Tennessee football makes highlight play on Day 1 of Fall Camp

Tennessee football kicked off Fall Camp on Wednesday with its rebuilt and reloaded its offense for the 2024 season. Josh Heupel has brought in new weapons through the recruiting trail and transfer portal to assist redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava. 

Nico is one of the most hyped quarterbacks coming into the 2024 season, and there are high expectations in and outside of Knoxville. Most of his appearances in 2023 were on cleanup duty, so Tennessee fans didn't get to see him show off his arm too often. 

As a true freshman, he appeared in five games, including the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, where he led the Vols to a 35-0 win over Iowa. Nico finished his freshman season with 314 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and three rushing touchdowns. 

One of those additions is Chris Brazzell, former Tulane wide receiver, who transferred to the Vols in December. He finished the 2023 season with 711 receiving yards and five touchdowns, immediately making himself one of the best receivers and deep threats in the transfer portal. 

Brazzell will look to take his game to the next level as he will now face SEC secondaries this year. He's starting on the right track, making a highlight play on day one of Fall Camp. Nico showed off his arm strength and found Brazzell in the endzone. 

This play immediately excited Vols fans, who got the first look at potentially a popular QB-WR duo in Nico and Brazzell. If Nico can live up to some of the hype with the playmakers surrounding him, the Vols could be in for another double-digit win season. 

Heupel has led the Tennessee football program to 27 wins over the past three seasons, including 20 wins over the past two years. The Vols have had one season with double-digit wins, but 2024 could see the Vols win ten or more games for the second time in three seasons if Heupel can connect all of the dots on both sides of the ball with all of the new faces.