Tennessee coach Josh Heupel confidently said that quarterback Nico Iamaleava would be available for the Georgia game shortly after the redshirt freshman was held out of the second half of the Vols’ 33-14 win over Mississippi State.
“We anticipate having him ready for next week,” Heupel said. “Precautionary measure at halftime. I feel like we’ll be ready to roll next Saturday.”
That good news for the No. 7 Vols who will travel to Athens on Saturday to take on No. 3 Georgia, which lost to Ole Miss 28-10 on Saturday before the Vols kicked off against the Bulldogs. Tennessee backup quarterback Gaston Moore finished the game, completing five of eight passes for 38 yards.
“Good to see him go operate the way that we know he can,” Heupel said of Moore. “Was a smart decision maker, aggressive when it was time, controlled everything from clock, play calls, checks, (he) did it. Did a really good job.
“When the guys found out he was going in…they were excited for him and they believe in him, so they went out and and played the way they needed to to make his job easier for him.”
The Vols were devastated by a quarterback injury in 2022 when former Vol Hendon Hooker went down with a knee injury against South Carolina in November. However, that team was dependent on its passing game. This year’s Vols are better equipped to handle a disruption at quarterback considering the Vols have an elite defense and an offense that can run the football consistently.
“It changes the way you’re forced to play a little bit, in particular on third downs,” Heupel said, “but Gaston did a really good job in all of it.”
Iamaleava appeared to be on the verge of playing his best game against an SEC opponent before he left the game at halftime. He completed eight of 13 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns before heading to the sideline for good. The Vols scored on a touchdown on their opening drive for the first time since playing Kent State on Sept. 14.
“Good to go score,” Heupel said. “There’s a lot left out there for us, but played hard, continue to play smarter through the course of it, so awesome.”
The news on Iamaleava’s health is even more awesome than the Vols seemingly hitting his stride offensively before being injured.
