Josh Heupel knew the physicality was coming on Saturday against Ohio State. The Tennessee head coach probably did not bet on his quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, having a cracked helmet after one drive. But as Iamaleavea left for the sideline early in the first quarter with a huge crack on a white portion of his helmet.

Ohio State was attempting to get Iamaleava to the ground on a third down when linebacker Cody Simon stepped up. A big collision between the two did see 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 completely new helmet was required. A scramble for the team’s equipment staff, even if the Ohio State offense gave them a little time to provide a replacement.

“It was a huge hit,” ESPN’s Marty Smith said. “In fact, it put a six-inch crack on top of Nico Iamaleava’s helmet. He now has a new helmet. The equipment staff of Tennessee worked vigorously during that last time to try to prepare for the new helmet. They just told me, the equipment staff did, it was very similar to what happened to Patrick Mahomes‘ helmet in Kansas City a few weeks back.”

The ESPN broadcast did mention and even show the play Iamaleava suffered a concussion on when facing Mississippi State. He thankfully returned the following week against Georgia and finished out the season. It gets brought up due to the massive hit he took from Simon.

Iamaleava is back on the field and with a completely new helmet. A big win for the quarterback as Tennessee is already dealing with a deficit.

ESPN reporter Holly Rowe offered an update on the conditions with a couple of hours to go until the game starts, also previewing how it will affect Iamaleava.

“Nico Iamaleava is from California, and he said, ‘I’ve played in cold weather before. It snowed in Knoxville this week.’ He said he played a 7-on-7 tournament in nationals and threw a lot of touchdowns, but they lost the game. It will be a factor for both teams as they try to navigate the extreme cold here in Columbus. But I’m told, no precipitation. So we are looking forward to a loud, exciting – if a little chilly – football game.”

On3’s Chandler Vessels contributed to this report