Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava named MVP of Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Tennessee freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava put on a show in the first start of his career on Monday against Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
Iamaleava accounted for four touchdowns to lead Tennessee to a 35-0 win over the Hawkeyes.
He impressed against Iowa’s top 5 defense and earned MVP honors for his performance. Nico Iamaleava finished the game 12 of 19 passing for 151 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 27 yards and three scores.
He spoke with ESPN after being named the MVP of the game.
“Man, it meant a lot, man, just to have my whole family come out here and support me — to go to war with my brothers, man. Shoutout to the defense and my o-line and all the receivers for coming out with this W,” Nico Iamaleava said. “This belt belongs to the whole team. I really appreciate those guys coming through for me.”
Nico Iamaleava entered the bowl game with only 26 pass attempts on the season. He started in place of Hendon Hooker, who opted out of the game.
Iamaleava was the No. 1 overall player in the country in the class of 2023, according to the On3 Rankings.
He is clearly off to a good start early on in his college career.
“We’re trying to win a national championship and bring Tennessee back,” Nico Iamaleava said.
Nico Iamaleava calls dominant Citrus Bowl win ‘the start of our 2024 year’
Nico Iamaleava made a statement with his impressive performance against Iowa. He expected nothing else from himself in his first start.
“I think I’ve always had confidence in this team,” the star quarterback said. “I knew we was going to go out there and take care of business. I’m glad we came out with the win and got our seniors a ring and the bowl win, so I’m happy for that.”
Tennessee was dominant from start to finish, and while the defense deserves plenty of credit for holding Iowa scoreless and to just 173 total yards in the contest, Nico Iamaleava certainly did his part.
Iamaleava credited the Tennessee coaching staff with getting him ready to go. In fact, he credited head coach Josh Heupel, specifically, for being an example of what can happen when you listen to the coaches.
After all, Heupel was on a national championship winning team back in 2000 at Oklahoma.
What has that meant to Nico Iamaleava?
“Everything, man. Since I’ve got here I’ve gotten nothing but love from the coaching staff,” he said. “Really the culture here has changed and I’m happy to be a part of it. It’s the start of our 2024 year, so going into it I think we’ve got a good mindset.”