Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava carries most of the blame when his passes sail awry. That’s the nature of the position.
Sure, an educated eye can see a receiver ran a wrong route. And anyone can see a dropped pass, but, ultimately, it’s just easier to blame Iamaleava when the passing game isn’t in full-go.
That’s a bit shortsighted. Let’s keep in mind that slot receiver Squirrel White has been playing with a shoulder injury and there’s reason to think he shouldn’t even be on the field. Then, there’s wideout Bru McCoy’s hand injury, which certainly didn’t help him when he dropped what would have been a touchdown pass against Alabama. Just when it seemed he was going to be a superstar, receiver Dont’e Thornton has also limped to the sidelines.
The Vols seemingly answered that against Alabama with Chris Brazzell, who turned into Iamaleava’s go to-guy with a 55-yard reception and a diving touchdown catch. Iamaleava should send Brazzell a “thank you” text, because things were getting pretty tough on Iamaleava in his first season as a full-time starter.
“Looking at what Chris was able to do, I think it just bruised confidence and playing confident in this offense and being reactionary, not thinking too much is really important because the tempo we play at,” McCoy said. “So when you make a big play like that, it kind of just builds his confidence that every time you hit the field you’ve got the ability to make plays. How honed in on the game plan are you?
“If you know your stuff, you can just go out there and play free. So I think big plays like that just kind of feed into that level of confidence. For me coming here, it really was just like playing the first game and operating. And once you kind of get rolling and see how things work, it’s smooth.”
Despite the injuries, McCoy, who is widely considered the leaders of the receivers’ room, said he’s been pleased with what the Vols have gotten done, but isn’t content.
“Good with a lot of a lot of room to grow,” McCoy said when asked about his crew. “I think even after a big win, you come off and you assess the film and you just see how much you left out there.
“It’s almost like a bittersweet taste in your mouth (to have an open date),” McCoy said. “I think we’ve shown ourselves like, game after game, we can get open, we can create explosives.
“When is it going to click? That’s why, in this week of practice, it’s been really important to not let off the gas,” McCoy said. “Continue to grow because we know we can do it. I think we are playing at a high level. It’s just making things connect.”
And that’s not just on Iamaleava.
