<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=21Tw70_0vxvDXaC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=21Tw70_0vxvDXaC00" width="620" height="320" >Tennessee's first loss of the season Saturday night at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/arkansas/">Arkansas</a> hasn't been easy for the Vols to accept. It has been particularly difficult for <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/nico-iamaleava-46101236/">Nico Iamaleava</a>, according to one of his teammates, in the aftermath of his first defeat as Tennessee's starting quarterback.Vols senior tight end <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/miles-kitselman-46133499/">Miles Kitselman</a> said Monday that Iamaleava, a redshirt freshman, has been "pretty torn up" coming off then-No. 4 Tennessee's 19-14 loss to the Razorbacks on Saturday night at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. The game ended with Iamaleava keeping the ball himself and being pushed out of bounds on fourth-and-5 at Arkansas' 20-yard line without attempting a final pass to the end zone.As the eighth-ranked Vols (4-1, 1-1 SEC) started to turn their attention to their home game Saturday against rival <a href="https://247sports.com/college/florida/">Florida</a> (3-2, 1-1), Kitselman admitted that Iamaleava pointed the finger at himself in the aftermath of Saturday's loss."As you can imagine, Nico was pretty torn up, trying to put a lot of blame on himself," Kitselman said after the Vols' practice Monday. "I put a lot of blame on myself, as well, there at the end of the game. But biggest thing is keeping each other up, being positive, trying to learn from the mistakes that we had."Nico (was) coming in today and spending a lot of time in the film room, lot of time in the treatment room trying to get back and trying to stay healthy and all that kind of stuff. So just trying to take that next step and being a leader."Iamaleava completed 16 of 28 passes for 156 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 17 yards on 11 carries and was sacked four times.After Saturday's game, junior running back <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/dylan-sampson-46102515/">Dylan Sampson</a> said he and his teammates were "not going to let (Iamaleava) beat himself up" as a result of how the game ended. Iamaleava connected with senior wide receiver <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/donte-thornton-jr-46056489/">Dont'e Thornton Jr.</a> for a 42-yard completion on third-and-2 that put the Vols at the Razorbacks' 25. But Tennessee wasn't able to pick up another first down in the closing seconds."It's a learning experience for all of us through a lot of plays in this game, so, man, we love him," Sampson said of Iamaleava after the game. "Man, he's going to be good."Vols coach <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/josh-heupel-173/">Josh Heupel</a> said Monday that Iamaleava "played really well" during Tennessee's 25-15 win at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/">Oklahoma</a> on Sept. 21. Heupel added that Iamaleava was "clean in his decision-making, decisive, accurate with the football" against the Sooners, and Iamaleava's performance was hardly the only thing that didn't go exactly according to plan for the Vols' offense."This past week, first play of the ball game, rips a nice ball," Heupel said of Iamaleava, referring to a 15-yard completion to Thornton that was negated by a penalty. "Sum of all parts. As the game went on, we didn't play as clean. Some of that's Nico. Some of that's the guys around him."At the quarterback position, it takes 10 other guys around you playing at a high level, too, so the sum of all parts, all 11 operating, doing — I'm going to say it — the ordinary things at a really high level consistently was the difference in the ball game the other night."</div></body>

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Teammate says Nico Iamaleava 'pretty torn up' after Vols' loss at Arkansas

Tennessee's first loss of the season Saturday night at Arkansas hasn't been easy for the Vols to accept. It has been particularly difficult for Nico Iamaleava, according to one of his teammates, in the aftermath of his first defeat as Tennessee's starting quarterback. Vols senior tight end Miles Kitselman said...

Teammate says Nico Iamaleava 'pretty torn up' after Vols' loss at Arkansas

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