Nico Iamaleava

Dynamic, dual-threat quarterback who enters his second season with the program and is poised to be the Vols’ starter in 2024 … Strong-armed signal caller with natural physical tools and leadership traits … Member of the team’s 2024 leadership council … Arrived at Tennessee as the No. 1 prep player in the country according to On3 for the Class of 2023 … Came to Knoxville in December 2022 and participated in 2022 Orange Bowl practices and then traveled to the bowl … Followed that up a year later with his first career start in leading the Vols to a 2024 Citrus Bowl victory in which he was named the MVP … Became the first UT true freshman QB to win a bowl game since Peyton Manning beat Virginia Tech in the 1994 Gator Bowl … Played in six career games and has made two starts … Also an honor student in the classroom.

Wowed in his first-ever start at Neyland Stadium, completing 22-of-28 pass attempts for a career-high 314 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of UT’s season-opening win vs. Chattanooga (8/31) … His 314 yards vs. the Mocs broke the school record for passing yards in a half, previously held by Tyler Bray who logged 313 in the first half against Troy on Nov. 3, 2012 ... His performance vs. Chattanooga marked the fourth 300-yard passing total in a half in Tennessee history … Opened the game vs. UTC 10-of-10 for 159 yards and two touchdowns, and led the Vols into the end zone on each of its first three drives of the game.

Served as the Vols’ backup quarterback for the regular season and earned a redshirt … Played in five games with one start … Finished the year completing 28-of-45 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions … Added 71 rushing yards on 20 carries with three scores … Thrust into his first start for Citrus Bowl vs. Iowa (1/1) and shined, leading the Vols to a 35-0 shutout victory in which he was named MVP … Accounted for 178 yards of total offense and four touchdowns against a stout Hawkeye defense … Completed 12-of-19 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown (18 yards), while rushing 15 times for 27 yards and three scores on the ground … Tied a Tennessee bowl record with three rushing scores, matching Joshua Dobbs in the 2016 Music City Bowl and James Stewart in the 1994 Gator Bowl … Saw his most extensive action of the regular season vs. Vanderbilt (11/25), completing 9 of his 12 pass attempts for 66 yards while also accounting for 15 rushing yards in the victory over the Commodores ... Orchestrated two productive drives in win vs. UConn (11/4), including an 8-play, 78-yard TD drive in the third quarter that was punctuated with a 19-yard TD pass to McCallan Castles, the first TD pass of his career ... Finished 5-of-9 passing for 86 yards and a TD and also had a 25-yard scamper to convert a third down in win over the Huskies ... Saw action on the final two drives of UT’s win over UTSA (9/23), but did not complete a pass ... Completed 2-of-3 pass attempts for 11 yards and added one rush for eight yards while leading one scoring drive in his collegiate debut during season-opening win vs. Virginia (9/2) … Did not play vs. Austin Peay, Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri and Georgia.

An elite quarterback ranked the No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2023 by On3 ... A consensus five-star prospect and early enrollee who participated in Orange Bowl practice with the Vols, attended the game and then shined in spring practice ... Tabbed the No. 2 overall prospect in the country and No. 2 quarterback by Rivals.com and 247Sports.com ... Named the 2022 Polynesian High School Player of the Year and was selected as the Offensive MVP of the Polynesian Bowl ... Helped lead Warren High School to a 9-2 record while throwing for 1,726 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior … Added 399 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground in 2022 … As a junior, tossed for 2,244 yards and 33 touchdowns on 162-of-272 passing, while adding 158 yards and three touchdowns on the ground … Guided Warren to an 8-1 record and a CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoff appearance in 2021 … Committed to Tennessee in March 2022 … Was widely considered one of the top volleyball players in the country … Played volleyball at Long Beach Poly as a freshman before transferring to Warren … Coached by Kevin Pearson.