It’s tough to see Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava in post-game press conferences and not be concerned about his confidence after another sub-par performance in the Vols’ win over Florida on Saturday.
The victory against Florida hasn’t masked the fact that Iamaleava has struggled at times. He missed some open, deep passes against the Gators and threw an interception. He seemed confused at times at Arkansas before eventually running out of bounds with no time left on the clock. He also was stripped of the ball and fumbled twice against Oklahoma in the Vols’ victory against the Sooners.
Is Tennessee coach Josh Heupel concerned about his much-hyped redshirt freshman quarterback’s confidence? Well, Heupel didn’t exactly provide a specific response when asked that very question.
“I think for every player, not just a quarterback, you’ve heard me say this, you’ve got to play the next play independently (and) the next week independently,” Heupel said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “…Nico’s played well. He hasn’t played his best football the last couple of weeks, so prepare and practice and go play the next game, the next play with an aggressive mentality. There’s a lot of things that he did well in the football game, too, so just got to continue to grow.”
When asked about Iamaleava’s mindset, particularly that he might start pressing amidst his struggles, Heupel said, “I don’t have concerns about him pressing. He’s prideful. It matters to him. He wants to perform well, not for himself, but for the guys around him.
“When you play quarterback, it’s not going to be perfect. Everybody wants it to be. It wasn’t for (former Vol quarterback) Hendon Hooker (or) any of the guys that we’ve had.”
Heupel offered up the proper mindset for Iamaleava as Tennessee prepares to play Alabama on Saturday at 3:30 EST in Neyland Stadium.
“Being resilient, coming back and playing with great confidence, which he will and poise will lead you to the plays that are going to present themselves,” Heupel said.
Iamaleava has gone from a Heisman Trophy candidate to the No. 8 quarterback in the SEC, per his quarterback ranking. He has also looked surprisingly uncertain at times in the pocket, which hasn’t been nearly secure enough with the Vols’ struggles at offensive tackle.
“He’s absolutely right on some of them,” Heupel said. “He’s got an opportunity to deliver a ball. Can the pocket be cleaner while he’s trying to deliver it? Yeah…there’s times the o-line is doing a really good job, and we’re not doing a good job at running back or vice versa.
“For Nico, being calm, poised, being in a great platform to be able to deliver the football on time is important, but a part of his game and part of what we need is when it’s not right down the football field to be able to scramble and make plays.”
Heupel said he isn’t concerned about Iamaleava’s confidence, but he certainly seems concerned about the quarterback’s decision making in key situations when poor pass protection creeps up.
