Tennessee Volunteers starting QB Nico Iamaleava was listed as questionable on the official SEC injury report Wednesday, as the team gets ready to take on No. 12 Georgia on Saturday.
Iamaleava left Tennessee’s home win over Mississippi State on Nov. 9 with an apparent head injury and was placed in the concussion protocol this week. He dressed and practiced on Monday and Tuesday, and sources told ESPN he did more in practice Wednesday than he had earlier in the week.
On Monday, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Iamaleava was in “great shape” to play against Georgia, and added on Tuesday that the Vols would continue to update their No. 1 QB’s status up until gametime on Saturday.
Whether or not Iamaleava will play looms large over the game for No. 7 Tennessee. He has thrown for 1,879 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He was replaced by senior Gaston Moore against Mississippi State, and Moore threw for 38 yards on 5-of-8 passing as Tennessee nursed a 20-7 halftime lead before prevailing 33-14.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart called the unknown at quarterback “a dilemma” on Tuesday and said he found the Bulldogs “trying to prepare for kind of two guys, because philosophically, I don’t know how they’ll approach it with the other quarterback.”
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, Pete Thamel and Chris Low contributed to the reporting in this story.