Vols Set to Make Statement Against NC State
Photo by Cole Moore/Rocky Top Insider
By Jon Reed
The entire college media world has been buzzing this week over Nico Iamaleava’s record-breaking performance against UTC.
From former rival players like Aaron Murray and David Pollack to the second best college football coach of this millennium Urban Meyer, seemingly everyone had something to say about the Tennessee Tribal Chief.
(Please note that Urban Meyer should still be considered an elite college football mind. It is not fair to let the Jacksonville trainwreck tarnish his college legacy. Also, how much do you think he hates that one person that videoed him trying to get his swerve on at the bar with that young but legal lady?)
Last week before the UTC game, I crowned Nico Iamaleava a top 2 quarterback in the country. I feel like I need to apologize for underselling him. He’s the best quarterback in the country.
Haters will point it out was “just UTC.”
Sure, it’s easy to be disgusted by the media lovefest and dismiss Nico’s brilliant debut because it was just against an FCS team. Technically, they aren’t wrong. Realistically, however, the haters fall into two categories. They are either battered Vol fans terrified to fall in love again or members of an opposing fanbase, almost assuredly Georgia, that are trying to convince themselves that a monster isn’t on their front porch ready to kick down their door.
(It’s truly remarkable how sensitive Georgia fans are. They’re on top of the college football world, yet they can’t shake the feeling of being losers. You know that person in your life that was always kind of a dweeb growing up but went on to be really successful and make a lot of money but still can’t shake being a dweeb? That’s Georgia. Yeah, man, congrats on all of the trophies and money and big house and attractive spouse and all of that… still no one wants to hang out with you.)
The 2022 Tennessee Volunteers weren’t ready to challenge Georgia or compete for a national championship. The 2024 team is. They belong in the inner-circle of the championship conversation.
For the first time in a long time, Tennessee can hold up in the trenches with the elite on both sides of the ball. The offensive line is led by a Preason All-American fifth year Senior. The front 7 on defense is led by a Preseason All-American and odds-on favorite to be the first defensive player taken in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The skill position players showed flashes of greatness. The secondary still has some legit question marks but who cares? Just simply score points on offense and sack the opposing quarterback.
You’ve heard and read me wax poetic about Nico Freako aka 8-Ball aka The Prince aka The Tennessee Tribal Chief for damn near a year by now. You may have thought I was crazy. That I was out of my mind talking about a guy who hadn’t really even started a game as if he was the choosen one. Then, the entire college football media brigade caught up.
Now, I’m telling you that the discussion coming out of Saturday’s game against North Carolina State will not just be about Iamaleava. Don’t get me wrong. He’s going to have 400 total yards and 3 TDs and leave Charlotte as the Heisman frontrunner.
Still, the story on Saturday night and Sunday morning will be about the Tennessee Volunteer team as a whole.
Everyone will project them into the playoffs. Some of the smart people will label them as Georgia’s biggest threat. Josh Heupel’s offense will be the most feared unit in the country after amassing 600+ total yards. The Wolfpack will feel “Fingerpoke of Doom” levels of shame.
Vols hang fifty and win by at least three touchdowns.
(Please listen to/watch FSS- FanRun Sports Sunday with Jon Reed and Houston Kress at 10am wherever you consume your FanRun audio.)