UPDATE: Tennessee coach Josh Heupel says that he anticipates quarterback Nico Iamaleava to be available to play against Georgia on Saturday in Athens, Ga.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava wasn’t perfect, but he certainly was good enough to lead the Vols to a one-sided win against Mississippi State on Saturday even though he only played half of the game.
No, Iamaleava wasn’t pulled because the game was out of hand, as has been the case previously under fourth-year Tennessee coach Josh Heupel. Iamaleava left at halftime and never returned due to a mysterious upper body injury.
Iamaleava was tackled and landed on his left shoulder towards the end of the first half, but didn’t show any signs of being injured when he made his way to the sideline. Iamaleava didn’t even return to the sideline during the second half.
The announcers of the game were even surprised when back-up quarterback Gaston Moore entered the game to start the second half. Moore finished the 33-14 win against Mississippi State by completing six of nine passes for 43 yards. There were clearly yards to be had against State’s hapless defense, which was evident by Iamaleava’s strong showing in the first half.
The redshirt freshman quarterback completed eight of 13 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns before being knocked out of the game. Fans groaned a bit when Iamaleava missed a wide-open deep pass to Bru McCoy, which could have been a touchdown. However, the 100,000-plus at Neyland Stadium weren’t downtrodden long. Iamaleava answered with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Squirrel White for the Vols’ first score of the game. Iamaleava wasn’t done.
Iamaleava, who still had some accuracy issues during his standout performance in the first half, under threw, but completed a 73-yard-yard touchdown pass to receiver Dont’e Thornton to give the Vols a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. He also looked razor sharp on a 17-yard pass to Thornton in the second quarter.
With the Bulldogs struggling on offense, the Vols could have been playing things safe by pulling Iamaleava at halftime. However, State made a run in the third quarter when they cut the Vols lead down to 23-14. No matter. Tennessee’s defense and running game was enough to keep State in check, even without the Vols’ star quarterback.
Iamaleava proved to be dangerous when he ran the football, picking up 22 timely yards on four carries before his last carry ended his night. It had been widely reported that Iamaleava liked to be hit to get into the flow of the game. However, getting hit comes with a risk, which resulted in Iamaleava being injured against the Bulldogs.
Earlier this season, contact in the pocket caused Iamaleava to be frustrated at times. One needed to only look to State’s offense to see what a frustrated quarterback looked like.
Bulldog signal-caller Michael Van Buren Jr., never looked comfortable behind a shaky offensive line. Iamaleava knows the feeling. Likewise, he struggled earlier this season with issues at offensive tackle.
Iamaleava has looked confident in the pocket since the halftime of the Alabama game, but his injury status has things looking bleak as the Vols are scheduled to play Georgia in Athens on Saturday.
Can Tennessee beat Georgia without Iamaleava? That seems like a stretch. However, the Vols will have a week to prepare with or without Iamaleava. What’s at stake? Plenty. Tennessee could not only win the SEC Championship this season, but is in line for a strong seed in the College Football Playoff.
That may all ride, literally, on Iamaleava’s shoulders.
