Nico Iamaleava excited all of Vol nation with his performance in the first half of Tennessee’s Cheez-It Citrus Bowl matchup against Iowa.
Iamaleava completed seven-of-13 passing attempts for 94 yards while adding 23 rushing yards despite being sacked four times. The freshman quarterback also added both of Tennessee’s first half touchdowns with his legs on a 19-yard quarterback draw and a three-yard quarterback power.
The freshman quarterback ended his first career start completing 12-of-19 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown while rushing 15 times for 28 yards and three touchdowns.
The performance not only impressed Tennessee fans but former Vol quarterback Hendon Hooker who shared this post on X (formerly Twitter) calling Iamaleava (No. 8) the chosen one.
🎱 is The Chosen One
— Hendon Hooker (@henhook2) January 1, 2024
Iamaleava’s performance earned him Citrus Bowl MVP honors and tied a program record for most rushing touchdowns in a bowl game alongside Josh Dobbs and James “Little Man” Stewart.
“Huge, man,” Iamaleava said about Hooker’s post following the win. “I think Hendon and Joe, when I first got here, they welcomed me with open arms, man. Yeah, it feels good to get love from guys like that, guys that set this university at the standard it is right now.”
Hooker is the best Volunteer quarterback in the last 20 years turning in two strong seasons under Josh Heupel after transferring from Virginia Tech to Tennessee ahead of the 2021 season.
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In 2021, Hooker completed 68% of his passes for 2,945 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and three interceptions in 12 games. He also added 620 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
The dual-threat quarterback upped the anti in his final collegiate season, completing 69% of his passes for 3,135 yards, 27 touchdowns and two interceptions to go along with 430 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns in 10.5 games before tearing his ACL.
Hooker’s storied Tennessee career included wins over Alabama, LSU and Florida. The North Carolina native was a third round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft landing with the Detroit Lions. Hooker, who’s spent most of the season recovering from a torn ACL, was active for the first time this season two weeks ago.
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Our “new” QB showed what he could do behind An “All-american” defense. All around great day for our team and fans guys,..