Nico Iamaleava is coming off a solid freshman season on Rocky Top. He started all 13 games for the Vols, totaling 2,616 passing yards and 19 touchdowns.
His efforts helped lead the Vols to ten wins and its first College Football Playoff appearance since the postseason format's initial inception in 2014.
While his stats look impressive, especially for a freshman in the SEC, On3 Sports' Andy Staples doesn't give Nico the respect he deserves in national quarterback rankings.
Staples' rankings were built based on "veteran QBs hitting their strides and young ones who showed incredible flashes in 2024."
Nico showed plenty of incredible flashes last year, but Staples still excluded him from his top ten college quarterback rankings, placing him as an "honorable mention" alongside Illinois' Luke Altmyer, Baylor's Sawyer Robertson, and SMU's Kevin Jennings.
Instead, Staples' top ten is headlined by Florida quarterback DJ Lagway at No. 1, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers at No. 2, and Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik at No. 3.
The remainder of the top ten includes Texas' Arch Manning at No. 4, LSU's Garrett Nussmeier at No. 5, Oklahoma's John Mateer at No. 6, Penn State's Drew Allar at No. 7, Arizona State's Sam Leavitt at No. 8, Duke's Darian Mensah at No. 9, and Miami's Carson Beck at No. 10.
While an argument can be made that some or most of these quarterbacks are better than Nico, there is no doubt in my mind that Nico is better than some of the names on this list.
Some pretty big questions surround each of the top three quarterbacks on this list, making it difficult to understand. Also, Arch at No. 4? If Steve Sarkisian had gone with Arch in the CFP, who knows what kind of noise the Longhorns could have made last year.
Regardless, Nico is already being doubted and disrespected ahead of the Vols' conclusion of spring camp. With a favorable schedule on tap, this year has to be a breakout year for Nico and the Vols.
If Nico can continue to grow and develop with the same consistency he has since arriving on campus, the Vols' offense could be dangerous this Fall.