Tennessee's Iamaleava, Oklahoma's Arnold to meet in battle of top 2023 QB recruits

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — A pair of five-star quarterbacks from the 2023 class will face off when Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava and Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold lead their teams on Saturday night.

Iamaleava was ranked No. 1 in the On3 quarterback rankings and No. 2 in the 247Sports quarterback rankings. Arnold was the 2022-23 Gatorade National Player of the Year. He was the Elite 11 MVP, and ESPN ranked him the No. 1 quarterback in his class.

Both will be in the spotlight against stout defenses when No. 6 Tennessee (3-0) visits No. 15 Oklahoma (3-0) in the first career Southeastern Conference game for both players and the league opener for both teams.

Iamaleava is 4-0 to start his career, including a win over a ranked Iowa squad in the Citrus Bowl last season in his first start. This season, he led the Vols to a blowout victory over another ranked team, N.C. State, in the Duke’s Mayo Classic in Charlotte.

Tennessee center Cooper Mays can’t wait to see how his quarterback handles his first true road game.

“He’s super consistent in who he is day in and day out,” Mays said. “He’s laid back and calm, cool, and collected. That’s him every day, no matter the environment. Super excited to protect him and help him do all of the things he wants to do on Saturday.”

Iamaleava has been so effective in Heupel’s offense that he’s played only eight quarters so far this season with Tennessee blowing out opponents 191-13 to start this season. That’s why Iamaleava has thrown for a mere 698 yards with six TDs and two interceptions, averaging 232.7 yards per game.

“He’s fun to watch,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “He’s incredibly talented, strong arm, great runner. The things he’s been able to do in a short amount of time. He’s completed 72% of his passes and he’s just been fantastic. He’s got a great presence to him, he’s got a great supporting cast and a great defense."

Iamaleava is a freshman because he didn’t play enough games last season to lose any eligibility. This season, he became the first freshman quarterback to start an opener for Tennessee since 2004.

Arnold is a sophomore because he played in seven games last season. Like Iamaleava, Arnold got his first start in a bowl game last season. He passed for 361 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions in a loss to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.

Arnold has passed for 484 yards and seven touchdowns this season and rushed for 159 yards and two more scores in three games. He has had big moments this season — he threw four touchdown passes in the season opener against Temple and ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Tulane.

He struggled to get the team moving in a 16-12 win over Houston in Week 2, prompting some concern. He then threw an interception against Tulane that was returned for a touchdown that pulled the Green Wave to within 24-19 before Oklahoma pulled away for a 34-19 win.

“You throw the ball away or just run the ball,” Venables said. “I loved how he responded. Did a great job obviously in the fourth quarter. We scored 10 points, he does a great job of … doing a lot of things right, putting it behind him, learning from it. There’s growth in that. That’s how you get better.”

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Arnold has several good qualities that concern him.

“In general, he takes great care of the football,” Heupel said. “I think he has great command and presence in what they are doing offensively. He has the ability to use his feet to make things right. That can be when the pocket breaks down, designed quarterback run or read game. He is a really talented young player.”

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AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this report.

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Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press