Here are Tennessee football players who redshirted in 2023: Nico Iamaleava and freshmen
Tennessee freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a former five-star prospect, will get a redshirt this season, even though coach Josh Heupel said that wasn’t the original plan.
The Vols' regular season is over. And according to a UT spokesperson, bowl games will not count toward redshirts. So the redshirt status of each player is cemented for the 2023 season.
A player cannot redshirt if he appears in more than four regular-season games, even if it's just one snap in a game. Nine freshmen exceeded that mark for the Vols (8-4, 4-4 SEC), so they'll be sophomores next season.
Iamaleava is among 16 UT freshmen who played four games or fewer, so they'll be redshirt freshmen next season. He has played 52 snaps total, appearing in wins over Virginia, UTSA, UConn and Vanderbilt as Joe Milton's backup.
Here’s where UT's freshmen finished in terms of their redshirt status, based on how many games they played.
Tennessee football freshmen who did not redshirt in 2023 season
Arion Carter, linebacker
Games played: 8
Hometown: Smyrna, Tennessee
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 129 overall in 247 Sports Composite
Cristian Conyer, cornerback
Games played: 9
Hometown: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 567 overall
Rickey Gibson, defensive back
Games played: 12
Hometown: Trussville, Alabama
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 288 overall
Caleb Herring, defensive end
Games played: 10
Hometown: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 84 overall
Daevin Hobbs, defensive lineman
Games played: 9
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 56 overall
Khalifa Keith, running back
Games played: 10
Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 613
Cameron Seldon, running back
Games played: 12
Hometown: Browns Store, Virginia
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 134 overall
John Slaughter, defensive back
Games played: 11
Hometown: Clarksdale, Mississippi
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 599 overall
Jeremiah Telander, linebacker
Games played: 12
Hometown: Gainesville, Georgia
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 612 overall
Tennessee freshmen who played but still get a redshirt for 2023
Ethan Davis, tight end
Games played: 2
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 143 overall
Nico Iamaleava, quarterback
Games played: 4
Hometown: Long Beach, California
Recruiting ranking: 5 stars, No. 3 overall
Vysen Lang, offensive lineman
Games played: 3
Hometown: Pike Road, Alabama
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 709 overall
Jack Luttrell, safety
Games played: 3
Hometown: Gainesville, Georgia
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 970 overall
Jordan Matthews, cornerback
Games played: 4
Hometown: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 157 overall
Nathan Robinson, defensive lineman
Games played: 1
Hometown: Greenbrier, Tennessee
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 558 overall
Jalen Smith, linebacker
Games played: 4
Hometown: Grayson, Georgia
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 428 overall
Shamurad Umarov, offensive lineman
Games played: 2
Hometown: Alpharetta, Georgia
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 309 overall
Nathan Leacock, wide receiver
Games played: 1
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 73 overall
Tennessee freshmen who did not play and get a redshirt for 2023
DeSean Bishop, running back
Games played: 0
Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 1,308 overall
Chandavian Bradley, defensive lineman
Games played: 0
Hometown: Platte City, Missouri
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 136 overall
Ayden Bussell, offensive lineman
Games played: 0
Hometown: Mount Juliet, Tennessee
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 851 overall
Trevor Duncan, defensive lineman
Games played: 0
Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 728 overall
Emmanuel Okoye, tight end
Games played: 0
Hometown: Anambra, Nigeria
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 443 overall
Nate Spillman, wide receiver
Games played: 0
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Recruiting ranking: 3 stars, No. 1,427 overall
Tyree Weathersby, defensive lineman
Games played: 0
Hometown: Douglasville, Georgia
Recruiting ranking: 4 stars, No. 299 overall
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football players who redshirted in 2023: Nico Iamaleava and freshmen
