Tennessee football's Nico Iamaleava sneaks into top 25 rankings

Tennessee football begins a new era with redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava under center. He will be Josh Heupel's third quarterback in four years since becoming the Tennessee head coach in 2021. 

Despite only being a redshirt freshman and getting limited playing time last season, Nico has brought a lot of hype with him as the man running the offense. Coaches, teammates, and fans are ready to see what he can do on the field, which comes with high expectations. 

247Sports writer and college football analyst Brad Crawford ranked the top 25 quarterbacks in college football, and Nico snuck in at No. 24 as the least experienced quarterback in this year's rankings. 

"No player inside the top 25 played fewer snaps than Iamaleava, so all receipts are welcome if Tennessee's former five-star signee fails to deliver," Crawford writes. "He should be a dynamic passer in Josh Heupel's multi-read looks, and if Tennessee's wide receiver talent steps up, there's no reason Iamaleava can't be one of the nation's most accurate."

As Crawford noted in his rankings, Nico threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns last season and rushed for 71 yards and three touchdowns. 

Heupel and the coaching staff have built the hype surrounding Nico as well. Heupel said they expect Nico to perform at a high level this season and has done a great job maturing throughout the offseason. 

Nico is slotted between USC's Miller Moss at No. 25, and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier at No. 23. Other notable players that made the list are NC State's Grayson McCall at No. 18, Alabama's Jalen Milroe at No. 4, Georgia's Carson Beck at No. 3, and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders sits at No. 1 heading into the season.