Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava Ranked Top Five Quarterback in College Football for 2025

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been ranked inside the top five for the 2025 college football season.

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) looks for an open receiver during the NCAA college football playoff game against Ohio State on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been ranked inside the top five for the 2025 college football season.

The Tennessee Volunteers didn't have an ideal end to their 2024 season as they got bounced out of the playoffs in the first round by the eventual national title winners, Ohio State. However, the early expectations for the 2025 season are still high for the Volunteers, and a lot of that has to do with quarterback Nico Iamaleava returning for another season.

Iamaleava became the full-time starter in 2024 for the first time in his career. He ended the year with 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 63.8 percent of his passes. He also tacked on 358 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

The Volunteers had their fair share of issues in the passing department this past season, but Iamaleava was still impressive despite that. So much so, that Fan Duel ranked the Tennessee quarterback as the fifth-best quarterback in college football for the 2025 season and the third-best in the SEC.

Garrett Nussmeier = QB1 😤

What would you change here? 🤔#GeauxTigers | #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/btgJZ57ce9

— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) January 20, 2025

A glance at Iamaleava's stat sheet may not scream elite quarterback play to the typical college football fan, but a first-year starter who continuously protected the football and put his team in winning positions is a promising start. Iamaleava's stats were also impacted by the fact that Tennessee had one of the best running backs in the country in the form of Dylan Sampson.

If Tennessee does indeed get top-five quarterback play from Iamaleava next season, it can be expected that they will be right back in the thick of the playoff hunt for the 2025 season.

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