1 week Ago
Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava is one of the brighter stories of the 2024 college football season. The former five-star phenom has seemingly made the most as a first-year starter in Knoxville and found himself in Heisman Trophy conversations headed into a Top 25 matchup in Week 4. Iamaleava's trip to Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the No.
15 Sooners was his first true road start and his first SEC game of his young career, a daunting challenge for any young signal-caller. Oklahoma's defense provided some issues that made Iamaleava look like the redshirt freshman he is at times. It was a reminder to the college football world of how difficult the position is at the highest level.
Iamaleava completed 13-of-21 passes for 194 yards with one touchdown. He also lost two fumbles and was sacked three times on the night. While these numbers don't stand out, there shouldn't be a concern for Tennessee fans, according to Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt.
© Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK Klatt expected some growing pains for Iamaleava considering the challenge of facing a Brent Vendables defense in a hostile environment. "I told you he was going to turn the ball over," Klatt said . "I told you that last week, and he did.
And now he's got that out of his system, I think that's one of the worst games he's going to play." Klatt went on to praise Tennessee's defense for its performance in the 25-15 win. The Vols did not give up a touchdown until the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.
Oklahoma totaled just 222 yards of total offense on the night. The Vols jumped undefeated Ole Miss for the No. 5 spot in the updated AP Poll following the win.
Iamaleava and company will be back in action on Oct. 5 at Arkansas (3-1). Related: Paul Finebaum Calls SEC Head Coach 'Disheveled And Confused' After Week 4 Loss Related: SEC Program Loses Starting Quarterback to Season Ending Injury in Week 4.
