KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s presence and experience in his third spring on campus make it clear who Tennessee’s unequivocal leader is in 2025.
The 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore and the Volunteers went through their first shoulder pads’ practice this spring on Wednesday at Haslam Field. The 21-period workout saw early enrollees don shoulder pads for the first time with multiple team periods.
Iamaleava, offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, quarterback Jake Merklinger and transfer offensive linemen Sam Pendleton (Notre Dame) and Wendell Moe Jr. (Arizona) met with the media following Wednesday’s practice. Last fall, Iamaleava became the first UT signal caller to win 10 games since 2003, and he did in his first season as a starter.
Iamaleava’s vocal leadership continues to grow following the departure of veteran players in Cooper Mays, Dylan Sampson and Bru McCoy.
“Absolutely, he’s never scared of the spotlight,” Halzle said. “It’s not now picking your time, it is like now it is your time. It’s your time to put yourself out there and be a little bit vulnerable in front of the team and everything that comes with that because if you are going to step out there, then you have to be doing everything right off the field as well.”
“When it comes to letting the whole offense and defense, the whole team, hear your voice, I think that’s been the biggest thing for me,” Iamaleava said. “Just stepping out of my shell. I wasn’t very comfortable speaking in front of large crowds and stuff like that, but I have taken that next step. That’s something I’m continuing to work on.”
Both Halzle and Iamaleava discussed the emphasis of executing explosive plays at a higher clip this fall. The Vols still ranked third in the SEC last year in 50-plus yard pass plays with seven.
“I think for all of us, an offense is hitting the big plays when they present themselves,” Halzle said. “It is hard in this league to get big plays and when they present themselves, you have to make them. You are never going to bat one thousand. You are not going to hit 100 percent, but we have to hit those at a higher clip this year.”
Tennessee will hold meetings Thursday before going through its final practice prior to spring break Friday.
On how Nico Iamaleava’s leadership continues to grow…
“One hundred percent. That has been a big part of what we have talked about. Everyone knows who he is as a player and athlete on the field. He is an elite player. The challenge this year is, ‘you have that we know about that, let’s take a step off the field; you’re the one that is going to have be the uniting voice.’ Without Cooper Mays, without Dylan Sampson, with no Bru McCoy in the building anymore, a guy like him can step in and really take it over and lead it his way. He can’t be fake. You can’t be something you are not, but you do have to be willing to step out, step in front of the team and address guys and clean things up, especially when things are not right.”
On the biggest jump Jake Merklinger has taken this offseason…
“First of all, going through your first spring as a freshman, your first fall camp as a freshman, you are drinking from a firehose right from the rip. He has a different feel about himself out on the field. He’s not pressing. He’s calm. You can see it in the pocket. When your feet are calm, your eyes are calm in the pocket, you can drive the ball all over the field. He has had a really good start to camp here. Really happy with where he is at. He is really focused on cleaning up his fundamentals. All that has translated to pretty high quarterback play out on the field right now.”
On what Star Thomas brings to the running back group…
“Physical runner. Tons of experience. We were young. We went from being old in that room to being young, guys without a ton of game experience. He’s got a bunch of that. He’s played at a high level in a big conference. He is a guy that comes in, he’s not going to step into any moment that feels too big for him. He’s got a skill set that goes with and translates to the SEC. He is a real solid pickup for us.”
On if there was a time Nico Iamaleava took control last season…
“Absolutely, he’s never scared of the spotlight. He is not scared to step out, it’s just not his natural personality to be boisterous and jump out in front of a room, especially when you have guys that he respected in that position. There is no need to talk over Dylan Sampson, a Cooper Mays or a Bru McCoy when they are handling something they can handle it. That is the biggest jump. It’s not now picking your time, it is like now it is your time. Every single time, it is your time to be out there. It’s your time to put yourself out there and be a little bit vulnerable in front of the team and everything that comes with that because if you are going to step out there, then you have to be doing everything right off the field as well.”
On the highest priority for the offense this off-season…
I think for all of us, an offense is hitting the big plays when they present themselves. It is hard in this league to get big plays and when they present themselves, you have to make them. You are never going to bat one thousand. You are not going to hit 100 percent, but we have to hit those at a higher clip this year. From the offensive line, to quarterback, to wide out, to running back, to tight end, we all have to step up and have to make those plays.”
On Jake Merklinger being able to learn more from Nico Iamaleava this season…
“I think when you first get here at this time, you’re just trying to learn your job. You’re just trying to learn how to go on the field and call this play correctly and get your eyes in the right spot so you don’t look bad. That’s the classic freshman thing, not wanting to go out there and not do good. He’s (Jake Merklinger) done with that. He’s way past that now, so now he’s taking the grasp of, ‘What can I learn from how he plays and how he sees?’ They’re talking through the intricacies of a play. We have our base rules, but what about when this happens? How did you see that? You’re seeing a ton of conversations between those two after every play because the two of them have a very good working relationship together.”
On expediting the process to get young wide receivers ready for in-game action…
“There’s a little bit of both. No matter what a true freshman looks like going through spring and fall camp, you don’t really know what you have until you get under the lights in front of 100,000 people. Now, what’s somebody going to act like? Both of those guys are mature beyond the years that are here right now. They’re playing really well. They have the physical traits that hold up where they don’t feel like they’re going to get broken when they step on the field. Now, it’s our job to make sure that the learning process isn’t what keeps them off the field. They have to go show that against elite competition, they can go make plays. It ends up being that you know what to do, you can be in the right spot all the time, but if we throw the ball to you, are you going to go make that play? That’s what the young guys are pressing to make sure that they get themselves in that spot.”
On the offensive line room…
“I’ve been pleased with what I’ve seen so far. One of the best things that’s going on in that room is there is a ton of competition, but it’s healthy competition. It’s us all trying to work in the same direction, so the team is where it needs to be while everyone is fighting to get on the field. There are a bunch of mixing and matching with different guys who are going with the one’s, two’s and three’s every single day. It makes for a really fun camp when there’s that much competition, especially with that, because that’s what makes you go. They’ve done a really good job the first three days.”
On what he took away when he self-scouted the team from last year and the addition of Seth Littrell…
“The main thing we took away was that we left a lot out there on the field. We had a lot of opportunities to go make big plays, and for whatever reason, from us on the sideline to the guys on the field, it didn’t fall that way. That’s a big part of what we’ve talked about is hitting those deep balls and big crossing routes at a high clip. Getting a guy like Seth (Littrell) in here, whenever we have good football coaches in the building is a positive thing. An extra set of eyes that know what they’re looking at and have done it at a high level. Having those guys in the room and in the building is always a huge asset.”
On the next step for Mike Matthews and how he can help Nico Iamaleava…
“He flashed last year. He needs to go from a guy that’s flashing to a guy that we can consistently week in and week out target. It doesn’t matter who they have on him, he has the skill set and the ability to go win. For him, it’s been about working to be really technical. He’s getting his strength and weight up. He’s working at a really high level, which is allowing him to play at a really high level right now. That’s one of the things, like with Jake (Merklinger), your first year, a lot of times you’re just trying to learn and do the right thing. Now, you’re getting into the details of, ‘Now I know what route to run. How do I run this best versus this look and what are my adjustments?’ He can keep growing into a guy where between him and Nico they’re like, ‘Man, I know where my guy is going to be and I can give him the ball.'”
On what they like about Sam Pendleton and Wendell Moe Jr. at their other stops and how they can help the team…
“A bunch of guys that have played football. One at a high level, like you know the guys that they are playing against are real dudes. They are guys that I don’t know what all the stats are, but you didn’t see them give up pressures. You saw them in the run game being able to physically move people. They are guys who can step in right from the beginning if they end up on the field. They will look like they’re supposed to be out there on an SEC offensive line. They can think well, they can move well, they’ve got the size, the strength, they can hold up in the run game, they can hold up in the pass game, we can move bodies with them. They are two guys that allow you to be really versatile on the offensive line with the plays that you can call either way to both guys.”
On how they self-evaluate players in certain offensive positions with so many fresh faces and open competition at spring practice…
“I think a lot of that with the young guys, especially in the new face, whether a transfer or a freshman, you have to take the first couple of days with a grain of salt. Some guys will come flying out the gate because it’s the same install they’ve been doing for a week and now you put something new on them and maybe they slow down a little bit or vice versa. Guys are a little slower, then they hit the ground running. So with any of the new faces, with any of the new guys, the biggest thing is just keep getting them on the field, keep getting reps with them and you get a picture over time and not making a snapshot decision. After four days, it’s like, all right, that’s the guy. It’s like, man, you really don’t know the answer to that question. They still haven’t been out there in a scrimmage set with no coaches behind them with, no help where they are completely on their own. So with that, we just keep working through spring into summer into fall, and it’s going to kind of help shape what this unit looks like in the end.”
On what he thinks he has in freshman running back Daune Morris…
“I think you got a guy that’s got a chance to be a big play potential guy when he has the ball in his hand. He has shown flashes where he can put a foot in the ground and get north and south really quickly. He’s got high-end speed. He has really good wiggle. For him, it’s going to come down to, ‘We know what you can do with the ball in your hands, but are you going to protect the quarterback when the ball is not in your hands? Are you going to be in the right spot at the right time on passes and run plays? Are you going to follow the right track, so we’re not taking negatives on a play that should have hit inside and you bounced it?’ With young backs, a lot of times early, you see the flashes of what they can be, and for them getting on the field and contributing at a young age, it’s all the stuff that maybe you don’t see as much that we got to go do a good job in film evaluation or practice like, ‘Yeah, he’s ready’ or ‘He’s not quite there yet.'”
On center William Satterwhite’s level of play and the potential for him to earn a starting job…
“The big thing for him was just the size and strength of going from a freshman offensive lineman to now you’re in your second year in a program and going and holding up for 17 weeks on an SEC schedule. So that’s first and foremost with the guys up front. They have to be able to physically not just survive but physically dominate up front for 17 weeks. What gives you a ton of confidence about him is that he is a highly intelligent guy. He was a guy from the time he got here who knew the calls, knew where he was supposed to go and could make the adjustments. It didn’t seem like he was a true freshman out there mentally. Now that his physicality is matching up to that, you’re excited about what he can do. He’s replacing a guy like Cooper Mays out there, in that position where you couldn’t show Cooper something he hadn’t seen before. Now he hasn’t played that much ball, so I’m not saying it’s the same thing, but you feel like he can get himself into that same place.”
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava
On if he has spent time with Mike Matthews in the offseason and how he has progressed…
“I spent a lot of time with him when he came out to California and trained with me a little bit. I got to get some extra reps with him out there.”
On how Jake Merklinger has grown since this time last year…
“Jake’s grown tremendously. Really, my brother. I love Jake, he pushes me every day. Overall, as a player, he has improved just with the offense, getting the offense down and just being comfortable out there. I think he has improved a lot.”
On where he struggles as a leader and how he’s grown…
“Just for me, getting up in front of the whole team really. I got comfortable with speaking to my individual position groups and the offense. When it comes to letting the whole offense and defense, the whole team, hear your voice, I think that’s been the biggest thing for me. Just stepping out of my shell. I wasn’t very comfortable speaking in front of large crowds and stuff like that, but I have taken that next step. That’s something I’m continuing to work on.”
On how much he is pushing the wide receivers…
“I’ve taken that leadership role in trying to lead the young guys in the receiver room. Obviously, we have a lot of young guys in there. Chris Brazzell II is taking that next step and taking the lead in that receiver room. I asked him to watch over those young guys and make sure they’re ready to go when their number gets called. Collectively as a whole, us doing it together has been a big part for us this spring.”
On how Cooper Mays, Dylan Sampson and Bru McCoy have shaped him into a leader…
“They always told me to be myself. They know I am not the loudest. They know I am not the ‘ra-ra’ guy that gets everybody going, but at the same time, I need to be in certain instances. They told me to always be myself and not to be anyone else. ‘Don’t change yourself to try to portray this image of a good leader.’ Just be myself. I feel like I have been doing a good job of that.”
On stepping into a leadership role…
“I think last year was really for me time to go and for me just taking that starting role. With me being loud last year, I think I always had a lot of support with the vets like Coop (Cooper Mays) and those guys. This year, it has been a challenge for me to take that next big step. I got some help from you know guys like Miles (Kitselman), Ethan Davis and our whole leadership council have just helped me with that.”
On what his takeaway was from what he did last year and what his next step is for this year…
“I really say just comfortability when I’m going out there for each game. I think my preparation has to take the next step. I think just overall, just me being a player and me playing at the top of my game. I have to do a better job at that every game this year.”
On his preparation last season…
“I think just as a whole, there were several games we didn’t play at our full potential. I think it all starts in the offseason and just building rapport with the guys and holding guys accountable, just building that trust with the guys. I think it all starts now.”
On the part of his game he’s most confident in heading into the spring…
“For me, I think it’s just me knowing the offense well and playing fast. The more you get comfortable in the offense, it allows you to play free and I think that’s where I’m at right now.”
On where he is weight-wise and what his goal is…
“Weight-wise, I’m at 220 right now. I want to get up to 225-230 just to endure some of those hits. I think I’m in a good spot right now.”
On his weight at the end of last season…
“Last season, I was playing around 215.”
On what he needs to improve on to leave fewer plays on the field…
“I think it’s just timing with our receivers. There were a lot of miscues out there that happened last season, and I think that was us just not being on the same page. I think the more reps we get in practice and just keep practicing, at game time it’s easy.”
On how that California trip helped his and Mike Matthews’s connection…
“It’s been great. I think it definitely strengthened our bond. Him coming over to my house in California and seeing what it’s like in California strengthened our bond. Mike has a lot of potential, and I can’t wait to see him go out there and execute.”
On if he showed Mike Matthews around his hometown…
“I showed him a couple of places. We went out to eat, got smoothies and went to play a little bit of basketball.”
On if he knew Wendell Moe Jr. previously…
“Yeah, I know him well. I went to high school with Moe when he was a junior and I was a freshman. I ended up transferring out after my freshman year, so I never got to play with Moe. I always knew Moe and his whole family in high school. It’s crazy how it spins full circle and now we’re on the same team.”
On what excites him about Wendell Moe Jr…
“I always knew Moe as a dog. He’s a dog and he’s going to hit somebody. I’m glad we have him on our team and can’t wait to see him work too.”
On what it’s been like adding Amari Jefferson to the receiver room…
“It’s been great. He’s only been out with us just catching balls so far. He’s still coming back from a little bit of injury, but it’s been great to have Amari.”
On having a different center…
“Cooper (Mays) was one of the best to do it. Satt (William Satterwhite) is taking on that role, and I can’t wait to see him play. I think he’s been a great piece for us, even last year, just coming in as a freshman and taking a lot of reps in practice. I’ve always had a good rapport with Satt.
On if having a younger center requires more communication…
“Satt (William Satterwhite) knows his stuff and I’m not going to take anything away from Satt. I try to make sure that protections are right and make sure that we’re in the right position execute the play for sure.”
On what Mike Matthews has improved on…
“His ball skills. He has great ball skills and just him being out there more. Last year in spring ball, he was still coming back from a hamstring injury and stuff like that, so I didn’t get as many reps as I wanted. This year, Mike has taken that big step and has really shown up as a pro every day, ready to work.”
On Boo Carter catching balls at practice…
“He’s primarily a defensive back, but I love seeing Boo on offense during the little chances we do. I love seeing that man go to work.”
On if Boo Carter talks trash…
“Boo talks a lot. That’s since we played tournaments in high school. Boo always is going to talk for sure.”
On having Boo Carter’s personality at the receiver spot…
“It’s great. It rubs off on a lot of our guys because I wouldn’t say a lot of our guys are big talkers, so when he comes over, he brings that energy. It’s great having Boo.”
On Boo Carter playing offense and defense in high school…
“He was playing both. Both for me, so he was in the slot and then playing cornerback or safety. Boo has always been a great piece.”
On his early thoughts on Travis Smith Jr…
“That’s a big dude right there and he can run for sure. I saw him out there today make a couple of plays. He’s a young guy and when his number gets called, I think he’ll be ready for sure.”