CHEEZ-IT CITRUS BOWL: IOWA VS TENNESSEE

January 1, 2024

Josh Heupel

Nico Iamaleava

James Pearce

Camping World Stadium

Tennessee Volunteers

Press Conference

Tennessee 35, Iowa 0

JOSH HEUPEL: Really proud of our team, our program. I thought it during the course of our preparation, but they were very intentional, focused when they went into the meeting, went on the practice field. They were engaged and they competed hard.

That was true in our preparation back home. It was true, while we were here. They enjoyed the Bowl festivities at the same time. I thought it was a great balance, and they came out and played as though they had prepared the right way, and proud of the performance.

You look defensively, violent and disruptive on the line of scrimmage. Handled the run game really the entire day. Mashed things out on their boot game and got off the field on third downs. The front applied so much pressure during the course of it. James did an unbelievable job the entire day. Obviously, everybody saw the big pick, and he was in the backfield and made it uncomfortable for the quarterback all day long.

Offensively, efficient enough. Nico played really well. First-time starter. There was nothing that was too big for him. Never got rattled. Very composed, in control, communication, controlling the run game, just did an unbelievable job, decision-making, and then made plays with his feet as well.

At the end of the day, we played all three phases well together. That was the challenge for us going into this one. That is a really good football team that we played today that has had a tremendous amount of success this season, but over Coach's tenure, got a great amount of respect for who he is and how he conducts his program.

Great way to finish the 2023 season and to kick off the '24.

Q. Coach Banks talked earlier this week believing that James could be more versatile moving forward and working the next couple of months to do so. Was today a good example of that, and what's the next steps for James going into the off-season?

JOSH HEUPEL: Yeah, James has a great football future in front of him. He is a great player right now, but really believe he has a chance to be extremely special. Just for him, continuing to grow and his understanding and football IQ as we continue to move him around and put him in positions to win is going to be extremely important as we go through this off-season.

He is dynamic. He has multiple moves to affect the quarterback, but there is still growth in some of those fundamentals, and can continue to grow in how he defends the run. He is doing that well, but there is still some growth there. I say all of that. He is a dynamic playmaker for us, but he has a really rare and bright future in front of him.

Q. Can you take us through the process of naming Nico starter and Joe's situation for us? The timing was kind of weird.

JOSH HEUPEL: Why was the timing weird?

Q. Just because it was Wednesday and the Bowl game was coming up.

JOSH HEUPEL: I am not following that timeline at all.

Q. Joe's announcement to go to the NFL was Wednesday, I believe.

JOSH HEUPEL: When we got down here?

Q. Yeah.

JOSH HEUPEL: You end up making final decisions over the course of the holidays. For us, we got a few days off there and was put out publicly.

Q. How is Joe helping new preparation?

NICO IAMALEAVA: He has been great, helping me the whole season the whole way in this Bowl game. Yeah, I really cannot ask for much from Joe. He answers every question, and I really appreciate him.

Q. I know you already knew what you had in Nico, and you had seen him in practice a lot more than we had, but seeing him in a full game perform like that, how does that impact your outlook in the offseason of what you can do with him offensively?

JOSH HEUPEL: I believe he is going to be a great, dynamic playmaker. I thought he handled himself composed all day long. Subtle things of breaking the huddle, communication inside of the huddle, controlling the run game, his eyes were in the right place. Great to see a young guy go out and perform in that way in his first career start. There are a lot of things that Nico can continue to grow and will continue to grow in.

The challenge early in the football game was a ton of the guys playing at a really high level around him around him too. I did not think we played as well as we were capable of at times around him.

We have great confidence in him and in that quarterback room. We have great confidence in our young players. A lot of guys got an opportunity to play a lot more football today than they had, and a lot of them played extremely well, but it also showed some things where they got an opportunity to grow and how those things impact how the game unfolds.

I' am really excited about who is in that locker room, who is coming back, and where we have an opportunity to go in '24.

Q. James, when you think about some of the quarterbacks you've faced with Milroe, Brady Cook, some of the elusiveness they had, seemed like today you were able to tee off and their quarterback was not quite as mobile. Did you sense that coming in, and how much fun was that just getting to the quarterback as many times as you did today?

JAMES PEARCE JR.: It is always a lot of fun to get to the quarterback, but he back there, I got a job to do, got to beat the man up front and get to the quarterback somehow.

JOSH HEUPEL: It is a lot of fun for me when he gets to the quarterback, too.

Q. Nico, to piggyback off what Coach said, you have not played a full 60-minute game of football in a little bit. How did it feel being able to go back out there and compete today?

NICO IAMALEAVA: Felt great, man. Finally, to play a whole game, I have not done that in a while. Felt good to get back out there and get my feet wet.

Yeah, I am proud of the guys and how they played. The receivers played a tremendous game, and O-line did good. Receivers did good. I still think there is a lot of room for us to get better.

Q. You've won a lot of games in this city. To come back to Orlando and lead Tennessee to a win; is that added importance to you and your family?

JOSH HEUPEL: Yes, it does mean a lot to come back to this city, after being gone for three years, we absolutely loved calling the city of Orlando home. So many relationships inside of that athletic university and administration, and the student athletes and the people in the community that have helped us on our journey together.

Got an opportunity, I gave said it multiple times, but to see a lot of our former players, it does mean something to come back into a place that you called home and you want to perform well and you want to win.

I am extremely proud of our staff and this entire football program for the way they handled the entire month and to come out and perform the way they did today.

Q. At what point in the year did the redshirt conversation start for you, and what was your reaction to that being your path for year one?

NICO IAMALEAVA: I never really had redshirt in my mind. I really wanted to learn this whole year behind Joe. Getting a year of experience just learning under my belt.

Redshirting never really crossed my mind.

JOSH HEUPEL: At the end of the day, for the quarterbacks, and the guys at every position, you don't have -- like, listen, you are strictly going to redshirt, and will not play in anything other than the four games until you are on the very end of the season, because of the way the game unfolds and the injuries that take place.

Nico has been one play away the entire season from having to carry the load the rest of the way home. You just continue to fight and grow as a competitor. I am really pleased and proud of the way that he has handled his preparation every single week, and I think he has gotten better throughout the course of the season in understanding the urgency in that preparation. That is a huge part of the reason he went out and played the way he did today.

Q. Knowing that you're entering a game where both defenses are kind of the calling card for both teams, knowing that it could be kind of a slog for both offenses, how much focus does that put on you to do your job as a defender, as a defense, and how much relief did that interception give to kind of open the floodgates a little bit for you guys?

JAMES PEARCE JR.: We always want to come out and dominate at a really high level no matter who we are playing. Knowing we are playing a tough defense, I guess the best defense won.

Q. You looked very calm out there today. How excited are you for next season after you get a full off-season to develop with the offense and what can fans expect?

NICO IAMALEAVA: We have a great team around us, great coaching staff, and I really think sky is the limit for this team. It is up to us to go out there and get it done.

Q. From an individual perspective, what do you really want to work on this off-season? What are the things at the top of your mind right now as you enter the off-season and work towards next year?

NICO IAMALEAVA: Right now, I have not thought about that yet. I have really just been soaking up this W we just got. A lot of stuff we want to work on. Not off the top of my head right now. Still thinking about the win we just had.

Q. For Coach and for Nico. I think you had two offensive penalties on the first series, and didn't have any the rest of the game. How impressed were you with Nico's operation, command and how efficient you guys were offensively in terms of self-inflicted wounds?

JOSH HEUPEL: The first two were not him, either. We did not start off the way we needed to. I thought he came out and started really fast, decision-making, controlling everything, was really excited about how he performed early.

Early in the football game, offensively, special teams, there was a couple things that we did not do the way we needed to. We have to be able to start faster in that one. I do like the way we responded and played clean football the rest of the way home. Really proud of the guys for that.

Q. What can you say about West and that front seven which includes a lot of guys coming back next year?

JOSH HEUPEL: We have a lot of guys coming back that have played a lot of football. We have rotated a bunch of guys. They have all had days where they were extremely violent and disruptive, got to the quarterback, played the run game extremely well.

That group has got a chance, if they do it the right way this off-season, fundamentally, continuing to change their bodies, football IQ, understanding of the game, to be a game-changing unit. We need that from them. We need that from this guy right here to my left (James).

Q. I saw you hugging your dad and mom and your family after the game. How special was it to have such a large amount of why you are family in the stands watching you make your first start today?

NICO IAMALEAVA: It was a very special moment for me and my family. It is their first time having their son, or me, play at this elite college level. I think they were just proud to see me go out there and play.

Q. I don't know if you saw, but during the game, Hendon Tweeted, "8 is the chosen one." What does it mean to have the support of guys that came before you?

NICO IAMALEAVA: Huge, man. I think Hendon and Joe, when I first got here, they welcomed me with open arms, man. Yeah, it feels good to get love from guys like that, guys that set this university at the standard it is right now.

I am really appreciative of those guys.

Q. Couple big interceptions today. Can you talk about the first one that kept them off the board early, and James, can you take us through your Pick-Six?

JOSH HEUPEL: Special teams, we did not field the punt. We got backed up. We have a couple other penalties. We end up missing the ball on the rugby right. They got a short field. Great play by 'Dre undercutting it in the back side, extension, hands. Great to see him go perform the way that he did.

That was a huge play and changed the dynamics of the game early in the football game and huge play.

And what was the other question?

Q. For James, the Pick-Six.

JOSH HEUPEL: Yeah, that wasn't bad, was it.

Let me tell you, great job understanding the formation, where the bodies are at, what type of release he is getting. Ability to take his eyes, undercut the route, and athletic enough to go make a play.

He is on the JUGS a couple times a week just to make sure that he is ready for that opportunity. You might have asked why at one point in your career, but it is for that moment, and nothing looks better than seeing a big man like him run down the sidelines.

Q. It was a huge day today, New Year's Day Bowl game; your first start on national TV. How did you remain as poised as you were out there?

NICO IAMALEAVA: I just took it as every other game. We knew we had a job to do. No nervousness or anything going into the game when you prepare like our QB room does. Felt like we were just real prepared, and it was just time to go let it go.

Q. You spoke earlier that Joe Milton is like an open book for you and you're able to ask him anything. What was the biggest thing that you learned from him throughout this process?

NICO IAMALEAVA: Just me learning from Joe. I think I learned how to be a pro. How to approach every day with the same mentality. Going into practice, you know, just in high school, I feel like practice is way different than college football.

So, he taught me how to practice. He taught me what the mindset going into practice should be. Yeah, so much more other things. I could go on and on.

Q. I know you guys wanted to finish this season off the right way but do you think a win here with the way you two played, in particular, can kind of spring the team forward for the 2024 season?

JAMES PEARCE JR.: Winning always important to the future, and like it was here now today. Yes, I do think so.

Q. Yesterday you mentioned there were some elements of the season that did not go as well as you would have liked, and you come out today --

JOSH HEUPEL: Outcomes, yeah.

Q. You come out today, deliver a big win against a conference runner-up. What kind of a statement does that make for the program?

JOSH HEUPEL: The finish to the '23 season. It is the kickoff to the '24. I think it speaks to the culture that we have inside of our building, our locker room. It speaks to the type of competitors that we have that buckle their chinstraps that wear a Power T on the side of their helmet. You look at the young guys that got so many meaningful snaps today. I think it speaks to the future being extremely bright.

There are a lot of things that we're going to need to reset and grow from when they come back in January. Every season starts over. But it's a group that I love being around, and if we can continue to be great teammates that care about the people around us more than we care about ourselves; if we can pour into each other compete extremely hard every single day, while having as much fun as we possibly can, the future is extremely bright.

The challenge is great. The standard is to win championships at Tennessee. Nobody shies away from that. We have to continue to grow to put ourselves in a position to go do that.

Q. Do you have any quarterbacks that you model your game after or any role models and why did you choose Tennessee?

NICO IAMALEAVA: I watch a lot of guys, try and take a piece of their game and add it to mine. Some of the main guys, I watch Joe Milton every day. Just his pocket presence and the way he is able to deliver the ball from anywhere. He has a cannon, so just learning from his game.

I take a lot from Bryce Young and Lamar Jackson, their game, too. I think it is just a mix, Josh Allen.

The reason I chose this university is, first of all, I think the whole coaching staff is one of the top coaching staffs in the nation. They really welcomed me with open arms. I felt like I was at home every time I took a visit. I just really -- I never felt no fake love, man. I really felt like the real me from day one.

Other than that, I think just the fans. I love the fans, the culture here. Yeah, that is pretty much why I chose here.

JOSH HEUPEL: I am going to have to get him to start watching my film in the off-season, too.

NICO IAMALEAVA: Watching Coach Heup's old clips. You know, they got -- it's kind of black because they ain't got --

JOSH HEUPEL: Black and white.

NICO IAMALEAVA: Got the black and white film, man.

JOSH HEUPEL: Thank you all.