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Why Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava went out of bounds on the final play against Arkansas

Vaseline October 6, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tennessee football fans were in disbelief when quarterback Nico Iamaleava inexplicably went out of bounds after time expired to seal a shocking 19-14 loss to Arkansas on Saturday.

And they all had the same thought: I can’t believe it happened again.

In 2021, UT quarterback Joe Milton ran out of bounds instead of attempting a pass into the end zone on the final play of a 31-26 loss to Ole Miss.

“(It was) a different situation,” coach Josh Heupel said after the loss when asked why that particular mistake happened twice. “Older quarterback versus first (year) man experience.”

That’s probably not the explanation UT fans want to hear. But none would have been satisfying after the No. 4 Vols (4-1, 1-1 SEC) had such a lackluster performance against the Razorbacks (4-2, 2-1).

It is three years too late to understand Milton’s mistake.

But why did Iamaleava make the same baffling mistake?

ADAMS: Poor decision making by Josh Heupel, Nico Iamaleava doom Tennessee

Nico Iamaleava’s report of the last game

There were six seconds left when UT broke the ball from the Arkansas 20-yard line.

And after Iamaleava turned around, it was clear that the clock had run out. Still, he continued to run right, never attempted a pass, and then ran out of bounds to end the play.

After the loss, the redshirt freshman tried to explain his mistake.

“When I rolled out, I saw (Don’t’e Thornton) open up. But if I threw that ball, it would be knocked away immediately,” Iamaleava said. “So I tried to get Chris Brazzell to work a little bit, and then he was covered.

“As soon as I wanted to let go of the ball, I felt it slide into my hand. I have to hold the ball better.”

So Iamaleava tried to find an open receiver instead of just any receiver. And when he finally found an option that was better than nothing, he couldn’t grab the ball to deliver the pass.

Then he ran out of real estate.

Josh Heupel: ‘You can’t keep the ball in your hands’

Arkansas fans immediately stormed the field after the game to celebrate. UT players made their way to the locker room.

A few minutes later, Heupel knew the question about the final play would come at the post-game press conference.

“In that scenario, you’ve got to get the ball up and give one of your guys a chance to make a play,” Heupel said. “You can’t keep the ball in your hands. You want to give someone the opportunity to go and make a play. (Iamaleava) is disappointed about it. But he has to come back and get rid of it.

“Nico, just like me and just like our football team, wishes we had played better.”

Iamaleava was 16 of 28 passing for 156 yards. He was under constant pressure throughout the game and the Vols never fully adapted.

It was also Iamaleava’s first loss as a starter. He had won his first five starts in a streak dating back to last season’s Citrus Bowl.

Now the former five-star recruit must lead UT in a rebound game against Florida on Oct. 12 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Neyland Stadium.

“He played too well not to respond the right way,” Heupel said. “And I know he will.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football reporter. E-mail [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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