"Just do your job": Former Alabama HC Nick Saban has words of wisdom for Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava

Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava is one of the top players of the upcoming college football season. After spending his first season on the bench, Iamaleava is set to become the Volunteers' full-time starter. In the wake of such an important transition, Iamaleava received some advice from Nick Saban. The Alabama coach turned SEC analyst for ESPN's SEC Network had this to say during Media Days:

"Just do your job, I think a lot of times, especially high-profile guys at quarterback- Jalen Milroe went through this a little bit last year early in the season- you don't have to make all the plays. You have to distribute the ball and make the right choices and decisions to get the ball to the right guys at the right time so they can catch it and run with it," Saban said.

"You hand it off to the right guy if that's what you're supposed to do. You've heard me use this analogy before, you're more of a point guard than you are a shooting guard. You might score 35 points in a game you might score 13 and get 13 assists. But you're not turning the ball over and you're doing what your team needs you to do to have a successful offensive team."

Could Nico Iamaleava win the Heisman Trophy? Greg McElroy thinks so

ESPN's Greg McElroy is one of those rooting for Nico Iamaleava. The former Alabama quarterback stated during the SEC Media Days that he believes Iamaleava could even be a Heisman Trophy nominee this season:

“I think that if Tennessee is as good as we think they are – playoff contender, team that’s going in the mix for the SEC title – I think Nico is going to be a guy who’s probably going to be in New York,” McElroy said.

Nico Iamaleava was a five-star recruit in the class of 2023. He was considered the second-best overall prospect out of high school in his class and was California's top prospect. He played at Warren High in Downey, California and Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, CA.

His best season was as a junior, when he threw for 2,244 yards (59.6% completion percentage) with 33 touchdown passes and one interception. He was also a top volleyball potential recruit, with his brother being a D-I volleyball player at Long Beach State.