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Josh Heupel bought a dedication from his highest-ranked prospect since becoming a member of Tennessee as head coach when ESPN Junior 300 quarterback Nico Iamaleava introduced his dedication to the Vols.
Iamaleava is the No. 24 prospect within the 2023 class and the No. four quarterback. He is a 6-foot-6, 195-pound signal-caller from Lengthy Seashore Polytechnic Excessive Faculty in Lengthy Seashore, California.
“The household vibe, the ambiance, the tradition. Having (Iamaleava’s) mother on the go to to Tennessee actually solidified that she was in a position to expertise that,” Iamaleava’s father, Nicholaus, mentioned. “The Tennessee go to was actual palms on, the (coaches’) wives got here out and gave us good perception to this system. We all know we’re going to have the ability to go away him there and so they’re going to have the ability to look after him.”
Being so extremely ranked, Iamaleava had affords from almost each main program within the nation, and he listed his ultimate 5 colleges as Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Tennessee and Oregon. He’s the second ESPN Jr. 300 commit within the 2023 class, together with tight finish Ethan Davis, and he’s the primary quarterback ranked within the prime 300 for Heupel and offensive coordinator Alex Golesh.
The employees added four-star Tayven Jackson within the 2022 class, however noticed Harrison Bailey and Brian Maurer switch out. The employees has 2021 starter Hendon Hooker returning in 2022, in addition to backup Joe Milton. Hooker threw for two,945 yards, 31 touchdowns and three interceptions final season and solidified himself because the starter after transferring from Virginia Tech and beginning the season as Milton’s backup.
Hooker’s success, and the previous success Heupel has seen at earlier stops, performed an enormous think about Iamaleava’s resolution to select Tennessee.
“This resolution, due to what they’ve executed with all of the quarterbacks they’d earlier than them, simply coming in seeing the numbers that Hooker had versus the earlier years,” Nicholaus Iamaleava mentioned. “They’ve a breakdown of each quarterback that begins when he first got here in and the way they checked out season finish. So the event half that they showcase, together with all their quarterbacks, that performed an enormous half as a result of we all know he’ll be developed.”
Iamaleava will give the teaching employees a superb possibility at quarterback after this season to interchange Hooker. His dedication offers Tennessee the highest-ranked quarterback this system has landed since ESPN began its rankings in 2006.
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