College football analyst hits Tennessee fans with a dose of reality about QB Nico Iamaleava and the Vols

There seem to be a lot of folks on the internet this week who think Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava is "overrated" after his unsteady performance in UT's loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks this past weekend.

That's an absolutely absurd and ignorant take considering Iamaleava has started just six games in his career and he's 5-1 in those starts. One bad start doesn't define a player. But, the internet and sports talk shows have devolved into nothing more than a sounding board for foolish hot takes, so it's not exactly a surprise that we're hearing some fans/media (some Vols fans, specifically) suggest that Nico is overrated.

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt, a former college quarterback who had a cup of coffee in the NFL, hit those fans/media with a dose of reality (via a measured take accompanied by smart analysis) this week when it comes to Iamaleava and the Volunteers.

Klatt identified Iamaleava's biggest issue (holding on to the ball too long because he wants to wait an extra tick to see the play develop instead of just trusting his instincts) while noting that he's not worried about Tennessee this season just because they lost a tough road game to Arkansas.

"What did I see from Nico on film? I saw a guy that was spooked," said Klatt. "I saw a guy that held the ball (for) far too long. I did not think his footwork was all that great. There were things there. There were plays to be made. I think that there was some criticism, maybe from people who work on this show, that Josh Heupel was too conservative. But when I watched the film, there were throws to be made. Nico just didn't pull the trigger. He's got to learn how to anticipate.

"When you're a young quarterback, one of the most difficult things to do is to become an anticipatory thrower. When you're not playing your best, it takes guts to do that. So he's clearly not playing his best. The offense is not in a great rhythm. It's a road game. It's loud. A lot of things working against you. That's when you have to pull yourself up from your bootstraps as a quarterback, and you just got to be like, 'Hey, I'm just going to go make a throw, and I'm going to hit that back foot in the pocket, and I'm going to let it rip. I'm going to trust what I see. I'm going to trust my preparation, and I'm not going to do what a scared quarterback does when he's young, which is wait to see it in order to throw the football'. That's what I see on film from Nico. You see some moments that he's great, and then some moments that you just want to pull your hair out. When he's on the run outside of the pocket, [he] can see everything and he lets it rip and it's beautiful. He makes a few throws, and you're like, 'yes, yes, that's it'. One of them was right at the end, by the way, to put them in position to actually score late in that game. He rolls out to his left and just unleashes an absolute laser beam. And you're like, 'yes, yes, I love it'. And then there's other times that you're like, 'No, what are we doing?'"

"If I were Josh Heupel, I would sit behind him and I would create stress for him in practice," continued Klatt. "I can remember this happening to me. I had the same issue Nico is having, and I would hang on to a read and be like, 'I just want to see it'. And my coach started clapping in rhythm behind me and shouting and he would just yell, '[you're] late'....you've got to learn how to play with that pace and that urgency. And I don't see that from Nico. He can learn that, though. So this is another reason why I'm not as worried about Tennessee, because the things that he's struggling with, he can improve on. And the structure around him, the supporting cast around him, is still an elite group. I still really like this Tennessee team."

"You got to fail sometimes in order to grow," added Klatt. "And guess what? This is going to be the hardest film for Nico Iamaleava to watch. And in the film room, he's going to look at all those in cuts, he's going to look at the second and the third man of the progression, he's going to be like, 'dang man, I got to get the ball out of my hands, dang man, I got to know what's going on with the clock'. And now, when he walks back out there the next time he's on the road, guess what? He's going to be better. I guarantee it. I absolutely guarantee it. So that's why I'm not as concerned with Tennessee."

It's easy to forget that Nico is only 20 years old. He's only started six games. And he's only played two true road games (and he won one of those in a tough environment...and almost pulled off a miracle to win the second one). Nico is still developing as a player. He's learning lessons that every single quarterback who has ever played football at a high level has had to learn at some point.

Everyone wants to win. I get it. I hate losing and I love winning. But losing is part of being a competitor. It happens. And you have to regroup and learn from it.

Let's give Nico a chance to learn from this and to grow. I have a feeling that Vols fans are going to love how he responds to the first loss of his career.

Related: College football analyst points out issue that could cause Florida Gators to struggle against Tennessee Vols