NASHVILLE − Nico Iamaleava's first pass flew barely beyond the reach of Kaleb Webb on Saturday, missing a touchdown by inches.

Tennessee football fans responded by chanting "Ni-co!" at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

The Vols freshman quarterback made his anticipated debut late in UT's 49-13 win against Virginia after senior starter Joe Milton accounted for four touchdowns. He showed athletic ability in the pocket and poise. He showed a lot of the traits that Vols coach Josh Heupel has seen and expects to continue seeing.

"Really calm, cool," Heupel said. "Good demeanor. Able to communicate. Handled all the pre-snap stuff the right way. Get his eyes in the right place. ... All in all, a really solid performance from him.”

Iamaleava was 2-for-3 passing for 11 yards. He ran once for an 8-yard gain. Milton was 21-for-30 passing for 201 yards and two touchdowns against Virginia. He rushed for two touchdowns.

Iamaleava, a five-star prospect in the 2023 class, entered with 12:46 to play in the fourth quarter. He ran on his second play, escaping pressure and running through a tackler. He missed the pass to Webb in the end zone after again eluding pass rusher, then completed a 6-yard pass to Webb. He completed another pass to Webb on his second drive, gaining 5 yards.

"I thought he showed some athleticism," Heupel said. "I love the feel in the pocket, being able to step up and get out of it and go make a play with his feet. He is athletic enough to be used in the run game and escape the pocket. I thought some of the run-pass stuff he did a good job of. Made an athletic throw, didn’t complete it — throwing across his body on a little slant route."

Iamaleava was ranked as the No. 2 recruit nationally in the 247Sports Composite, which slotted him as the third-best Vols recruit in the recruiting era since 2000.

The coveted prospect from California committed to the Vols in March 2022 and chose them over Georgia, Oregon, Alabama and Miami, among dozens of scholarship offers. Iamaleava enrolled at Tennessee in December and took part in Orange Bowl practices. He ran the scout team as Cade Klubnik, who started for Clemson in UT's 31-14 win on Dec. 30.

Iamaleava is one of two scholarship quarterbacks on the Tennessee roster, along with the senior Milton. Gaston Moore and Navy Shuler are reserves.

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: Josh Heupel pleased with Nico Iamaleava's debut for Tennessee football