Tennessee starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava is in concussion protocol and his status for the game against No. 12 Georgia is undetermined, sources told ESPN.
Iamaleava left Tennessee's win over Mississippi State last week with an apparent head injury. He did not return to the sideline for the second half, as he remained in the locker room and then walked out onto the field for the postgame with a towel over his head.
While his status for Saturday is uncertain, there's been some positive signs from Tennessee this week. He did dress and practice on both Monday and Tuesday, and on Monday Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said that Iamaleava was in "great shape" to play in the game on Saturday.
Heupel added that the SEC injury report, the first of which comes out on Wednesday night, will continue to update Iamaleava's status for the weekend.
Whether or not Iamaleava will play looms large over the game for No. 7 Tennessee. He's thrown for 1,879 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He was replaced by senior Gaston Moore against Mississippi State, and Moore threw for 38 yards on 5-of-8 passing as Tennessee nursed a 20-7 halftime lead.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart called the unknown at quarterback "a dilemma," and said he found the Bulldogs "trying to prepare for kind of two guys, because philosophically I don't know how they'll approach it with the other quarterback."
ESPN's Mark Schlabach contributed reporting.
