Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel Praises Nico Iamaleava at SEC Media Days

Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel offers high praise for quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel turns to quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) after their post game interview after winning the Citrus Bowl NCAA College football game on Monday, January 1, 2024 in Orlando, Fla. against Iowa. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY

Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel offers high praise for quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

SEC Media Days got kicked off on Monday and the Tennessee Volunteers took the podium on day two on Tuesday. Every head coach from the conference along with several players will have a chance to speak to the media this week in Dallas, Texas. On Tuesday, Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel took the podium and addressed a variety of topics.

The thing that I've loved about Nico is that he wanted to earn the respect of his teammates. You do that through your actions and words, and he has," said Heupel.

The head ball coach had even more to say about the former highly ranked quarterback recruit.

"The bowl experience for him, I think, was a great experience where you feel the pressure, the ownership of having to know that you’re going to be the guy. I thought throughout the course of last season, he continued to grow in his consistency and how he prepared. He’s been urgent in everything that he’s done since he got back after the bowl game. Has had a great summer. Continuing to build timing and rhythm with our wide receivers, get on the same page before we get into training camp, and obviously excited to see him grow throughout the course of training camp.”

2024 SEC Media Days Schedule 

Monday, July 15th

• Brian Kelly (LSU)
• Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss)
• Shane Beamer (South Carolina)
• Clarke Lea (Vanderbilt)

Tuesday, July 16th

• Kirby Smart (Georgia)
• Eliah Drinkwitz (Missouri)
• Brent Venables (Oklahoma)
• Josh Heupel (Tennessee)

Wednesday, July 17th

• Kalen DeBoer (Alabama)
• Billy Napier (Florida)
• Jeff Lebby (Mississippi State)
• Steve Sarkisian

Thursday, July 18th

• Sam Pittman (Arkansas)
• Hugh Freeze (Auburn)
• Mark Stoops (Kentucky)
• Texas A&M (Mike Elko)

Other Tennessee News:

• Tony Vitello Turnaround Nothing Short of Brilliant for Tennessee Baseball
• Jaylen Williams Cuts Recruitment to Four Schools
• Tennessee Vols Football Could Make Playoff According to CFB Data Model

Join the Community:

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @VolunteerCountry & follow us on Twitter at @VCountryFN.