Former No. 1 overall recruiting prospect Nico Iamaleava threw the first touchdown of his Tennessee career on Saturday against UConn.
With Tennessee up 49-3 early in the third quarter, the Vols’ coaching staff made the switch to quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The Tennessee freshman did a nice job of advancing the Vols’ offense down the field using both his arm and his legs at different points in the drive.
Iamaleava capped off the drive with a 19-yard pass to tight end McCallan Castles who rumbled his way into the endzone. Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium popped with excitement as the fans in the crowd praised the quarterback of the Vols’ future.
the first of many
Nico ➡️ Castles ➡️ Checkerboards
🟧⬜️🟧⬜️ pic.twitter.com/rMiYVkaxcK— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) November 4, 2023
More from RTI: Jaylen Wright, Ramel Keyton, Squirrel White Find Massive 50+ Yard Touchdowns
Here’s another angle of the play.
🚨 NICO'S FIRST TOUCHDOWN 🚨 pic.twitter.com/gPFF9u7aGM
— gmannVOLS (@gmannVOLS) November 4, 2023
Iamaleava went 3-for-5 for 44 yards and a touchdown on his first game drive during the third quarter. Iamaleava also added in 25 yards on one rush during the drive.
While it’s still early and he only has five passing attempts this game (at the time of this publication), Iamaleava looked composed as he conducted Josh Heupel’s offense. The freshman quarterback did sail one pass over the head of Dee Williams on the sideline but it wasn’t a drive-ending mistake or anything of the sort.
This story will be updated as the game continues to roll on.
No. 17 Tennessee leads UConn 56-3 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
