Yeah, it was just UTC, but…
Photo by Cole Moore/Rocky Top Insider.
By Jon Reed
That was fun.
Tennessee fans had been waiting to see what the Nico Iamaleava Era would look like, and the first act didn’t disappoint. In just his second career start, and first inside Neyland Stadium and first non-exhibition, the redshirt freshman was imperturbable; in the only half he played, he broke Tennessee’s record for most passing yards in a half. And he made it look easy.
Almost too easy.
Yes, I know it was just the FCS’s UTC.
I don’t care. I don’t care if it was the Arizona Red Devils or drills against air. For 25 minutes Josh Heupel’s offense was back and better than ever, and his quarterback looked like a future Heisman trophy winner and the type of prospect that would induce NFL franchises into not trying so hard in the 2025 season.
After abandoning the middle of the field for pretty much all of 2023, Nico and his WRs excelled in it on Saturday.
He was a perfect 10/10 for 147 yards and 2TDs throwing between the numbers, hitting on 6 short tosses, 3 intermediate throws, and his only deep middle attempt. The highlight of the game offensively was the third touchdown drive where the Vols went 59 yards on two perfect passes across the middle to Brazzell II and Thornton Jr in 26 seconds.
Nico Iamaleava's passing chart against Chattanooga
Yeah, it was only UTC. I don’t care. Those two passes across the middle and the deep one that led Thornton Jr perfectly to the left sideline away from the safety in stride should excite every fan… and make them start making plans for important football in the middle of December.
Please take a moment and throw your 1s in the sky for your Tennessee Tribal Chief.
Other observations
Tyre West is a dog. This team’s best unit is their defensive line, and his forced fumble on UTC’s first drive set the tone for the game and hopefully for the season.
The game plan was to rotate a lot of bodies and get everyone reps, and Tennessee succeeded. Boo Carter and Jalen McMurray were the only two Volunteer defenders to play 30+ snaps.
Speaking of, one of the main questions of the offseason was how the wide receiver rotation would shake out. The snap count for the big four names of the season had the following snap counts: Chris Brazzell II (54), Squirrel White (44), Bru McCoy (who looked much lighter) (41), and Donte Thornton Jr (17).
For the rest of the guys trying to break into the rotation, it was as follows: Kaleb Webb (33), Nathan Leacock (26), Dayton Sneed (26), Chas Nimrod (24), Trey Weary (17).
In total, 14 players caught passes.
Small Nitpicks
PFF’s grades showed that both OTs, Lance Heard (65.9) and John Campbell Jr (64.4), struggled a little. I’m not worried about that yet.
Josh Heupel blew a timeout on the first drive of the season as the team got ready to lineup for a 4th and 2. The stoppage blew dead a play that would’ve resulted in a easy pick up. Ultimately, there was no harm done as Tennessee picked it up anyway, but I want Josh to trust Nico to run the offense and manage the game. It seemed as coach agreed as he was seen tapping his chest and saying “my bad” as the team came off the field.
“Hey, man… good job” of the game
Shoutout to Nathan Leacock for making a great hustle play and chasing down UTC’s Kobe Joseph and keeping him out of the end zone after an INT. I hope coaches played that multiple times during their film breakdown and praised him. It was a championship culture type of play.
Vibe check for next week
Hammer the Vols -6.5. I expect the Tennessee offense to make a statement to the entire country on Saturday night on primetime television.