🏈 It's Nico Time in Tennessee

Hello. This is the Josh and Swain Newsletter, a quick roundup of the week’s top stories and topics involving Tennessee and the sports world.

Here’s what we have for you today:

• Fair expectations for Nico Iamaleava as the hype train takes off

• Best moments and games for Tennessee sports in 2023

• Other young Tennessee players to watch in the Citrus Bowl

• How the packaged food industry can save bowl games

NICO’S TIME HAS ARRIVED

It seems like everyone was ready for the news that came on Wednesday. 

Nico Iamaleava is Tennessee’s QB1. 

Tennessee made the news official after Joe Milton III announced he’s opting out of the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. 

📍 Orlando, Fla.
📅 Jan. 1
⏰ 1:00 p.m. ET
📺 ABC
📻 99.1 The Sports Animal/WIVK

Milton is with the team in Orlando and helping Iamaleava prepare to make his first college start. 

Iamaleava appears ready for the opportunity. 

There were questions this week about the timing of Milton’s announcement. 

Did Milton give Nico and UT’s coaches enough of a heads up?

Wednesday’s news wasn’t news to Iamaleava, coach Josh Heupel or others inside the program. 

Iamaleava has had plenty of time to prepare for the game. 

The question is how will he play. 

And just as importantly: how will Nico’s teammates play?

The Vols won’t have an offense at full strength. 

Starting right guard Javontez Spraggins is out with injury.

Left tackle John Campbell Jr. is expected to miss the game, too. 

The Vols will also be without running backs Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright. 

Both players opted out of the Citrus Bowl to prepare for the NFL Draft.

That creates an opportunity for Dylan Sampson, who’s proven he can make plays, and freshmen Cameron Seldon and Khalifa Keith. 

Seldon LOOKS the part at 6-2, 222 with his ability to run. 

So let’s see what he can do with the ball in his hands. 

But back to Iamaleava. 

His first career start has given life to a bowl game that didn’t have a lot of juice to it. 

Iowa isn’t the most exciting team to watch, and this season wasn’t the most thrilling for Tennessee fans to follow. 

But a chance to see what Nico can do?

Sign… well, everybody, up. 

Here’s a quick reminder: this is one game. 

It’s a bowl game that’s affected by opt outs on both sides of the ball, and it’s Nico’s first start. 

We saw two freshman quarterbacks from Iamaleava’s signing class start bowl games on Thursday.

➡️ Kansas State QB Avery Johnson completed 14/31 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 71 yards and another TD. K-State won 28-19.

➡️ Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold completed 26/45 passes for 361 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He added 38 rushing yards. Arizona beat Oklahoma 38-24.

Some good and some bad from those performances (obviously more good from Johnson in K-State’s win).

So it might be smart to keep expectations at a reasonable level. 

The same goes for postgame reaction as it relates to how the Iowa game will affect Tennessee’s 2024 season. 

But who are we kidding?

This is college football and Iamaleava is a five-star quarterback with all kinds of potential. 

Fans are going to get excited. And there’s nothing wrong with that. 

Iamaleava will have a chance to make plays on Monday. 

And he’ll need his teammates to help. 

Attention: Ramel Keyton, Squirrel White, McCallan Castles and Jacob Warren.

Like you, we can’t wait to see what Iamaleava does in his first college start. 

And we’ll be ready for the reaction — either way — at noon ET on Tuesday. 

We discussed the news of Iamaleava starting against Iowa with Austin Price, who also updated us on potential recruiting and transfer targets for Tennessee. ⬇️⬇️

FAVORITE TENNESSEE MOMENTS IN 2023

The 2023 calendar year will come to a close this weekend.

So how about a quick look back at the last 12 months for Tennessee fans?

This year didn’t bring quite the same level of exciting results as 2022… but how could it?

Last year featured an 11-2 football season filled with exciting wins in huge games.

Tennessee’s basketball team won the SEC Tournament for the first time since 1979.

And Tony Vitello’s baseball team spent a lot of the season ranked as the nation’s best team.

But 2023 brought exciting moments and big games, too.

I asked Tennessee fans on Twitter/X for some favorite moments and games (which you can reply to in the tweet below).

Here are a few that stood out across multiple sports and in no particular order.

Kamal Hadden’s pick-six vs South Carolina

Tennessee ended up winning the game 41-20, but the game was tight until Hadden’s touchdown late in the second quarter.

Hadden’s touchdown gave the Vols a two-score lead and South Carolina was never able to catch back up.

Neyland Stadium exploded on that touchdown.

Dee Williams’ punt return TD vs Texas A&M

Another explosion at a critical moment in the game.

Tennessee’s offense was struggling to produce against the Aggies.

But a great punt by Jackson Ross, which was downed by Williams, set up a perfect opportunity for Williams to take Texas A&M’s punt from its own end zone to the house.

And he did just that.

Tennessee Basketball’s win vs Duke

This was a big game with a big opportunity.

The Vols took the Blue Devils into the mud, as Tennessee proudly proclaimed, and advanced to the Sweet 16.

The memory of this game is affected by the Vols’ outcome in the next round, losing to FAU with a shot at the Elite Eight.

But the win over Duke was important for Tennessee.

Beating a program like Duke always matters to a fanbase. And Sweet 16 appearances aren’t easy for any program.

This was a fun one for Tennessee fans to celebrate.

Zane Denton’s three-run home run vs Clemson

Tennessee entered the ninth inning of Game 1 in the regional at Clemson down 4-1.

Optimism was NOT high for Tennessee at the time.

But the Vols put a run on the board to cut Clemson’s lead to two runs… and the Denton walked to the plate and cranked a three-run shot to give Tennessee the lead.

Tennessee would go on to beat Clemson in 14 innings, a game UT fans will always remember.

There were other moments to remember and plenty that were personal for fans. Like these…

Tennessee is sure to be in more big games in 2024.

Let’s see what kind of memories are made in the next 12 months.

SPORTS NUGGETS

🏈 Still unsure how to pronounce Iamaleava’s last name? He tells you exactly how in this video.

🏈 Here are five reasons why a strong Iamaleava showing in the bowl game would prove valuable for Tennessee in 2024.

🏈 The Cleveland Browns clinched an improbable playoff berth behind QB Joe Flacco, the team’s fourth starting quarterback of the season.

🏈 Alabama has taken extra precaution in its game prep due to sign stealing allegations against Michigan.

🏈 Here’s the bowl schedule (includes playoff games) for the upcoming weekend.

🏀 Where does Tennessee’s basketball program belong in a college basketball tier system? The Athletic CBB staff took a look.

🏀 Here’s a look at ESPN’s college basketball power rankings with a note on what Tennessee (in the top 10!) will need moving forward.

📅 Here’s a look back at the year 2023 in sports from a national perspective.

OTHER VOLS TO WATCH

The Citrus Bowl attention has turned to Iamaleava making his starting debut.

But there are other young players to watch heading into Tennessee’s bowl game.

Seldon was mentioned earlier and ranks high on the list.

He was a highly-ranked four-star prospect in the 2023 class with track speed and size that should make him a load to handle.

Fans are also excited to see what Sampson can do carrying a bigger work load as the starting running back.

How many carries will Sampson get on Monday?

Part of that will be determined by how much success Tennessee has on offense.

➡️ Here are some other young Tennessee players that will be intriguing for fans to watch:

CB Rickey Gibson

Gibson played the most among Tennessee’s freshman cornerbacks during the regular season.

He should get the start on Monday with the absence of Doneiko Slaughter, who announced his transfer to Arkansas.

Gibson has legit SEC talent — he chose Tennessee over Georgia in last year’s recruiting cycle.

This will be Gibson’s first big test (yes, we know about Iowa’s offense) as he makes his case to be a starter in 2024.

Other Defensive Backs

We’ll keep this one broad because we don’t know exactly who else will play — and how much.

But other young members of the secondary will play due to the attrition from December.

Jordan Matthews is talented freshman corner who will compete for a starting spot (or more playing time) next season.

Christian Conyer and John Slaughter, also from the 2023 class, could see some action during the game, too.

Christian Harrison is a second-year corner whose teammates have praised his potential.

Let’s see if he gets an opportunity with more competition coming in 2024.

TE Ethan Davis

Will we see Davis play on Monday?

Castles and Warren have led the way at tight end this season.

But Davis will need to be a factor next season.

You might remember this throw from Iamaleava to Davis during the Orange and White Game.

It’s one fans will dream about seeing again during the offseason… or perhaps here in a few days.

ONE LAST BYTE OUT THE DOOR

There’s a growing opinion that we have too many bowl games in college football.

There are solid reasons to think that.

And let’s be clear: the changes in college football in recent years have not helped the overall interest in bowl games.

That’s what makes Thursday night’s Pop Tarts Bowl so special.

Kansas State beat North Carolina State 28-19.

But the story was the edible Pop-Tart mascot that put on a show during the game… and then slid into a toaster so the winning team could EAT the mascot costume during the postgame celebration.

Watch the festivities below. ⬇️

And ponder this question: which food item would you like to see become the next bowl game sponsor?

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