Tennessee freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava makes college debut
Following a decisive score by Tennessee to open up a 42-10 lead on Virginia, the Volunteers had a chance to give star freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava his official college debut.
Iamaleava entered the game against the Cavaliers with 13:01 remaining in the fourth quarter, after starting quarterback Joe Milton had accounted for four total touchdowns.
The Tennessee freshman’s debut will be highly anticipated by the fans.
The former five-star prospect was rated as the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class. He was also ranked as the No. 3 quarterback in the class and the No. 1 overall player in the state of California.
Nico Iamaleava is also one of the college football players with the biggest NIL valuation. He checks in at No. 16 on the NIL100, ranking No. 11 in college football. His total NIL valuation is currently $1.1 million.
Tennessee vs. Virginia scoring recap
Tennessee took an early lead in the ACC vs. SEC showdown, scoring on the game’s opening drive. The Volunteers rang up eight plays for 62 yards and capped the drive with a pass from Joe Milton to running back Dylan Sampson on a swing for a touchdown on fourth-and-5.
But despite being a bit overmatched in the trenches, particularly with Tennessee’s defensive line overpowering Virginia’s offensive line, the Cavaliers put up a solid fight.
For a long time it was just a 7-0 lead.
“First of all defensively thought unbelievable performance by them in the first half,” Heupel said. “They were on the wrong side of the 50 a bunch off of some execution issues on special teams and on offense. Thought they handled themselves extremely well in the sudden change situations.”
Tennessee’s second scoring drive came with a terrific highlight.
After dropping a beautiful pass to Ramel Keyton for a 41-yard gain, Milton marched the Volunteers into the red zone.
On a quarterback keeper off the left side on first-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Milton found himself out in space with Virginia defender Jonas Sanker. Seemingly undecided on which way to cut, Milton instead just threw out a powerful stiff-arm and planted Sanker’s face into the turf.
The Volunteers finished off the scoring drive when Sampson ran in from 3 yards out, making the score 14-0 Tennessee.
Tennessee tacked on another touchdown just before the half when Milton plunged in from 1 yard out, making the score 21-3 at the half. Tennessee added two early third-quarter touchdowns as the offense came to life, with Milton scoring on another 1-yard run and then Sampson scoring from 2 yards out, making it 35-3.
Virginia answered with its first touchdown late in the third quarter following an eight-play, 75-yard drive. The drive ended in a 17-yard Perris Jones touchdown run, making it 35-10.
Milton threw for his second touchdown, an 11-yard pass to Jacob Warren, to make it 42-10.