Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has passed every test he’s taken this season. The toughest exam lies ahead when the Vols take on Oklahoma on Saturday.
There won’t be a home crowd cheering for Iamaleava this week, nor a neutral crowd that cheers for both teams, as has been the case in the Vols’ matchup against Iowa in the Citrus Bowl or the mayo game against North Carolina State. For the first time, Tennessee’s Heisman Trophy candidate, who is still a redshirt freshman by the way, will face an SEC crowd hoping that he fails miserably when the No. 6 Vols take on the No. 15 Sooners at 7:30 EST on Saturday evening.
Given his youth and inexperience in such an arena, there should be cause for concern. After all, there is now plenty of video for coaches to study Iamaleava and his progress this season. Plus, there’s that crowd. Sure, Iamaleava has said he prefers playing on the road, but he must be referring to high school because he’s never played in an environment like he’ll face in Norman, Okla.
No matter. The Vols aren’t concerned.
“I’m not worried about Nico at all, talking about loud distractions and all that kind of stuff,” Tennessee tight end Miles Kitselman said. “The way Nico prepares himself and how confident he is in his play will take care of all that.”
Kitselman knows what SEC road games are all about. Even though he wasn’t a major participant in them, he saw plenty of big-time road game environments during his two seasons at Alabama.
Tennessee center Cooper Mays has also been a part of big-time SEC matchups on the road. As one of the leaders of Tennessee’s football team, he’s not expecting Iamaleava to suddenly try to be something he’s not. The Vols don’t need a fiery leader at the moment. They just need Iamaleava to be what he has been all season long.
“I would just say he’s steady and consistent,” Mays said on The Vol Report. “That’s really all you can ask out of somebody, especially his age. It’s really hard for an 18, 19-year-old kid to stand up in front of 22 and 23-year-olds that have been doing this for years and years and take control of that. And that’s kind of not really the guy he is. He’s not a rah-rah guy.
“He’s, just by nature, kind of more quiet and a humble kid. He’s been learning to kind of work through stuff like that, but, at the same time, he’s being all that we need out of him. That’s just the same guy every day. People respect that whether you’re loud or not about it.”
None of the Vols’ leaders expect Iamaleava to be a leader in his first season as a full-time starter. However, they expect him to make spectacular plays. Why? Because he’s already done so in his previous four starts as a Vol.
Mays has been perhaps most impressed with the touch that Iamaleava has shown when’s he’s in the game, especially his ability to drop passes in between opposing linebackers and defensive backs.
“A lot of the throws he makes, man, like especially over the middle where we’re on play action in the backfield and you got some linebackers to step up, but then they realize it’s a pass and they drop out,” Mays said. “Him having the touch to drop it over the linebackers over the middle. He’s got a lot of talent, so he’s doing some really cool stuff.”
Cool? Yes. Calm and collected. We’ll see.
