Tennessee HC Josh Heupel gives excellent reason for not bringing Nico Iamaleava to SEC Media Days

Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel made an interesting decision this week by not bringing starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to SEC Media Days in Dallas.

Instead of bringing the redshirt freshman to SEC Media Days, Heupel opted to bring a few veterans to Dallas -- senior offensive lineman Cooper Mays, senior defensive lineman Omari Thomas, and senior linebacker Keenan Pili.

When asked on Tuesday why he didn't bring Iamaleava, Heupel quickly made it clear that it wasn't about not bringing his quarterback to media days, but instead it was about bringing a few guys with great stories that are entering their final seasons at Tennessee.

"It's not about why I didn't bring Nico," said Heupel. "It's about why the three guys that I talked about earlier are here. These are guys that are in sixth year-plus that have unique stories and are great ambassadors, great leaders inside of our program. And felt like, our track record of who we've brought here, we've brought veteran guys. So it's not about Nico, it's about these three guys, why we made that choice."

That's an under-the-radar move from Heuepl that will earn a lot of respect in the locker room. It shows that Tennessee football isn't just about the quarterback, even though that's Heupel's area of expertise.

Heupel knows that it takes all 11 on each side of the ball to win a championship. He also knows it takes a great culture. And the players he brought -- specifically Thomas and Mays -- have been key in creating Tennessee's positive culture. And they'll be key in 2024 to the Vols' success.

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