Nico Iamaleava injury update: Tennessee QB in concussion protocol ahead of critical Georgia game, per report

The injury to Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava may be more serious than was believed as the Volunteers prepare for a road game against Georgia this weekend.

What we know as Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava is dealing with an injury ahead of the Georgia game. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is in concussion protocol and dealing with a head injury after leaving last week’s victory against Mississippi State, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

That marks a notable update to the injury situation surrounding Iamaleava after he was unable to return for the second half of that game, and as the Vols prepare to play at Georgia this week.

Iamaleava was able to dress and did practice with the team on Tuesday, but his availability for this weekend’s critical rivalry game remains undetermined, according to the report.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has remained publicly confident that Iamaleava will be able to start for the Volunteers against Georgia despite the injury, and said that he pulled the quarterback from the second half of last week’s game as a precautionary measure.

Reports around Iamaleava’s health come amid speculation from Fox Sports’ Chris Fallica, who quoted sources that said the quarterback is dealing with a “bad concussion,” and that it’s a possibility he won’t be able to play this weekend.

“I have heard that it was a bad concussion, and people that I’ve spoken to do not believe that he is going to play,” Fallica told UGASports.com.

“We’ll see what happens. Josh Heupel certainly offered a different tune, as you would expect him to do early in the week to probably just have Georgia prepare as if Nico is going to play, have the College Football Playoff selection committee prepare to rank them as if they’re going to have their starting quarterback for this game.”

Iamaleava was 8 of 13 passing for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns before leaving last week’s game with the injury, when he took a hard hit and fell on his right side onto the turf.

Tennessee comes into this week at the No. 7 position in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, and its game against No. 12 Georgia will heavily influence the playoff picture going forward.

Georgia is at two losses, and could potentially fall out of playoff contention altogether with a loss, while the 8-1 Volunteers enter the weekend at first place in the SEC standings.

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