Where Does Nico Iamaleava Stack Up Amongst SEC Quarterbacks?

Where Does Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava stack up amongst the rest of the SEC's quarterbacks?

Jan 1, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) greets fans after the game against Iowa Hawkeyes at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports / Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports

Where Does Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava stack up amongst the rest of the SEC's quarterbacks?

The SEC will feature some new faces at the quarterback position this season as several of them are now off to the NFL. Most notably, former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is no longer in college after a stellar Heisman-winning season but neither is former Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton. Nico Iamaleava will step into the starting role and the expectations for him are already high.

The former five-star quarterback started just one game for the Volunteers last season as a freshman in the bowl game against Iowa. In that game, he threw for a touchdown, zero interceptions and completed 63.2% of his passes. He may not have lit up the stat sheet but he displayed the necessary talent to be successful.

In regard to where Iamaleava stacks up amongst the rest of SEC quarterbacks, it's tough to say with just a small sample size, but also because the conference has quite a few players returning this season. For starters, Carson Beck at Georgia and Quinn Ewers at Texas are two names that are already running hot on NFL boards. Jaxson Dart at Ole Miss is a college veteran at this point and Missouri's Brady Cook as well. Even though he wasn't the starter last year Garrett Nussmeier has gotten some experience over the years at LSU and Florida's Graham Mertz came back after an impressive 2023 season.

For Volunteer fans, the question they should be asking is not where Iamaleava stands right now in the conference but where he will finish this season. If he can become one of the best quarterbacks in the conference this year with very little experience going into the year then things will be looking great for the program heading into the 2025 season. It will be a tough conference to shine in this year but that's what the Tennessee offense under Josh Heupel was made to do.

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