Four o-clock? We'll go over that at like 4:10."
With Milton running out of eligibility after this season, it'll likely be Iamaleava acting as the starting quarterback in his sophomore campaign. The big win over UConn could be a pivotal step in his development.
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