If you are a Tennessee Vols football fan, things have been tough over the past few seasons to say the least. Monday evening however, things look to have just taken a swing in the positive direction for Tennessee. The No. 7 overall prospect in the Class of 2023 Nico Iamaleava announced his commitment to the University of Tennessee.
Nico Iamaleava is a five-star quarterback in the Class of 2023, and viewed as the No. 7 prospect in the entire country by 247Sports Composite. Nico already comes in at 6’5, 195-pounds & will be playing for Long Beach Poly High School for his senior year of high school. During his sophomore and junior seasons Iamaleava played for Warren High School after originally attending Long Beach Poly. He currently has 24 offers, but dropped a top-12 list featuring names like Alabama, Oregon, Miami and of course Tennessee.
This is a huge deal for Tennessee football as it is the first five-star quarterback to commit to them since 2002. On top of that he would be the highest rated quarterback to commit to the Vols if he sticks to his verbal commitment. Of course Peyton Manning committed back in 1994 but that was before the modern ranking systems.
Tennessee now has the 10th overall recruiting class in the 2023 cycle. Arkansas & Georgia have a pretty large lead in the SEC rankings, but Tennessee holds a strong lead themselves for 3rd. Nico Iamaleava joins Ethan Davis, Ayden Bussell, and Nate Spillman as offensive recruits for the Volunteers. Three-star safety Jack Luttrell is also part of this class. The Vols also brought in four-stars Tayven Jackson, Justin Williams-Thomas & Kaleb Webb in the ’22 recruiting cycle.
Currently Hendon Hooker is the starting quarterback for Tennessee, and is expected to be one of the top quarterbacks next season. If all goes well it wouldn’t be shocking if he is a 1st round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. Once he is gone though the Vols will have a good problem to have at the quarterback position. Tayven Jackson is a four-start quarterback from the Class of 2022, and was expected to be the guy behind Hooker. Now with Nico coming to Knoxville things might not be as clear for Jackson though. One things is for sure, Tennessee’s future is looking brighter than ever.
