During his Monday press conference, Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel said starting cornerback Rickey Gibson III, who sat out in Week 1, will play in the Volunteers' Week 2 road matchup against the No. 23-ranked NC State Wolfpack.

“We held a couple of guys on game day. You might have seen 'em warm up,” Heupel said. “End of the day, he [Gibson] will be ready to roll this week. Just felt like for our football team and the longevity, all of it, there were a couple of guys we held out that could've played in that one. But we'll hold 'em for this week.”

Gibson III did not play in Week 1 because of a hamstring injury. The true sophomore played in all 13 games last season on special teams and as a reserve defensive back. He finished 2023 with nine total tackles and one pass defended. In spring and summer practices, Gibson established himself as a starter, especially as the team was waiting for Jermod “Bru” McCoy to recover from a scary ankle injury nearly a year ago.

With McCoy and Gibson III healthy and playing, the defense is nearly back to full health.

Josh Heupel, Nico Iamaleava leading Tennessee football

Tennessee football enjoyed a bit of a renaissance with QB Hendon Hooker under center in 2022, going 11-2 (6-2 SEC) with a 31-14 win against Clemson in the Orange Bowl to cap the season ranked No. 6 nationally. The 2023 season wasn't quite as good under the leadership of QB Joe Milton, but Josh Heupel provided a 9-4 record, a 35-0 win against Iowa in the Citrus Bowl and a respectable No. 17 AP finish.

Now in Year 4,  Heupel has redshirt freshman QB Nico Iamaleava needing to prove that his performance in last year's Citrus Bowl wasn't a fluke. In that game, he passed for 151 yards and a touchdown on 12-of-19 passing. He also rushed for 27 yards and three touchdowns.

Related Tennessee Football NewsArticle continues below
Carrollton Trojans quarterback Julian Lewis (10) watches on from the sidelines against the Westlake Lions during the first half at Grisham Stadium.
Who is the 17-year-old QB replacing Shedeur Sanders at Colorado?
USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley during the fourth quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl.
USC learns Big Ten rival is hosting decommitted 5-star first
Colorado Buffalos head coach Deion Sanders in the second half during the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium and Cody Campbell Field.
Deion Sanders gets commitment from 2026 pass catcher over Notre Dame, LSU

Iamaleava's Week 1 warmup against Chattanooga was productive and then some. The 6-foot-6, 215 lb star lit it up with 314 yards and three scores.

What's impressive is many talking heads already believe Iamaleava is better than Hooker and Milton. After putting the beatdown on Chattanooga, the signal-caller talked a big game about what he learned in that contest.

“Shoot, to keep our foot on their throat,” said Iamaleava. “When we go up big, I think still coming to the sideline with the same mindset that it's 0-0. And just carrying that out the full game, full four quarters, like Coach Heup says.”

If Iamaleava can back up those words against NC State on Saturday, the national media will quickly notice what's happening in Knoxville.