Josh Heupel wasn’t surprised at the first question from the media during his weekly Monday afternoon press conference.
No reporters in the room were surprised, either.
The first question of the day for Heupel was asking for an injury update on quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The Tennessee quarterback did not return to the field in the second half of Tennessee’s win last weekend against Mississippi State, but Heupel sounded optimistic in the immediate moments after the game.
That optimism continued on Monday.
“He was with us today. Had a really good day,” Heupel said of Iamaleava after the Vols’ practice on Monday morning. “Feel like he’ll be in great shape for Saturday but you guys can monitor the report on Wednesday and track it through the week. But certainly feel like he’ll be in a good spot.”
The positive side of Heupel’s statement is that Iamaleava’s injury doesn’t appear to rule him out for an extended period. His status for Saturday’s game against Georgia is still unconfirmed but Heupel’s update on Monday indicates that a long-term injury might not be on the table. Heupel didn’t necessarily say that Iamaleava practiced on Monday, which still has some skeptical about his status.
The report that Heupel is referencing is the SEC’s new mandatory injury report. The injury report is first released on Wednesday night and is then updated each night until 90 minutes before kickoff on Saturday. We’ll know more on Iamaleava’s official injury designation once the first report comes out on Wednesday night.
Tennessee HC Josh Heupel with a positive update on Nico Iamaleava Monday:
He was with us today. Had a really good day. Feel like he’ll be in great shape for Saturday but you guys can monitor the report on Wednesday and track it through the week.
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 11, 2024
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Here’s what Heupel said of Nico Iamaleava’s status during his postgame press conference on Saturday night after the Miss. State game:
“We anticipate having him ready for next week. Precautionary measure at halftime. Feel like we’ll be ready to roll Saturday.”
Iamaleava was terrific for Tennessee with 174 passing yards and two touchdowns in the first half against Mississippi State but did not return to the field after the halftime break. Instead, it was backup veteran quarterback Gaston Moore leading the offense. Moore played the whole second half at quarterback and led Tennessee to secure the 33-14 win over its SEC foe on Saturday.
Gaston Moore finished the game with 38 yards on 5-of-8 passing.
It’s not clear which play Iamaleava suffered the injury on or whether it was a collection of plays late in the half. Either way, though, Iamaleava did not return to the field or the sideline for the second half.
Iamaleava took a big hit from the Bulldogs’ defense while rolling out on a pass attempt late in the half. That incompletion would close down that specific drive but Iamaleava did return to the field a few minutes later for the Vols’ final offensive drive in the first half. Iamaleava handed the ball off to Cam Seldon and completed a 21-yard pass to Squirrel White before Max Gilbert knocked through a field goal with time expiring.
That pass to White was the last time Iamaleava was seen on Saturday.
Prior to him not returning to the sideline, Iamaleava was putting up some of his best numbers in SEC play in the first half. The Vols’ redshirt freshman quarterback completed 8-of-13 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns for a season-high 224.7 passer rating. Iamaleava also broke off a few nice runs from the pocket as he totaled 22 rushing yards on four carries in the half.
While it does seem like Iamaleava could be good to go for Saturday, we’ll have to monitor the official injury report this week before making any official predictions. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more updates throughout the week.
