Unveiling the Leadership Potential of Tennessee's QB
The Arrival of Nico Iamaleava
Nico Iamaleava arrived at Tennessee with great fanfare. Despite being a 6-foot-6 Southern Californian with tremendous potential, those close to him knew him to be extremely low-key by nature. In a room, he often remained the quietest person. But he understood the importance of a quarterback speaking up. Over the years, he has grown significantly from being a true freshman backup to a redshirt freshman starter. His presence has been felt throughout the program.Tennessee redshirt freshman QB Nico Iamaleava (Photo: Johnnie Izquierdo, Getty) has shown great promise. His ability to handle different situations and communicate effectively has been evident. He is not the typical loud and rah-rah quarterback, but his leadership qualities are slowly emerging.
The Coach's Perspective
Coach Josh Heupel, a former All-American, national champion and Heisman Trophy finalist, has a deep understanding of the responsibilities placed on starting quarterbacks. He emphasized that leadership takes time and that Nico has been great in one-on-one situations from the start. He has grown in communicating with the wideouts and the offensive line.Heupel said, "As a young player, everybody wants the quarterback to be the leader immediately. Smart, young quarterbacks understand that there's a growth and an evolution to it. Nico's been great in one-on-one situations from the time that he got here, communicating with wideouts. He grew into communicating and challenging the five guys in front of him [on the offensive line], but now you can feel as he's started to play, you can feel his presence in everything that we're doing every single day."
On and Off the Field Performance
Iamaleava's early-season play against lesser opponents generated a lot of hype. But in SEC play, the Tennessee offense faced some frustrations. However, his play quietly improved down the stretch. He has thrown 12 touchdown passes and only one interception since Oct. 19 and has added nearly 400 yards and four more scores on the ground.His two seasons of playing 17 games have given him solid career stats. He has completed nearly two-thirds of his passes for 2,826 yards, 21 touchdowns and five interceptions. His ability to generate plays with his legs has also been a key aspect of his game.
Evolving into a Leader
In his own way, Iamaleava has gradually become a more central figure in leading the team. He showcases his Samoan heritage with necklaces and sometimes pairs them with a cowboy hat, showing his ability to adapt and understand his role.He said he wore the hat "for my QBs" as all the other quarterbacks on the roster are from Tennessee, Georgia or the Carolinas. But many other position groups loved it. His ability to connect with his teammates off the field has been a big part of his leadership.
This weekend's game in Columbus will be a big test for Iamaleava. But with his growth and development, the Vols seem confident in following him. As Coach Heupel said, "Nico's got a great understanding of, man, you've got to be with the guys. You're not one of the guys when you're the quarterback, but you've got to be with the guys. You see him at the hotel on Friday nights, he's eating dinner with the offensive linemen, he's with the defensive linemen. He does a great job of kind of getting out of his quarterback group, or just the offensive unit, and developing relationships with those guys. That's a big part of leadership. Those guys having a relationship with you, understanding that you care about them, allows you to lead them."