Introduction:
As if the draw around Nico Iamaleava could not get any greater ahead of the 2024 college football season, it did on Wednesday. It was announced that the Tennessee quarterback was one of eleven athletes in all of college football to sign an NIL deal with Beats by Dre. This is the second year in a row in which the company has paired up with college football athletes and Iamaleava made this year’s list.
Iamaleava will be entering his first season as a full-time starter at Tennessee this year. He has one start under his belt as he played against Iowa in the Citrus Bowl at the end of last year’s season. The former five-star recruit has provided optimism about the Volunteers potentially being a playoff team this season, and if he plays up to the standards that have been set upon him, there is no question they will be in contention for one of the 12 spots.
Conclusion:
The Volunteers do have some big tests on the schedule with a road game against Oklahoma, a home game against Alabama and a trip to Athens to play Georgia late in the season, so at the very least, Volunteer fans will get a good gauge of what Iamaleava can handle in the big moments this season.