Nico Iamaleava is working on a CRUCIAL aspect of his game this offseason

AtoZ Sports

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.

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