Nico Iamaleava is making a strong early impression on Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel was able to grab the attention of the recruiting world this past cycle, landing Nico Iamaleava. Even before the 2023 five-star prospect was ranked as the On300‘s No. 1 overall player, he was in Knoxville joining the Vols for bowl practice. With the calendar now shifting to spring, Iamaleava’s potential is already being seen by Heupel.

Iamaleava may be a freshman but he is acting far from it. The work ethic required to be an elite quarterback is already there for the 18-year-old, who has a professional mindset according to his head coach. Combine the pure talent of Iamaleava and Huepel believes a special player has walked onto campus.

“Extremely talented,” Heupel said on his freshman quarterback to On3’s J.D. PicKell. “As talented as anyone I have been around in my coaching career. I love his competitive nature. It’s extremely important to him. He’s handled himself very professionally from the time that he has gotten here. I say that meaning, he’s typically one of the first guys in the building. Definitely the last to leave. He’s spending as much time as anybody in our program trying to learn and master his craft.”

Check out Josh Heupel’s full interview on The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell, premiering Thursday at 11 a.m. ET

Being coachable is also something Iamaleava has done to catch the eye of Heupel early on. There are only 15 practices plus a spring game to showcase improvement. When Iamaleava is able to absorb information from his coaches and improve even on the next rep, the daily growth becomes evident.

“His ability to understand his body position — coach it, teach it, and be able to take those coaching points and implement it into his game from rep to rep and day to day,” Heupel said. “Really impressed with what he has done up unto this point and feel like he’s going to continue to grow and be ready to go help us win football games.”

Winning football games have become the expectation for Tennessee with Heupel running the program. Last season was a breakout year that included a monstrous win over Alabama, double-digit regular season wins, and the school’s first BCS/New Year’s Six Bowl since the 2005 Cotton Bowl.

Playing in the Orange Bowl against Clemson, star quarterback Hendon Hooker was not able to play due to a torn ACL suffered earlier in the season against South Carolina. Joe Milton stepped in for the Vols and put on an offensive clinic, guiding them to a huge win.

While Milton will now be the presumed starter heading into the fall — his being inserted into the lineup serves as an example for Iamaleava. He knows “anything can happen” throughout the course of the year. If Heupel needs to insert the true freshman, being ready for the moment is crucial.

“I’m always looking to get better and be ready for this year,” Nico Iamaleava said. “It’s my job to go out there and compete and be ready when my number is called. Anything can happen this season. So really just being how Joe was to Hendon last year, really. Being prepared whenever my number’s called.”

There’s no better way to learn than by being thrown into the fire right away. As Brent Hubbs of VolQuest put it, “there’s no coddling” of Iamaleava from the Tennessee staff. The defense has been throwing different schemes and various looks at him early in spring practice.

“The result has been some mistakes as you would expect in the first week of practice, but as offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said last week, it’s a good thing for Iamaleava to see everything right out of the gate,” Hubbs said. “Iamaleava, who has added 10 pounds, has thrown the ball well which is not surprising based on what we saw him do during bowl practice. His biggest challenge now? According to Nico, it’s adjusting to the tempo of the offense which he said on Thursday is getting better with every practice.”

Fans will have the opportunity to see Iamaleava’s progression on April 15, with the Orange & White game taking place at Neyland Stadium. The quarterback will also be able to work on his comfort level within the offense in a game-like setting.

All part of the timeline Heupel sees for Nico Iamaleava becoming the next great Tennessee quarterback.