Tennessee coach Josh Heupel is always keeping a keen eye on his star quarterback. However, Heupel might not be looking at what you think when he’s focused on Nico Iamaleava. It isn’t necessarily Iamaleava’s passes that Heupel is judging.
“His body language, demeanor and composure leads you to believe that he’s going to go play the next play independently,” Heupel said during his weekly press conference on Monday when asked why he feels comfortable being aggressive even after a bad play by Iamaleava. “We don’t want to turn the ball over, would like a couple of those back, but one thing we learned about him is how he is going to respond to something that doesn’t go positive or doesn’t go his way. And he came back and played the next play independently and played it like the first play of the game.”
Heupel is referring to the interception that Iamaleava threw in the first half of the 51-10 win over North Carolina State. It looked like just an errant pass, which can happen to anyone. Later, the redshirt freshman also missed receiver Squirrel White on an out route in the red zone for what would have been a first down and possibly a touchdown. Still, Heupel stayed aggressive – thanks to the way Iamaleava responded, which wasn’t a surprise. That, however, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement from Iamaleava and all the Vols as they prepare for more daunting foes.
“We have to be a little bit better within our fundamentals and technique at times, and that’s everybody,” Heupel said when asked about Iamaleava. “It’s running backs, the offensive line and our tight ends were involved in it as well. Couple of times he was a little deep in the pocket too, which applies pressure to the tackles. It’s all eleven operating as one. I made that point to our offense this morning, and that’s in everything we are doing.”
While Iamaleava finally looked human against the Wolfpack, there wasn’t anything schematically that seemed to startle the cool Californian. That’s saying something considering Iamaleava was playing an unusual defense that is based out of a 3-3 formation. New defensive look? Same ol’ Iamaleava.
“As a first-time starter, he’s done an elite job of understanding our concepts and getting us into a good play if we are not in one and taking advantage of what he is seeing from the second and third level off of those structures,” Heupel said. “He’s done a really good job as a decision-maker and controlling what we are doing.”
Iamaleava won’t be as challenged against Kent State, which may be one of the worst football teams in the nation. The Vols are already a 48-point favorite. The Golden Flashes didn’t look so fast in losses to Pittsburgh 55-24 and Saint Francis 23-17.