Tennessee's Iamaleava expected to play vs. Georgia

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel expects quarterback Nico Iamaleava to be available for Saturday's matchup against Georgia.

"(Iamaleava) was with us today. (He) had a really good day," Heupel said during his weekly press conference, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel's Adam Sparks. "(We) feel like he'll be in great shape for Saturday. But you guys can monitor the (SEC availability) report on Wednesday and track it through the week."

The redshirt freshman didn't return to last week's 33-14 win over Mississippi State after halftime because of an upper-body injury. Heupel didn't go into detail about the severity of Iamaleava's injury.

Iamaleava has displayed gradual improvement in his first season as a starter. The promising signal-caller has thrown for 1,879 yards, 11 touchdowns, and four interceptions with a 65.2% completion rate.

Vols leading receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. is also expected to be available after exiting the Mississippi State game with an upper-body injury. The senior wideout has hauled in 20 receptions for 505 yards and four touchdowns.

Tennessee (8-1) travels to Georgia (7-2) for a pivotal matchup with repercussions for the SEC title picture and the College Football Playoff.