Lucas Panzica discusses on aspect of Tennessee Volunteers QB Nico Iamaleava's game that the signal caller is working on ahead of the 2025 College Football Season!
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00:00The Tennessee Volunteers are in the midst of spring practice.
00:02And there is one thing that quarterback Niko Imaliava says he is really
00:06working on this off season.
00:08That should be a part of a year two leap in this Josh Heupel offense.
00:16Hey, Lucas Panzeca here from 104.5 The Zone and A to Z sports.
00:20So Tennessee in the early portion of spring practice at this moment, in fact,
00:24the Vols are on spring break, so they will return to practice next week in
00:28anticipation for that spring game on April 12th, but after the first week of
00:33practice or a few days in select players and coaches were made available to
00:37Tennessee media, including quarterback Niko Imaliava, who of course is coming
00:42off his first full season as Tennessee's starting quarterback.
00:46And when Niko was asked about some things that he's working on this
00:49off-season, of course, as it is for any player, that list will be very long.
00:53But for Niko Imaliava, he specifically talked about his leadership on
00:58and off the field and also about being a more vocal leader with his teammates.
01:03In fact, Niko said, quote, stepping out of my shell as something that he is
01:08working on getting up and talking in front of the team, something that maybe
01:12he didn't do as much of as a red shirt freshman last year as this team starting
01:17quarterback.
01:18Now, certainly there are a lot of things for Niko to work on this off season, as
01:21there are for any other player decision-making accuracy, consistency, all
01:26things Niko has to build on from a solid year one as a starter to really take a
01:32leap to be one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football in 2025.
01:36And make no mistake.
01:37That is the expectation for Niko Imaliava.
01:41But another portion of this is Tennessee needs Niko to step up as a major leader
01:47for this football team.
01:48When you look at the leadership void that is left from that 2024 squad, players
01:54like Brew McCoy, like Cooper Mays, players like Dylan Sampson that often were in the
01:59middle of that huddle that had so many snaps and games under their belt that
02:04were players that younger players on the squad like Niko Imaliava could lean on.
02:09A lot of those guys are out the door.
02:11And when you look across this roster on offense, you look at a wide
02:14receiver core that is largely unproven.
02:17That is extremely young.
02:18And you're also looking at an offensive line with a ton of new faces.
02:23The most important element of continuity within this Tennessee offense is Niko
02:28Imaliava coming back for another year as this team starting quarterback.
02:32So that leadership on and off the field, something Niko is working on.
02:36Now that can come in many forms, right?
02:38It doesn't mean Niko has to be walking up to teammates, grabbing them by the
02:41face mask and yelling in their face.
02:43He will find his own way to develop as a leader, but there is no question.
02:48It is something that he publicly is working on and something that could help
02:52propel him as one of the best quarterbacks in the sport in 2025.