Nico Iamaleava has committed to playing quarterback for Josh Heupel’s Tennessee football program beginning in 2023.
The Tennessee football program got a huge commitment on the recruiting trails Monday, as five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava will be playing for Josh Heupel’s Vols in 2023.
Iamaleava committed to Tennessee over the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Miami and Oregon. According to the 247Sports Composite, Iamaleava is the No. 7 player nationally in 2023, the No. 4 quarterback prospect and the No. 2 player from California. The Long Beach native had been tied to Tennessee for some time. This is an absolutely massive get for the Volunteers football program.
Though Alabama and Georgia loom large as annual rivals of Tennessee in the SEC, this commitment and eventual signing has the potential to be a total game-changer for the Volunteers.
Tennessee football: 5-star QB Nico Iamaleava commits to Vols for 2023
For Tennessee, this is fantastic news. It signifies to Vol Nation that the football program is serious about turning the corner under Heupel. The former Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback has a proven track record of developing talent. However, this is the first time he will have one of the best pure talents at the position since he has been a head coach. There are also implications elsewhere.
There are three quarterbacks in 2023 with higher ratings than Iamaleava: Arch Manning, Malachi Nelson and Dante Moore. Nelson is committed to USC, having flipped from Oklahoma once Lincoln Riley took over the Trojans. Moore is uncommitted, but the Detroit native is drawing a ton of interest up in Big Ten Country. LSU is also in the mix. And of course, there is Arch Manning…
Manning may be looking at Florida and LSU now after regime changes, but the core four in line to potentially get him are Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas. Though he will certainly be SEC-bound, it remains to be seen where the top overall recruit ends up committing to. Look for him to have a budding rivalry in the conference with the likes of the Volunteers’ newest five-star commit.
By landing Iamaleava, Tennessee is well on its way towards returning to national relevance.
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