Tennessee Vols redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava had a chippy run-in with Vanderbilt Commodores cornerback Kolbey Taylor in UT’s 36-23 win against VU in the regular season-finale for both teams.
After throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Miles Kitselman, Iamaleava and Taylor got in each other’s faces a bit.
Nico showed his elite competitiveness in that moment, similar to some moments that Vols fans saw from quarterback Hendon Hooker during Tennessee’s memorable 2022 season.
Vols starting center Cooper Mays was asked about that show of emotion from Iamaleava this week during an appearance on Off the Hook Sports. Mays left no doubt that he’s a fan of seeing that kind of response from Iamaleava.
“I love it, man,” said Mays when asked about Iamaleava’s encounter with Taylor. “It really makes you fired up to protect somebody and to play for somebody and do all these things we do as an O-line to see a little bit of, you know, just kind of be like us a little bit. You know what I’m saying?
“You’ve seen quarterbacks that kind of act soft and kind of play that role of quarterback and they just play the part. Like, they’ll get hit and just lay there and take a while to get up. And kind of make everyone look at them, like ‘oh my gosh, pitiful me’. But then you got guys like Nico, who when there’s 10 people pushing the pile, he’ll be the 11th guy to get in there and help. He’ll take off running and put his body on the line. And when you see a quarterback that operates like that, you’ve got no choice but to get in there and to fight with him. So I think it’s awesome.”
It’s clear that Iamaleava’s teammates have a lot of respect for the way he plays the game.
The former five-star recruit is playing his best football of the season at the right time. It feels like Iamaleava has some real momentum as the Vols head into the postseason.
This 12-team playoff is going to be wide open. Tennessee’s path to a championship won’t be easy, but they have a legitimate chance to end the season as the last team standing.
