In the morning hours of Mar. 21, 2022, Nico Iamaleava took to social media to announce his college decision.
Across a three-minute-long video posted to his Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, accounts, Iamaleava committed to the University of Tennessee.
Since then, the buzz has been nonstop in favor of the highly-touted Polynesian quarterback with just one start under his belt.
But who is he, and what have those around him said about the young signal-caller?
Recruiting background
Iamaleava hails from Warren High School in Downey, California, where he earned a composite five-star rating and a top-three overall ranking in the 2023 class. The talented gunslinger racked up 24 Division 1 offers, including the likes of Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide and Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs.
In the recruiting scene, Iamaleava immediately became Tennessee’s third-highest recruit of all time — surpassing Eric Berry in 2007 and Bryce Brown in 2009.
The athleticism goes beyond the gridiron, however. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound athlete was also a star on the volleyball court. Recognized as one of the top volleyball players in the country, Iamaleava elected to put away the circular white ball for the brown pigskin, focusing on the sport that earned him a scholarship and large-scale name recognition at UT.
247Sports recruiting analyst Greg Biggins last evaluated Iamaleava in February of 2022.
“Iamaleava just continues to get better and his upside is as high as anyone in the ’23 class,” Biggins said. “He has an athletic 6-5 frame and is not just a talented quarterback but a gifted volleyball player as well. He’s a natural leader with a high compete level and a great off-the-field work ethic. There is not a throw on the field he can’t make. … He has a chance to be a very special player at the next level and beyond.”
Shoes to fill
While the evaluation came in high school, it is now time for Iamaleava to take over an SEC program. After redshirting his true freshman year on campus, Iamaleava has shoes to fill as he takes the presumed starting role under head coach Josh Heupel.
Sitting behind recent NFL draft pick Joe Milton III, Iamaleava saw action in just four regular season games with one career start coming in the postseason. His lone starting action came against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Cheez-it Citrus Bowl, where he delivered 178 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. Completing 12-of-19 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown and rushing 15 times for 27 yards and three scores, the Polynesian ran away with MVP honors in the bowl game.
Praise from the inside
Biggins’ analysis provided that Iamaleava’s character is one that other players would gravitate towards, making him a future captain candidate. The praise has been nothing short of that for the second-year quarterback.
“Nico is so mature for his age,” center Cooper Mays said. “He’s a younger guy, but he doesn’t act like that. … We just have to be really communicative. Kind of the whole offense in general, but especially with me and the quarterback, you have to talk a lot and kind of pick each other’s brain. He tries to see how I’m seeing things, and I’m trying to see how he sees things.”
Heupel’s offense is notorious for being out of the ordinary, which creates a learning curve for quarterbacks. The curve, however, has been flattened for Iamaleava.
“Nico’s got a really good command of what we’re doing offensively,” Heupel said. “We’ve seen that throughout this offseason, but really in his development from last fall too. He’s got great comfort. There’s a lot that goes into our quarterback play from protection, could be changing the protection. In our run game, there’s a lot of things that go into it. That’s the RPO tags, it’s a loaded box, it’s all those things, so he’s got great command of what we’re doing.”
Deeper down, running backs coach De’Rail Sims is pleased with how Iamaleava is able to handle situations.
“I’m very impressed with him,” Sims said. “The way he goes out there and commands the whole entire offense, he doesn’t get flustered when things break down a little bit, he doesn’t get flustered, so you see the leadership qualities about him. You see the arm talent. The different arm angles that he’s able to get the ball out, the way he’s able to present the ball down the field. When he escapes the pocket as well, he’s dangerous from a running standpoint as well. I think he, holistically, is a really good person and a really good player as well.”
On the offensive side of the ball, Iamaleava’s receiving counterparts are continually building connections. Alabama transfer tight end Miles Kitselman has been working with Nico since he got to campus.
“Every day, Nico and I continue to grow, especially outside of the facility,” Kitselman said. “Obviously, as a tight end and a quarterback your connection is everything, and the stronger that connection is off the field, the stronger it is on the field. So, getting off the field with him and hanging out all the time has transferred to onto the field and is really starting to come together.”
Defensively, Iamaleava presents a challenge to his fellow teammates every day at practice. The standard phrase of “iron sharpens iron” stands true for Oregon State transfer corner Jermod McCoy.
“I feel like Nico is making me better,” McCoy said. “He is reading my eyes and I need to learn how to give a different look than what he thinks is coming. He’s definitely made me better.”
Coming off a 9-4 season with a bowl win, Tennessee is looking to get to heights they saw in 2022 — with aspirations further than that. The offense took a step back in 2023, but Iamaleava will step in with a large target placed on his back.
Iamaleava will get his first taste of SEC football on Sept. 21 against Oklahoma but will get to see the likes of Chattanooga, NC State and Kent State before his first action in conference play.
