PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava was recognized among the nation’s best college football players entering the 2024 season as one of 80 individuals named to the preseason watch list for the 88th Maxwell Award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding college football player in the country.
Iamaleava is the only player on the watch list that is not at least a sophomore in terms of athletic eligibility. The redshirt freshman signal caller is among 15 players from the Southeastern Conference and one of 41 quarterbacks who made the preseason list for the prestigious award. The full 2024 Maxwell Award watch list can be seen HERE.
The Long Beach, California, native enters his second season with the program and is poised to be the Vols’ starter in 2024 after serving as the backup quarterback and playing in five games during his true freshman season in 2023.
Iamaleava arrived at Tennessee as the No. 1 prep player in the country according to On3 for the Class of 2023 and capped his debut season in Knoxville by leading the Volunteers to a convincing victory over No. 17 Iowa in the 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
Thrust into his first-career start, Iamaleava led the Big Orange to a 35-0 shutout victory in which he was named MVP after accounting for 178 yards of total offense and four touchdowns against a stout Hawkeye defense. By doing so, Iamaleava became the first UT true freshman quarterback to win a bowl game since Peyton Manning beat Virginia Tech in the 1994 Gator Bowl.
Manning is the only Tennessee player to win the Maxwell Award, doing so in 1997. Hendon Hooker was a finalist in 2022 while his top target Jalin Hyatt was a semifinalist in that same year.
Iamaleava finished his freshman season completing 28-of-45 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions while adding 71 rushing yards on 20 carries with three scores.
Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced Nov. 12, 2024, while the three finalists for the Maxwell Award will be unveiled Nov. 26, 2024. The winner of the 88th Maxwell Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 12, 2024. The formal presentation of the Maxwell Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards on Friday, March 14, 2025 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
The Maxwell Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 900 recipients since 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.
Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2024 preseason watch list calendar:
Mon., July 29: Maxwell Award
Tue., July 30: Outland Trophy/Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Wed., July 31: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award
Thu., Aug. 1: Paul Hornung Award/Wuerffel Trophy
Fri., Aug. 2: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Mon., Aug. 5: Walter Camp Award
Tue., Aug. 6: Doak Walker Award
Wed., Aug. 7: Biletnikoff Award
Thu., Aug. 8: Davey O’Brien Award
Fri., Aug. 9: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
Mon., Aug. 12: Bednarik Award
Tue., Aug. 13: Butkus Award
For more information about the NCFAA and its college football awards, visit the redesigned NCFAA.org or follow on Twitter @NCFAA.
2024 Tennessee Football Preseason Honors
John Campbell Jr., OL, R-Sr.
Shrine Bowl 1000 Watch List
Bryson Eason, DL, R-Sr.
Shrine Bowl 1000 Watch List
Nico Iamaleava, QB, R-Fr.
Maxwell Award Watch List
Lance Heard, OL, So.
Fourth-Team All-SEC (Athlon)
Cooper Mays, C, Sr.
First-Team All-American (Walter Camp)
First-Team All-SEC (Media)
Second-Team All-SEC (Athlon, Phil Steele)
Shrine Bowl 1000 Watch List
Bru McCoy, WR, R-Sr.
AFCA Good Works Team Nominee
Shrine Bowl 1000 Watch List
Omarr Norman-Lott, DT, Sr.
Third-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)
James Pearce Jr., DE, Jr.
First-Team All-American (Athlon, Phil Steele, Walter Camp)
First-Team All-SEC (Athlon, Media, Phil Steele, Walter Camp)
Lott Trophy Watch List
Keenan Pili, LB, Sr.
Fourth-Team All-SEC (Athlon)
Shrine Bowl 1000 Watch List
Jackson Ross, P, So.
Fourth-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)
Dylan Sampson, RB, Jr.
Third-Team All-SEC (Athlon)
Fourth-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)
Javontez Spraggins, OL, Sr.
Third-Team All-SEC (Athlon)
Fourth-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)
Shrine Bowl 1000 Watch List
Omari Thomas, DL, Sr.
Fourth-Team All-SEC (Athlon)
Shrine Bowl 1000 Watch List
Squirrel White, WR, Jr.
Third-Team All-SEC (Athlon, Phil Steele)
