Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava’s helmet cracks due to violent impact

Josh Heupel knew the physical was coming on Saturday mod Ohio State. The Tennessee head coach probably didn’t bet on his quarterback, Nico Iamaleavawith a cracked helmet after a drive. But when Iamaleavea went to the sideline early in the first quarter with a large crack on a white part of the helmet.

Ohio State tried to bring Iamaleava to the ground on a third down when the linebacker Cody Simon stepped up. A large collision between the two saw helmet-to-helmet contact, but not to the degree of targeting.

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Before taking the field for Tennessee’s second drive, a brand new helmet was required. A struggle for the team’s equipment staff, although the Ohio State offense gave them little time to come up with a replacement.

“It was a huge hit,” ESPN’s Marty Smith said. “Actually, it put a six-inch crack on top of Nico Iamaleava’s helmet. He now has a new helmet. The equipment staff at Tennessee has been working hard lately to try to prepare for the new helmet. They just told me that the equipment staff did, it was very similar to what happened with Patrick Mahomes‘ helmet in Kansas City a few weeks ago.