Nico Iamaleava has given Josh Heupel a four-game sample size of starts in 2024.

The Tennessee football coach likes what he has seen from the redshirt freshman quarterback and the way he is leading UT’s top-ranked offense.

“Loved a lot of what we have seen,” Heupel said Monday. “The great thing about him at this point is great competitive composure. Goes and plays the next play independent and free.”

Iamaleava and the No. 4 Vols (4-0, 1-0 SEC) play at Arkansas (3-2, 1-1) on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC). He has completed 69.3% of his passes for 892 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

What Josh Heupel wants Nico Iamaleava to clean up

Heupel is a fan of a lot of what Iamaleava has done in his first season as the Tennessee starting quarterback. But there is room for improvement.

Iamaleava had two fumbles in UT’s 25-15 win at Oklahoma on Sept. 14 prior to the open week.

“Continued growth taking care of the football,” Heupel said. "It has presented itself different ways. At the end of the day, he has got to make it right. At times, that means not turning a negative play into one that kicks us in the butt.”

Both fumbles were on strip-sacks with Tennessee’s offensive line missing players. Neither cost Tennessee as the defense forced turnovers on the ensuing Oklahoma drives.

Iamaleava threw both his interceptions this season in the Vols’ 51-10 win against North Carolina State on Sept. 7 in Charlotte.

“It is OK in some of those situations to go punt the football,” Heupel said.

Nico Iamaleava is leading Tennessee football into road test at Arkansas 

Iamaleava is making his second straight road start with UT playing at Arkansas.

He was 13-for-21 for 194 yards with a touchdown at Oklahoma in his first road start.

"He has handled himself well on the road. He and the offense have some areas we can continue to grow in that area,” Heupel said. “That will be another big challenge with this football, heading to Fayetteville and understanding the type of environment we are going to get ready to play in.”

That is where Iamaleava’s composure — of which Heupel is a fan — will come into play again. He falls back on his consistency amid the potential chaos.

ADAMS: Tennessee football history with Arkansas should make it wary of upset

Heupel also lauded Iamaleava’s command of the offense and his ability to adjust to opposing defenses. He mentioned defenses throwing different looks at Tennessee than it had shown on film, which was the case at Oklahoma. Iamaleava handled it in stride to get a win in his first road start.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Nico Iamaleava's first four starts for Tennessee please Josh Heupel