Tennessee Football: Nicholaus Iamaleava will lead Vols back to relevance

Tennessee football won a huge recruiting battle for five-star quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava in the class of 2023 and he’s the future of the program.

Josh Heupel’s offense was explosive last season, averaging about 475 yards per game, and the impact of that breakout season for Tennessee football is already being felt.

The Volunteers picked up a huge name in the 2023 recruiting class as five-star quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava committed on Monday after being pursued by a wealth of top programs. He chose the Volunteers just three weeks after an unofficial visit and two weeks after receiving an offer from Billy Napier and rival Florida.

Iamaleava vaults Tennessee’s 2023 class to 10th in the country and No. 3 in the SEC as he joins fellow top-100 prospect in tight end Ethan Davis.

This is Tennessee’s highest-rated quarterback commit in decades and he’s going to be the future of this program and the guy who turns the Volunteers back into perennial contenders — as long as he lives up to the hype.

Iamaleava could lead Tennessee football back to national relevance

Tennessee fans have been hoping for that program-changing quarterback to lead the program back to national relevance and they just got it in Iamaleava.

The five-star is ranked the No. 3 overall recruit in the class of 2023 and the third-best quarterback as well, according to 247Sports. He’s going to be the Vols’ future and if he lives up to his potential, he’s going to be special. Greg Biggins of 247Sports even compared him to former Heisman winner Marcus Mariota and said he has the look of a future first-round NFL draft pick.

Iamaleava has the size at 6-foot-5 and 195 pounds and the skillset to be one of the best young quarterbacks in college football and potentially win the starting job right away in 2023.

If you’re a Tennessee fan, you have to be pumped about the future.