Nico Iamaleava’s volume could be scrutinized as much as his completion percentage this season.

The latter is certainly much higher than the former for the Tennessee quarterback.

“With Nico, as a young player, (reporters) got a lot of questions about him as a leader,” coach Josh Heupel said at SEC Media Days in Dallas on Tuesday.

“Well, he’s phenomenal in communication in one-on-one situations and small groups. But he’s taking more and more ownership within our entire offense and within our football team.”

Coaches and teammates have been impressed by how Iamaleava talks to players.

For example, when a wide receiver runs the wrong route, Iamaleava doesn’t shout at him across the field. He jogs to the receiver, puts his arm on his shoulder and talks face-to-face to make the adjustment.

That’s what reporters observed during practices open to media in the spring.

And coaches said Iamaleava is very studious, vocal and encouraging during position meetings.

“A lot of people think he’s young. But there’s a full team surrounding him that looks at him as a leader,” 26-year-old linebacker Keenan Pili said. “Even just this spring, you saw his growth (as a leader). But the talent has always been there for Nico.”

So can Iamaleava lead the Vols without a loud, fiery approach? Well, that’s the unanswered question as he takes over as the undisputed QB1 as a redshirt freshman.

Nico Iamaleava's first task? Run the offense

Heupel thinks Iamaleava’s voice naturally will get louder – figuratively and probably literally – after his play does the talking.

That’s gone well so far.

Iamaleava, a former five-star recruit, showed his talent during his Citrus Bowl MVP performance in his first start to finish last season.

“The first thing you got to do is master your position, and he’s continued to grow in that,” Heupel said. “Every young quarterback that I've had – and I've started with a lot of freshman quarterbacks in my career – the mastering of the position and the ownership of (executing) the gameday plan, you grow as a leader when those things happen.”

Vols have veteran leaders who can help

Last season, Iamaleava learned from starting quarterback Joe Milton the value of building close relationships with teammates.

And players appreciated the humility that Iamaleava showed after arriving as arguably the No. 1 recruit in the nation. It’s turned Iamaleava’s soft-spoken demeanor into a positive.

“What makes him a great leader for us is just how he acts,” center Cooper Mays said. “For a guy that had all the things that he had going on, especially coming out of high school, I don’t know that I would’ve come in very humble and ready to learn.

“But he’s done a great job of taking everything in stride, and people respect that. Nico is a really good guy.”

Mays will be a valuable asset for Iamaleava in running Tennessee’s up-tempo offense. The All-SEC center has operated Heupel’s system for the past three seasons.

And plenty of veteran players on the Vols roster can share the leadership load.

Mays, Pili and defensive lineman Omari Thomas represented Tennessee at SEC Media Days rather than Iamaleava. The trio of captains combined to play 125 games with 87 starts in their careers.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football: Josh Heupel on Nico Iamaleava's quarterback voice