For much of last Saturday night's 42-17 loss at Ohio State in the College Football Playoff, bad was going to worse for the Tennessee Volunteers.
The Southeastern Conference's offensive player of the year, Vols running back Dylan Sampson, was sidelined after just two carries. An injury-riddled collection of receivers couldn't get any separation against the talented secondary of the Buckeyes, and Ohio State's defensive front was getting significant penetration at the expense of Tennessee's offensive line.
Ohio State's offense, even with a patched-up line, was having its way with Tennessee's defense, but there was Vols redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava doing everything he possibly could to keep the game competitive.
"The kid is going to lay it on the line and compete with everything that he's got," coach Josh Heupel said after Tennessee ended its 10-3 season, "and he did that tonight. There are some things that he would want back, whether that's a read or a throw, but he continued to play and fight.
"There were a lot of moving parts within our personnel around him, and when you're playing that position, you need to have the guys around you playing at a high level, too."
Tennessee had 70 offensive plays against the Buckeyes, and 51 of them were either an Iamaleava pass or an Iamaleava run. He would complete 14 of 31 attempts for 104 yards and rushed 20 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
Remove the four sacks he endured, and Iamaleava rushed 16 times for 82 yards and 5.1 yards per carry, but his gutsy effort transpired amid an unfulfilling result, and that was his postgame message.
"We've just got to hold ourselves to a higher standard and execute at a higher level," Iamaleava said. "I love the team we have. The way this game went was not the way we wanted it to go, and we'll use that as fuel and motivation during this offseason to really hit it."
From a statistical standpoint, the 6-foot-6, 215-pounder from Long Beach, California, was a middle-of-the-road SEC quarterback this season. Iamaleava's 201.2 passing yards per game ranked 10th in the league, and his efficiency rating of 145.34 placed him in a tie for seventh with Georgia's interception-prone Carson Beck.
Yet Iamaleava was a bottom-line performer, becoming the first freshman — true or redshirt — to guide Tennessee to 10 victories, and he only had five interceptions in 13 contests. He had the comfort of veterans all around him, but center Cooper Mays, right guard Javontez Spraggins, right tackle John Campbell Jr., and receivers Bru McCoy and Dont'e Thornton are out of eligibility.
Sampson could choose to bypass his senior year after his 1,491-yard rushing season, though this is a different era in which players can receive a larger name, image and likeness (NIL) deal compared to the salary of an NFL rookie who is a late-round draft pick or a free agent.
"I haven't really looked too far ahead yet," Iamaleava said. "I'm letting this one sting a little bit. Obviously we've got some guys coming back, so we'll just look to keep getting better in the offseason."
Sampson was the primary option for Tennessee's 2024 offense, but Iamaleava clearly progressed throughout the year and was at his best in the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt, when he racked up four touchdown passes in a 36-23 triumph that clinched a playoff berth. He was basically all the Vols had at Ohio State, and his ability to take shot after shot and come back for more had to have earned massive respect of those teammates who will be moving forward with him in 2025.
Iamaleava has plenty of admiration from those who are walking out the door.
"I guess you could say the sky is the limit for him," Mays said. "I've been adamant that I don't really know anything about playing quarterback. I don't know what's good or what's bad or anything, but I know that kid is a special kid and one of the most talented football players I've ever been around.
"His maturity at a young age is really impressive, too. When you mix all that stuff together, it always breeds a positive result. I know he's going to be great player."
Contact David Paschall at [email protected].