Thankfully, it looks like the Tennessee Volunteers and Josh Heupel have avoided the worst-case scenario with star quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Late in the first half against Mississippi State, the former 5-star signee took a couple of big shots and he was clearly in pain.
However, countless eyebrows were raised when Iamaleava was nowhere to be seen for the start of the second half. Instead, it was Gaston Moore who led the offense out onto the field. Shortly after, ESPN reported that Iamaleava would be out for the rest of the game with an upper-body injury.
What?! People began to panic, but Heupel wasted no time in his postgame presser to clear things up. Per the Tennessee HC, Iamaleava left the game on Saturday night as a precaution. Not only that, but he fully expects his signal-caller to be ready to go to take on Georgia next weekend:
Josh Heupel on Nico Iamaleava injury:
— Adam Sparks (@AdamSparks) November 10, 2024
"Anticipate (Nico) will be ready for next week. Precautionary (decision) at halftime (to sit him out). He'll be ready next Saturday."
Josh Heupel says Nico Iamaleava will be good to go to face Georgia
Talk about a major sigh of relief for this team. During the press conference, a reporter quickly asked Heupel if it was a season-ending injury for his QB, which made Heupel smile. Everyone wanted to know how Nico was feeling and the great news is that he's just a little banged up.
With the Bulldogs and Kirby Smart on the schedule next, there are going to be major College Football Playoff implications for that matchup in Athens. Georgia is coming off a rough loss to Ole Miss, while the Vols had no problem taking down Mississippi State at Neyland Stadium.
Moore did more than enough to help this team come out on top, but Iamaleava was looking brilliant before going down, tossing for two long touchdowns. While there was plenty of concern he'd be sidelined for a little while, we now know that won't be the case. He'll get some rest, but then it will be time to start prepping for Georgia.