After a dominant takedown of Chattanooga 69-3 in the season opener, the college football world is taking notice of a player that Tennessee fans have known for quite some time. The sports talk arena is even working hard to correctly pronounce his last name, ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va. That’s Nico Iamaleava for those living under a rock.
What Vol fans already know is that this kid is special. And Iamaleava wasted no time showing off those incredible skills in the first half of Saturday’s game, going 22-of-28 for 314 yards and three touchdowns. Those 314 passing yards are the most by a Vols’ quarterback in a single half… ever.
It’s extremely early in the season and Chattanooga wasn’t a strong opponent, but that isn’t stopping people from putting Future Heisman Trophy Winner after that complicated surname. Someone who knows a little bit about the pressure that comes with being a successful collegiate quarterback is #VFL Heath Shuler. He, like so many, has been observing the budding career of Iamaleava. He also has a unique “in” to the QB room as his son Navy is a walk-on quarterback at the University of Tennessee.
“One of the things that I’ve asked Navy many times, ‘Hey, how’s Nico doing?’” Shuler told Off the Hook Sports in a recent interview. “And the first thing they said, ‘Dad, he is such a great kid.’ He’s well grounded. I think family’s extremely important to him. He surrounds himself with his family and people that really care about him.
“I think that really goes to the way Coach Heupel and (QB) Coach (Joey) Halzle… Joey’s done a great job (with) those quarterbacks and prepared them to be able to play,” Shuler continued. “And just that mentorship that I think Coach Halzle puts in that quarterback room is more valuable than you would ever suspect when it comes to just X’s and O’s.”
And of course, all the talent in the world will only get you so far if you do not have the right coaching to shape and form those skills. But if you ask Shuler, a good coach does more than just instruct – he instills the belief in his players that they can be the very best each and every Saturday.
“It’s one thing to coach, but actually to be a mentor,” Shuler explained. “And I think (Halzle) is very similar to the way David Cutcliffe (former Tennessee quarterbacks coach) was for me and (former Tennessee QBs) Peyton (Manning) and Tee Martin and a lot of other quarterbacks that played at Tennessee… to be able to have that mentor in the room… it’s more than just a coach, that’s someone that you can count on. I think that probably gives Nico that confidence and the ability to go in and make plays and be more mature than you would expect him to be this early in his career.”
As mentioned, the redshirt freshman Iamaleava is already being discussed as a possible Heisman candidate. Shuler himself has been in that position before. In 1993, Shuler was not only named the SEC player of the year, but finished second in the Heisman voting. That year he racked up an impressive 2,354 passing yards and 25 touchdowns. How, though, do you block out the Heisman noise and focus on the game to be played?
“There were some rumbles,” Shuler recalled of that 1993 season. “You’d watch ESPN and they’d have the Heisman watch. But it really came down to when I was sitting in (UT Sports Information Director) Bud Ford’s office signing autographs for people… and he says, ‘You know, you got a shot at this, don’t you?’ I said, ‘At what?’ I was kind of oblivious to what he was really talking about… It was one of those years that kind of in the back of your mind, you would think about it a little bit, but you really had to focus on the task at hand and the games and not let it interrupt or disrupt your ability to go out and perform.”
Could it be premature to start the Heisman whispers around Iamaleava? After all, he’s only played one game this season – and only half of the game at that. But Shuler is already convinced. It might be early September, but Shuler would encourage Heisman voters to cast their ballots for Nico. “Turn that baby in,” Shuler said. “Go ahead and turn it in right now.”
