Rocky Top has ample reason to rock. By all means, Tennessee is merely at the outset of a special few years. They steered through the treacherous southeast to make the extended CFP last season. Something a lot of their very capable SEC contemporaries can’t say. Sure, it didn’t go very well once they got there. The orange was well and truly squashed into some OJ down in Columbus. But alas, HC Josh Heupel can sip on some Kool-Aid. When the emotions settle, he can certainly take some solace from the Vols’ ‘24 season. However, Tennessee can’t rest on its laurels. Not when they have a QB of Nico Iamaleava’s ilk.
Success breeds standards. Josh Heupel has now set himself a bar that isn’t insurmountable by any means. But it’s not easily breached, either. Not making the playoffs next season won’t go down well in Knoxville. Especially Now that Nico Iamaleava has garnered a year of experience, progression is considered requisite. But things don’t often work with that sort of linearity in CFB. Iamaleava, like most first-year starters, showed both moments of greatness and moments of growth last season. But he enters his redshirt sophomore year with additional baggage and an onus.
That Tennessee QB1 shirt, once donned by Peyton Manning, weighs heavy. There is more to wearing it than throwing darts at your receivers or moving the sticks with your legs. The intangibles, particularly leadership, also have to come through. Something one national analyst revealed Josh Heupel has reinforced to Nico this offseason.
Over the On3 YouTube channel, JD PicKell relayed some intel he’s heard out of Knoxville. “The headline that I have been told, as it pertains to Nico Iamaleava this spring, is that he’s being challenged by Josh Heupel. It’s a two-pronged challenge,” he said. PicKell proceeded to delve into this challenge. The first prong of which entails “being a tone-setter for the offense.”
JD PicKell said, “[Tennessee] feels like [they need Iamaleava to offset] what they lost from a vocal, leadership [POV] a season ago. For the record, I think he can do that. Seeing him against Ohio State, the edge that he had that showed me a lot.” It got lost during the sheer shock during the blowout, but Nico Iamaleava playing on after a crack to his visor in that game was a testament to his character. PicKell then offered up prong #2 alongside his opinions on the same.
“The second challenge is for [Nico Iamaleava] to progress as a decision-maker. This makes a lot of sense,” he said. PicKell acknowledged that while Nico wasn’t a poor decision-maker last year, he tended to “double-clutch” in moments. He stated how his athleticism allows Nico to get away with not making a “quick-trigger decision.” That said, there’s a difference between getting away with situations by gaining a few yards or avoiding a sack and actually thriving. Getting to the line to gain and even beyond it. PicKell brought up 3 facets that will be better in Josh Heupel’s offense just by extension of Nico progressing as a decision-maker who can throw in “on time, in rhythm.”
“That’s going to, one, help the offensive line out. Two, it’s going to give you a lighter box to run in. Three, it’s probably going to give Nico better numbers and make the offense more dynamic. There’s so much built into this that’s going to allow Tennessee to be closer to what they were in 2022 offensively, if Nico Iamaleava was able to get a little bit more up to speed,” remarked JD PicKell. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Shouldering responsibility and showing improvement with a year under your belt is a fair ask of Nico. Who reminisced on his first year as a starter, and well, it didn’t bring back particularly fond memories.
Nico Iamaleava sheds light on how the playoff loss took a toll on him
Not to flare the PTSD and be subjected to the wrath of Vols fans, but that fateful loss to Ohio State really did cut deep. Losing to the eventual champs isn’t an indictment, but the nature of the loss dulled the sheen off a great season. Nico Iamaleava certainly isn’t over that L he was handed in the Shoe. A loss that ended his proclaimed hopes of a Natty run prematurely. During an iteration of “The Juice,” a series produced by Tennessee themselves, Nico shed light on his intrinsic feelings for last season.
“Man, I expected the Natty,” remarked Nico. “I’m not going to lie. Came up short. Man, it was a bummer. A hard loss to take.” That said, Iamaleava is looking to turn a corner this time around. Using that very heartbreak as fuel. “I think it just motivated the whole team, and all of us as a whole, to go out and get one this year,” he said. Well, good thing that this proposed run to glory starts with him.
As the quarterback, you permeate vibes through to the entire roster-—like osmosis. As stacked a team as Josh Heupel has at his disposal, it’ll only go as far as Nico takes it. Those challenges JD PicKell presented are an overarching benchmark for the Vols’ success. Remains to be seen whether Nico Iamaleava can indeed shoulder the burden or will crumble underneath.
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