Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is no longer on the Volunteers’ availability report ahead of a Saturday night matchup against Georgia, meaning he could suit up to play in Athens.
He was listed as questionable on the SEC availability report released Wednesday night after sustaining an injury that sidelined him during the second half of Tennessee’s Week 11 game against Mississippi State but is officially cleared to play as of Friday night. The news comes after ESPN reported that Iamaleava was in concussion protocol on Tuesday. Coach Josh Heupel called the decision to keep Iamaleava out of the Nov. 9 game a “cautionary measure.”
The redshirt freshman has thrown for 1,879 yards and 11 touchdowns with four interceptions in nine games. With an 8-1 record, Tennessee sits at No. 7 in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings. It’s tied for first in the SEC with No. 3 Texas.
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The Bulldogs fell out of the CFP top 10 after a sluggish loss to Ole Miss last week. Even though Georgia sits at No. 12, it would be the first team left out of the bracket if the season ended today because No. 13 Boise State would earn an automatic spot in the Playoff as the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion.
Entering the win-to-get-in matchup versus Tennessee, Georgia faces injury hurdles as well. Running backs Trevor Etienne, Roderick Robinson, who has not played this season, and Branson Robinson, who has been inactive three games due to a knee injury, are all out of Saturday’s game. Walk-on Cash Jones also appears on the Bulldogs’ availability report as questionable.
A key piece in Tennessee’s game plan
Iamaleava’s return is a massive boost for the Vols’ offense, which managed just 13 second-half points with Gaston Moore at the helm last week vs. Mississippi State. Moore has earned the confidence of Tennessee’s staff, but he has thrown only 42 passes in three-plus seasons with the Vols after transferring from UCF. Iamaleava’s numbers haven’t wowed anyone this year, but his decision-making, mobility and accuracy made him a five-star prospect and the future of Tennessee’s program.
He’s the program’s present, too. It’ll be an uphill battle for the Vols on the road against Georgia’s defense, and Heupel’s teams haven’t scored more than 17 points against Georgia in three games, but it was hard to see that trend changing without the program’s star quarterback. — David Ubben, national college football writer
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(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)