Nico Iamaleava is the QB the Vols Have Been Waiting For!

you watched this Tennessee game Zach what were your high level Impressions yeah I mean uh obviously that first half it it just I don't it didn't take long to feel different than last season and we' talked about the Austin P game how close that was but even at other times last season when Tennessee would still win these blowout games the explosiveness from the offense wasn't always there it was there in the Run game quite a bit you know we saw some huge runs from Jaylen Wright and Dylan Samson last season you saw the occasional big pass play but but it was there you know there was a lot of screen passes on the perimeter a lot of just very vanilla Concepts that that Tennessee was getting into it it was taking longer to snap the ball between plays a lot of looking to the sideline for checks to to see what what play you need to get into and immediately with Nico on Saturday you could see the tempo uh total control of the offense I mean he constantly he knew exactly what to do where to go with the ball that to me was the first thing that I think stood out was just how in control he was of everything uh and then secondly I think we all kind of had this moment at the same time at the exact same point in the game it was a couple of over the-middle passes that Nico made on the same drive maybe even back-to-back plays and that first one I told yall in the group text that we're in we're talking about Tennessee stuff the first one I I audibly gasped when I saw the pass because it was that I mean it was that good like I don't it was it was you hate to overhype it because it's not what I want to do here it's just in that moment you're like oh that's what that's what this team was missing last season that's what it looked better coming out of his hand than it looked coming out of henden hooker's hand and we know how great henden hooker was in this offense and in that moment yeah it's Chattanooga but those throws man that that was what Joe Milton just couldn't consistently do last season and you know he gave it his best effort he did all he could he's he's you know he's in New England now trying to iron out those you know kinks in his delivery or whatever causes him to be off Target at times but man it just he just looks so fluid so smooth you got to keep it going uh but it was everything you could have hoped that it could have been against Chattanooga one half you know setting a record for passing yards in a half not just having to go score in the Red Zone with your legs F you know Finding Ethan Davis down there you know hooking up with Dante Thorton it was I you I can understand why everybody's so excited walking out of that game even though the the caveat there is that okay yeah it was just Chattanooga that's what you're supposed to do you know that that right there it's they they outperformed our score predition I think we had what like 523 553 I mean that's and we thought we might be high outscored it by 17 points I mean they blew the doors off this thing and Nico just looks every bit of the real deal is is he perfect no he's not I I think the craziest part out of all this is that he still has Room to Grow I mean you saw in that that two-minute warning or whatever there I guess the two-minute warning is like trademarked they have to call it the two-minute timeout or something oh really I think so I didn't pick up on that oh yeah uh we we were talking about that we were like why do they call it the two-minute timeout like that's it's two-minute warning but regardless um another cool little thing with the NFL and their incredibly litigious protection of everything do uh but um you saw in that final two minutes you know it wasn't smooth as butter and then he had those moments where he wasn't absolutely perfect and he still has room to grow and I think you're going to see probably more of it against NC State when they have a little bit more of a powerful defense you'll there'll be moments where it's not perfect and he still looked this good that like it's crazy this man had played one full Collegiate football game he is what just now probably 19 maybe 20 if he's like an older ish student and I mean he just looked cool calm collected never shaken even even when plays broke down he he knew when to run Mr Jones says here quick decisions and knowing when to run was huge and his accuracy as you were saying Zack was absolutely ridiculous Eric says he started eight for eight for 97 yards and two touchdowns it's just the way that he shined in this game was unlike anything that we've seen around here it's he's he is technically I mean he's he's as old as a sophomore but he's technically retro freshman and this year I I don't want to speak out of school this year I think he's gonna be better than hen hooker was and his fifth year of college like and hen and hooker had one of the great Seasons as a Tennessee quarterback ever until he got hurt I mean he he had a Transcendent season that took Tennessee to Heights they hadn't been at in 20 years and and I think Nico's probably going be better than that this year like that's what you saw he had now he has to do it in a couple of different ways where that are big that we haven't seen yet under significant pressure obviously that's going to happen against your Alabama your georgas um some of these other some of the other teams on the schedule don't look like pushovers um Oklahoma um and then in crunch time the the two-minute drill you can't have a screwed up two-minute drill in those big moments like he had in this UTC game that can't happen you have to be that clutch guy uh and and so we that is still yet to be seen But the pure talent there is it's there and more he Glides around the field he's elusive smart quick decision maker his release is incredibly quick his his throws are incredibly accurate and it's just everything everybody's been saying like oh he's perfect for the Josh hyp system most of the teams in America would trade in their quarterback for this kid like let's be clear how special the dude is that Tennessee has right now I mean I I'll ask you this in the entire landscape of college football that you've seen so far after this first weekend what quarterback would you trade Nico for in America that you've watched yeah I don't I don't I don't think there's one that really sticks out because I think I think with Dylan Gabriel you know was a Josh hle coach quarterback you saw a lot of in that Oregon game that offense looked like kind of like Tennessee's last year in a since lot of screen passes and everything was completions under 5 10 uh 10 yards it's yeah I mean and and plus obviously in context he's just he's so hand inand with Josh hyp and Joey Hosley on everything they do that's that's why this is really magical it's the talent and then the scheme all of that coming together it's kind of The Perfect Storm we think it it will be and then the season does kind of get off to a a good start the way the schedule lays out Eric there in the comments mentions it you play Chattanooga which is almost like a a preseason game right you get you get to kind of do what we saw Saturday they played a ton of people I mean that's the most people I think I've ever seen Tennessee playing the game which is usually a complaint that we have football is back and what better way to bet on the big games than on Zen Sports the new Sportsbook in Tennessee that's bringing sports betting to a whole new level when you sign up for Zen Sports you'll automatically earn up to a $100 no danger first wager if your first bet loses you'll be reimbursed for the amount of your bet up to $100 and for the football season Zen Sports is launching a revamped betting platform for both college football and the NFL and what's better with our new look Zin Sports will be offering daily promotions including odds boost same game parlays no danger Wagers and much more Zin Sports also offers a one-of-a-kind VIP Rewards program and if you qualify you can earn monthly 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power four Talent this is a team that was kind of like a Darkhorse playoff team I expect them to improve a decent amount from week one to week two I'm not you know Dave Dorne has he's not been a you know a championship caliber coach out there but he usually has them in a eight nine 10 win season they'll be better than what we saw against Western but you go play them in a neutral site where I'm sure they'll be plenty of NC State fans we know there'll be plenty of Tennessee fans you get Kent State at home so you get these three games where you kind of get Challenge and that NC State game then you play another team to kind of at home to you know sharpen everything and and get everything the way you want it and then you go on the road and play Oklahoma it's so much better than having to play Oklahoma like this week for example so I think that part you couldn't ask for this season to start a better way I don't think it is a a very nice setup to to get him into the flow of things but yeah David says it here Oklahoma will tell us the truth absolutely but I I do think that you can make declarative statements after what we have seen the talent is there now does that translate straight A to B to him being a legendary quarterback no because you again you don't know how he's going to handle pressure situations flat out we do not know Iowa had one of the better uh defenses in college football last year and he shredded them now you were playing a little bit of a handicapped version of of their full-blown defense from last year but still I mean that that defense that he played in in Iowa last year was far better than what he saw uh against UTC this weekend and he laid 35 on those boys so um well there might have been a defensive scoring there I don't remember everything James Pierce had the pitch suit oh that's right yeah yeah yeah so hey still yeah you know put put up pretty nice numbers against an Iowa defense that was super Stout and I I I I am willing to say the pure talent with what he showed in the way that he fits into this offense he he has the ability to do absolutely everything you need him to do period he like I said he he has more ability now as a red shirt freshman than hinden hooker did and hinden hooker in his fifth year in college and henen hooker had that legendary season but hinden hooker obviously we know hindsight 2020 hinden hooker had that that clutch Gene he had that into the Alabama game unfazed let's go make a play it doesn't matter that'll does Nico have that we don't know and and that is yet to be seen but it it was just pretty crazy you know Kevin says here was happy to see the chemistry with Nico AB Brew how about Brew McCoy I I don't want to say he looked like a brand new dude but looking very well just like an outside linebacker yeser and and wearing the number five the hidden hooker number um which he said he he he uh it's always been a number that he loved right he grew up loving Reggie Bush he's from Southern California went to USC you know before he came to Tennessee he said he wanted to give the the hinden hooker number a year to breathe you know coming right off that 2022 season which is understandable hey that's I I respect that um but it was it was just incredibly exciting all the way around everything that you saw as far as that goes because I N Nico was great and then you go to Brazzle looks really fun Brew looked great Dante Thorton looked great and made some awesome plays looks like he's already kind of back in his stride now this is tough I I I feel like a lot of the analysis that I've heard with Nico playing so well has turned into a little bit of a Joe Milton bashing activity a little bit out of necessity because you do have to make that comparison and just go like oh they didn't have this this year and now with Nico I think they will but yeah realistically just the difference that you can tell in the catchability of the balls that are getting put out there for these guys like how much of a relief does that have to be if you're if you're a Dante thoron who kind of struggled at times last season was coming into his own a little bit got injured you want to look as good as possible I mean he's just floating balls out there on a cloud to you just putting them right where they need to be that's got to be so nice because he it makes everybody look good when you have a guy that can do that and that H if if he can do that against NC State obviously the hype's going to get taken to up 10 notches and if he could do it against Oklahoma on the road in Norman in these like we're going to know in four weeks in exactly where we're at with this dude and the potential is incredibly exciting yeah that I think you said it a couple weeks ago that Oklahoma game is kind of like that LSU game in 2022 that's where I mean that was the moment when everyone kind of set up and was like oh okay yeah Tennessee they they might be pretty good they went to Baton Rouge and handled LSU I think that'll definitely probably be the case if they start 4-0 and and beat it just beat Oklahoma out there really you don't have to be a blowout that'd be great low stress wins are are fantastic especially in football but that that'll definitely be where the the story really begins I guess for this team if they're going to do something special as far as the the Milton talk mentioned in that real quick it's unfort like we know who Joe Milton was talented guy you know it is what it is at this point the guy loveed Tennessee though you have to appreciate what he did for three years he's a big part of the culture that is at Tennessee right now he he could have wrecked that culture in 2022 I mean he really could have sitting behind hinden hooker after initially winning the job uh seeing all the praise that hooker got and you never really saw I don't know if inside maybe it got to him over uh but on the outside what you saw at games and and what everybody has said that you saw behind the scenes he's a key reason that that that that culture is where it is so the fact that he got the start last last season I think yeah I think that probably bought Josh Josh hypo a lot of equity with a lot of players for a long time because of how loyal he was to Milton and you know what he went nine and4 we haven't had a lot of nine and4 Seasons that that we've seen around Tennessee the last 20 years only that's it was like the fourth time they've won nine games since Philip former left you got to appreciate that you know it wasn't the season that everybody wanted but you had some nice wins there you got revenge on South Carolina you beat Texas A&M you beat Kentucky on the road uh got you to the Citrus bow and then graciously stepped aside he didn't have to do that uh to let Nico start that game to get a head start on this season I think uh Milton should always be a fan favorite for what he did for the University yeah he was a very solid just kind of I don't know I a tweener like just sort of a bridge a bridge guy um to get you to where you needed to be here with with Nico and I obviously I feel like I'm I'm I'm blowing up Nico's spot here you know I just really showering him with accolades again we got to see it against these topnotch opponents but you it's all going to come in time but my entire point is just the talent at a base level the ability to take you where you want to go we have unequivocal proofit in there period will he harness it and put it out there against your Oklahoma your Alabama's your Georgia we'll see that that is still what has to happen here but is that talent in there in contained within Nico's body yes he can do that so I I I you know if you're asking me I think we're in for something pretty special here