Given his ability, there’s no question that Tennessee quarterback has been a part of some blowouts, but 71-0 is something else.
Yet that’s what happened when the Vols lambasted Kent State on Saturday in Neyland Stadium. It was an epic beatdown as Iamaleava was pulled in the second quarter after Tennessee took a record-setting 37-0 lead in the first quarter.
“I’ve never been a part of that,” Iamaleava said. “I’ve been a part of blowouts. I’ve been out at halftime, but never like that.”
The Vols went into halftime with backup quarterback Gaston Moore leading the way and a 65-0 lead over the Golden Flashes. Iamaleava was happy with the performance, but certainly not ready to sit on his California haunches as the Vols prepare for a trip to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners on Saturday.
“I think there’s still a lot more room for improvement,” the redshirt freshman said. “I think that’s everyday, what we’re working for to get one-percent better. Anything that we can do to better our offense, whether it’s tempo or getting set, no penalties, no pre-snap penalties. There’s still a lot more improvement for us.
The Oklahoma game will be the first time that Iamaleava will play a true road game, although he played in the Citrus Bowl against Iowa and the Duke’s Mayo Classic against North Carolina State. Both were one-sided wins for the Vols. To get the same result against Oklahoma, Iamaleava isn’t going to change the way he scouts and evaluates the Sooners.
“I look at everybody the same,” Iamaleava said. “We’ve got our team. They’ve got their team. That’s the next opponent on our schedule. We look at every opponent the same so I’m not looking at this any other way.”
Iamaleava completed 10 of 16 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions and avoided a couple of pressures that could have resulted in a sack. Iamaleava pointed to an overall comprehension of the Vols’ offense as one aspect of his offseason improvement.
“I think just my command of the offense,” Iamaleava said. “I’ve got a better feel. The way that we operate the offense as a whole, I think I’ve got a better grasp of it.”
So much so that the Vols found a new weapon against Kent State. Backup freshman Mike Matthews, who was rated by some as a five-star prospect when he joined the Vols this season, caught two passes for 35 yards and a touchdown.
“I think we’ve always seen his big play ability in practice,” Iamaleava said. “It was good to see it carry over to the game. He’s always making tough, contested catches. It was good to see him shine tonight.”
Another Tennessee receiver also stepped up his game against Kent State, well statistically. Tulane transfer Chris Brazzell II caught his first touchdown pass after nearly hauling in a couple of scoring catches earlier this season. The odd thing is that Brazzell’s touchdown was supposed to be a free play, although it didn’t appear that a Golden Flash defender jumped offsides. Thinking as much, center Cooper Mays extinctively snapped the ball when he saw movement.
“It was really supposed to be a free play,” Iamaleava said. “We didn’t get them to jump. Coop thought they jumped so he snapped it. It was third-and-long. Him and Bru (McCoy) were the only options I had. I took it up top with Chris.”
Iamaleava said he was pleased to see Brazzell finally manage to get into the end zone in the Vols’ third game, a game in which nothing seemingly went wrong for Tennessee. Surely, things will be tougher next week against Oklahoma.
