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Nico Iamaleava put on a starring performance in his first Neyland Stadium start in Tennessee football’s season opener Saturday.
Behind Iamaleava and his three-touchdown first half, the No. 15 Vols (1-0) smashed Chattanooga (0-1) 69-3 to open Josh Heupel’s fourth season.
Here are three overreactions from Tennessee’s blowout win:
Nico Iamaleava will win a Heisman Trophy at Tennessee
If you came to Neyland Stadium or tuned in to see Iamaleava’s debut this season, you got what you wanted. Iamaleava was electric and decisive in his first home start and second career start.
He looked less like a quarterback playing in his sixth college game and more like a future Heisman Trophy winner. The redshirt freshman quarterback entered Saturday with Heisman odds of +1500, according to BetMGM. Those will go up. They might go way up and make him one of the frontrunners for the postseason award in early September.
If Saturday was any sign of what is to come, Iamaleava will stay in the mix. The former five-star recruit diced the Chattanooga defense in his most impressive passing display yet. He completed his first 10 passes on his way to 314 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. He looked every bit of the heralded prospect the Vols signed in the 2023 class.
Dylan Sampson will lead the SEC in touchdowns
Dylan Sampson has made a case as the best Week 1 running back in college football history. The junior had a three-touchdown game Saturday after having a four-touchdown game in UT’s season-opening win against Virginia in 2023.
Sampson, who is the featured back now after being a backup behind Jaylen Wright last season, is going to get a lot of scoring opportunities. Heupel’s offense isn’t only about QBs and passing yards, after all. That benefits Sampson, who had seven touchdowns as a sophomore.
The bar to hit is usually about 15 to lead…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/overreacting-nico-iamaleavas-season-debut-200518309.html
Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Publish date : 2024-08-31 20:05:18
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