Kelsey Pope is the first to say he's been around football for a while.
Whether it was playing as a quarterback or receiver or in the coaching ranks, he's seen a few quarterbacks that receivers gravitate to and want to play for.
The Tennessee receiver coach dubbed Nico Iamaleava as one of these signal callers.
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"I’ll tell you this, I played quarterback in high school and college and I played receiver at a high level for a long time. I’ve seen a handful of guys that receivers want to go play for," Pope said. "And you can see it, you can sense it. They love playing for their guy, like absolutely love playing for him. It’s infectious in practice, it’s obviously easy in the game because the crowd’s there and there’s adrenaline but they absolutely love playing for their guy. And as talented as he is, he’s an even better teammate and a better leader. So that’s a testament to him and the growth that he’s shown since coming on the campus. It makes our group, our camaraderie, it makes the chemistry that much better when those guys love each other and they play hard for one another. So they love playing for Eight Ball."
This connection was on display in the first half against Chattanooga in the season opener. Iamaleava completed his first 10 passes of the game to get the Vols off to a strong start.
He finished with 314 yards, a school record for any single half, and three touchdowns. Two of these went to second-year Vol Dont'e Thornton who amassed 105 yards on three catches.
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"(Thornton) was just able to play fast," Pope said. "He caught one early, which led to another. He got off to a hot start which is awesome for him and really for our group to be able to see that because they feed off one another. But like we talked about last time, his biggest deal is just staying positive regardless if it's good or bad things happening. He’s done that this offseason and him gaining a ton of confidence. So as long as we keep him kind of training that way, I think you’ll continue to see him train as well as a player."
One of the newer connections is with Chris Brazzell II. The Tulane transfer made his debut on Saturday after joining through the transfer portal.
Brazzell finished with five catches for 59 yards on the day.
"Chris did an awesome job, especially with him getting here and he’s really the newest guy in the room," Pope said. "He’s done an incredible job of getting himself prepared to play. He’s always in the building, like he’s truly done what it took to learn this offense and learn kind of how we operate and do things. If he continues to operate that way, you’ll continue to see good things from him."
The connection between Iamaleava and his receivers will next be on display against NC State on Saturday. The No. 14 Vols will meet the No. 24 Wolfpack in Charlotte over the weekend.
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