When the Buckeyes break you: Did Ohio State break Nico Iamaleava?
"You watch him on the field, he's a warrior." So how could he be broken?
COLUMBUS — First off, the answer is literally yes.
Did Ohio State break Nico Iamaleava? The six-inch crack in his Tennessee helmet created by a collision with OSU linebacker Cody Simon on the Vols’ third offensive play of a College Football Playoff first-round matchup last season is literal proof unlike anything we’ve seen so far in the Buckeyes Breaking series.
He was broken.
The Buckeyes Breaking Series
That hit didn’t stop Iamaleava last December. In fact, he was the only thing Tennessee had going in a 42-17 loss to the Buckeyes. Tennessee gave up four sacks, with two different right tackles overwhelmed by the Buckeyes. Iamaleava ran another 16 times, as well as throwing 31 passes, mostly to Vols receivers that couldn’t get open.
Ohio State jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead while the Vols had just two first downs — one on a called run by Iamaleava, one on a scramble by Iamaleava.
He was pressured 43 percent of the time in the loss, while Ohio State quarterback Will Howard was pressured just 26 percent of the time in the win and not sacked at all. Howard completed 7 of 9 passes at least 10 yards down the field. Iamaleava was 3 of 12 on those throws.
You couldn’t question Iamaleava’s toughness that night. Against Ohio State’s second-string defense, he should have thrown a touchdown pass for a final score, but an open receiver dropped a ball that hit him in the numbers. So Iamaleava got the Vols to 17 points by ramming in a run that ended with him hitting a defensive tackle in the chest with his facemask.
That QB, a one-man offense in a losing effort that night, has been the same kind of one-man offense for UCLA this season. As the Buckeyes welcome Iamaleava back to to Ohio Stadium 329 days later, with the Bruins facing Ohio State in primetime Saturday, they know what he’ll bring.
“He’s a tough player,” Ryan Day said this week. “He played tough in the playoff game here. And I’m watching him play the last few weeks, and man, he’s physical, he runs hard, he takes some shots and he keeps coming back.
“He’s a competitor. I got a lot of respect for him as a player. He throws, he’s got a strong arm, and he’s been doing a lot for his team. You watch him on the field, he’s a warrior. … We know this is a great challenge for our team, and it starts with him.”
So if he’s warrior, how did Ohio State break Iamaleava?
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