Tennessee football quarterback Nico Iamaleava speaks to volunteers during fall camp before the first game
Nico Iamaleava still remembers Bru McCoy on the field in high school. More specifically, he remembers wondering how the five-star athlete managed to do everything he did on that field.
“When I was younger, I thought Bru was the best high school player ever,” Iamaleava said this week. “The first guy I ever saw play receiver and D-end at the same time.”
“To see him come off the edge, win five sets and then score three touchdowns right after that was crazy to me.”
McCoy was a top-10 prospect in the 2019 recruiting class and is a product of Mater Dei High School, the football powerhouse in Santa Ana, California. His road to Knoxville was rocky: He first enrolled at Texas, then transferred to Southern Cal and later to Tennessee before the 2022 season.
However, the memory of Iamaleava has not faded.
“Bru has always been one of my top players,” Iamaleava said.
Nico: “I can’t wait to go out and play with him on the field”
Iamaleava developed into a prodigy in the California prep league and was ranked higher than McCoy ever was. Not only was he a five-star quarterback, but he was also the best player in the country in Long Beach’s On3 rankings.
“I was older,” McCoy said Thursday, “so when he was doing his thing, I was just about to go to college. I heard of him, but we didn’t have a personal relationship.”
Iamaleava committed to Tennessee in March 2022. Two months later, McCoy committed to the Vols out of the transfer portal. After Iamaleava enrolled early and arrived in December, the two developed a friendship, with McCoy taking on the role of mentor.
“I just helped him a lot with dealing with the pressure and dealing with a lot of expectations,” McCoy said. “He’s been great and a leader on the team, so I’ve tried to show him an easier path so he doesn’t make the same mistakes I did.”
“And just creating good habits and establishing things in the daily routine, things that have helped me since I’m older. So I’m trying to get him to skip some steps and learn lessons.”
Season opener: No. 15 Tennessee vs. Chattanooga, Aug. 31, 12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Iamaleava waited for his chance as a rookie last season, appearing in just five games while serving as a substitute. Joe Milton IIIHe made his first career start in the 35-0 victory over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl, where he totaled 178 yards and four touchdowns.
McCoy caught 52 passes for 667 yards and four touchdowns in his first season at Tennessee in 2022 and had 17 catches for 217 yards and another touchdown in five games last year before suffering a devastating leg injury in a win over South Carolina in September.
Now McCoy returns to the Vols for a third season, just as Iamaleava takes over as the program’s flagship starting quarterback.
Finally, it’s time to turn their off-field friendship into an on-field working relationship and finally get the chance to combine their five-star skills.
“He’s taken me a long way, man,” Iamaleava said. “I’ve learned from Bru how to behave on and off the field. I feel like I’ve learned a lot.”
“Bru and I have always had a close relationship, so I can’t wait to get out there and play on the field with him.”
