With Nico Iamaleva as the starting quarterback in 2024, the Tennessee Volunteers football program is primed to maybe produce a standout quarterback. The Volunteers finished 4-4 in conference play and had an overall record of 9-4 for Tennessee in the previous season.
This season, the offense will showcase their talented quarterback. Iamaleava was Tennessee’s backup quarterback in the previous campaign. He will start this season as the quarterback and has an opportunity to establish himself. He saw some snaps with the Volunteers in the 2023 campaign.
With 314 yards and two touchdowns, 62.2% of his passes were completed by him. When the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl took place, quarterback Joe Milton decided to forego the bowl game in favor of concentrating on the NFL Draft, which meant that Nico Iamaleava got some playing time. That game was ultimately won by the Tennessee Volunteers over Iowa, 35-0.
He was the 24th-ranked talent overall and the class’s #4 quarterback according to the ESPN 300 when he was a college recruit. Josh Heupel, the head coach of Tennessee, had never landed a better recruit than this one.
Iamaleava is only attempting to get ready for his second season with the Volunteers, but some people—including Shane Hallam of Draft Countdown—are already trying to paint him as the top choice in the 2026 NFL Draft. A lot can happen in the two years that remain till then.
Iamaleava was a five-star recruit out of high school, and the Volunteers might look forward to having him as a top player in the future. He might be the unanimous choice as the top candidate in that class. Dante Moore of Oregon and Arch Manning of Texas are two more names to keep an eye on in 2026. This season, Manning is supporting Ewers for the Longhorns.
This season, Nico Iamaleava and guys like Georgia’s Carson Beck, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart might be considered among the SEC Conference’s top quarterbacks. This offense’s top quarterback could play a major role in the Volunteers’ future success.
