The Athletic makes bold prediction for Tennessee Vols redshirt freshman QB Nico Iamaleava in 2024

The Athletic's Manny Navaro is feeling pretty good about Tennessee Vols redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava in 2024.

Navaro, in fact, is feeling so good about Iamaleava that he thinks the former five-star recruit will win the SEC freshman of the year award with "Johnny Manziel-type passing numbers".

From The Athletic : Here’s a prediction you can take to the bank: Iamaleava will win the SEC Freshman of the Year award with Johnny Manziel-type passing numbers (3,700-plus yards, 27 TDs). James Pearce Jr. will be good for 10 sacks again before landing in the top 10 of the NFL Draft in April. The schedule, though, is challenging, with trips to Oklahoma and Georgia, a visit from Alabama and an important SEC-ACC matchup with NC State in Charlotte on Sept. 7. I’ve got the Vols losing three of those games (mostly because of their secondary), finishing with nine wins and on the outside looking in at a Playoff spot.

Navaro spoiled his prediction (at least in the eyes of Tennessee fans) by suggesting that the Vols will miss the College Football Playoff in 2024. That part of his prediction is tough to reconcile. He's right that Tennessee's new-look secondary has a lot to prove this fall. But if Iamaleava puts up the numbers that Navaro is predicting, and if James Pearce continues to be a dominant defensive force, then it's hard to see the Vols coming up short of the playoff.

(If Nico is balling out and Pearce is doing his thing, Tennessee can afford for the secondary to play at a non-elite level.)

And that secondary, by the way, could end up being a big strength for the Vols. Early reports from fall camp suggest that Jermod McCoy, Christian Harrison, Boo Carter, and Rickey Gibson, among others, have been playing at a high level.

Related: Former Vols OC Alex Golesh gets candid about taking over a tough situation at Tennessee in 2021