Nico Iamaleava couldn’t have asked for a better way to officially kick off his career with the Tennessee Volunteers. With this year’s starter, Joe Milton III, sitting out the Citrus Bowl after declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft, Iamaleava was thrust into the spotlight as a true freshman. A five-star quarterback recruit, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel trusted Iamaleava with the bowl game start against a generally very good Iowa defense — and the true freshman delivered and more.
Tennessee has picked up some threats of its own. Chris Brazzell is one of many threats that they added during the first portion of the portal season, as he announced back on December 21st that he would be going to Tennessee. He is an All-American freshman and put together a great season at Tulane. His stats were 44 receptions for 711 yards and five touchdowns. Tennessee also added the number-one tight end in the transfer portal Holden Stars from Notre Dame. Staes had 15 catches for 176 yards and four touchdowns for the Fighting Irish. They also recruited well, bringing in five-star Mike Matthews and four-star Braylon Staley. The wide receiver room as a whole will look a bit different, but it will also look extremely dominant.
