Miles Kitselman knows Nico Iamaleava well enough to not be too concerned with the environment Tennessee will be walking into Saturday night.
The Vols' tight end has echoed the same sentiment his teammates and coaches have said about the redshirt freshman quarterback since he took over as Tennessee's full time starting quarterback.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Iamaleava, lauded for his never-changing personality, will lead the No. 6 Vols (3-0) into their first true road game at No. 15 Oklahoma on a primetime stage awash with melodramatic storylines that have been talked about since the Sooners announced they were joining the SEC more than two years ago.
But if that is expected to fluster Iamaleava, who is just four games into his career as a starter, he hasn't given an indication that it will.
"I'm not worried about Nico at all, talking about loud distractions and all that kind of stuff," Kitselman said. "The way Nico prepares himself and how confident he is in his play will take care of all that."
Tennessee has dominated in its four appearances in 2024. It started in the Citrus Bowl when Iamaleava paced the Vols to a 35-0 thumping of Iowa to cap a nine-win season. Seven months later, he set a program record for passing yards in a half with 314 yards against Chattanooga in the season opener.
A neutral site match up with then-ranked NC State was supposed to offer a tougher test, and despite throwing two interceptions, Iamaleava still finished with 211 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Iamaleava again sat out the second half last week because Tennessee was leading 65-0 at halftime, the result, in part, because of the 173 yards and one touchdown in passed for in less than two quarters of play.
Oklahoma (3-0) will offer a different challenge, a much sterner one.
The Sooners' defense has forced 10 turnovers in just three games and leads the league in turnover margin. Four of those turnovers have come on interceptions. Six were fumble recoveries.
"(Oklahoma) ties all three levels of the defense in extremely well," Heupel said. "And then when you have the ball in your hands, they are extremely active. Punching, ripping, putting their hat on the ball. They have changed the way the game is played with a lot of those turnovers."
Tennessee's three turnovers in three games--two interceptions from Iamaleava and another from backup quarterback Gaston Moore in the second half of the Chattanooga game--haven't been costly.
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Making those kinds of mistakes on the road likely mean a razor thin margin for error. That's where Iamaleava's calm demeanor will be paramount.
"I think (Iamaleava's) personality will translate extremely well," Heupel said. "...The way we have prepared in spring ball and training camp, our guys will be ready for this. It doesn't make the challenge any less difficult because of those things, but you have to do the ordinary things at a very high level, and you have got to do them consistently. That's communication, that's where it starts in particular on the offensive side of the ball with crowd noise.
"But it's everybody, all three phases of the game, the alignment, assignment and technique after that."
Heupel would know about playing the position on the road. He did it at Oklahoma for two seasons, leading the Sooners to an unbeaten campaign and BCS national title in 2000.
Iamaleava said at the beginning of fall camp that he "loved road games more than home games." Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET (TV: ABC), he'll get that opportunity.
"There is something special about knowing that you are going on the road and the focus, the effort that it takes to go out there and be successful in those types of environments," Heupel said. "That is something special that competitors relish."
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