Spring ball is here for the Tennessee Football team and people are quite excited to see what Josh Heupel and his players can get done over the next few weeks. It goes without saying, but plenty of eyes are going to be on quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
What will he be able to get done in Year 2 as the starting quarterback for UT? That's what people can't wait to find out. Iamaleava impressed last fall, but there were surely some ups and downs. So, what does Heupel want to see him improve on moving forward?
Josh Heupel is ready to see Nico Iamaleave take steps forward in 2025
"Yeah, command and control of what we're doing offensively," Heupel said. "(Be) better with his eyes. It's a fundamental position to be accurate with the football. Leadership. It's the checklist of playing the quarterback position - all of those things. He's got a chance to continue to get better. Like a lot of what he did (last season), there's some areas that I was just talking about that he can be better at."
Heupel didn't hold back there and it's now on his young signal-caller to deliver and turn heads throughout the spring practices. Nico was a joy to watch in 2024, but there were indeed some ups and downs for him last season. Particularly, he had issues throwing the deep ball.
He was able to clean things up late in the season, which was a positive. Now, he's going to have a new-look offense to work with, as plenty of speedsters left the program via the transfer portal, and SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson is off to the NFL.
Despite that, Iamaleava has all the tools to not only be one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC, but in the country as well. Heupel is confident in his QB and the fanbase knows the kind of potential he has. This spring, he'll have a great chance to gel with his new teammates and build confidence leading up to fall camp too.