ATHENS — With Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s status in question for Saturday, Georgia has an added layer of complication in preparing for the Volunteers.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that the quarterback is in concussion protocol after exiting last weekend’s game. Thamel noted that Iamaleava was able to practice on Tuesday.
Gaston Moore is Tennessee’s backup quarterback. He completed 5 of his 8 pass attempts for 38 yards in the win over Mississippi State. Moore has thrown 25 pass attempts on the season, completing 16 of them.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said the uncertainty is “a dilemma” and that he didn’t have much detail about Iamaleava’s injury. However, Georgia will have to be ready in the event that he is able to play.
“Nico’s such a high-level athlete and some of the runs he’s made, I knew the kid was a great thrower, but I didn’t know he was this kind of athlete,” Smart said. “And hitting the speeds, he’s hitting GPS-wise. And they made a run on Alabama that was really elite. So, just recognizing his skill set is a lot and trying to prepare for kind of two guys, you know, because philosophically I don’t know how they’ll approach it with the other quarterback.”
Whether Iamaleava plays or not, Tennessee will lean on its ground game. Dylan Sampson is the SEC’s leading rusher, with 1,129 yards and 20 touchdowns in 9 games.
“They’re stubborn, man. They’re physical. He is an elite runner,” Smart said of Sampson. “The runs, they run are sometimes nontraditional. They run some runs that other people don’t run because of the space in the box. He’s very patient. He hits small creases. He’s hard to tackle.”
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