By TJ Chapman
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with his team Saturday morning to let them know that the Volunteers were moving on from quarterback Nico Iamaleava, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
https://twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/1911051704935596510
Iamaleava and his camp had been rumored to be in negotiations with Tennessee on a new NIL deal in the $4 million range. His current deal is said to be between $2-$2.5 million. The first reports of a renegotiation were said to have been started in December 2024.
As reports of the recent negotiations were making their rounds on social media the past two days, Iamaleava no-showed team meetings and the Vols’ Friday practice.
https://twitter.com/ClowESPN/status/1911064580144382168
ESPN’s Chris Low reported that Iamaleava notified Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle late Friday night that he finished the paperwork and would be entering the transfer portal next week.
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Tennessee calling Iamaleava’s bluff may have saved many programs from the nonsense of being held hostage by the players, and their camps, looking for a more lucrative deal. Had Tennessee increased Iamaleava’s deal that would have set a precedent for other players to do the same at their current schools.
While some players may still try to holdout, the decision by Tennessee to cut loose a star player might make potential holdouts decide it’s not worth holding out for more money. The decision may also finally push the people in charge to step up and fix the issues plaguing college football today.
There are rules and regulations in place, but someone needs to enforce them. The NCAA is powerless and terrified of being dragged to court. The first move is to dismantle the NCAA, break away from the entity that has caused the current landscape. A new governing body, and probably a union, are needed to keep college athletics from imploding.
With Iamaleava, it was a roller coaster ride for his time in Knoxville, Tenn. He signed what was at the time the largest NIL deal coming out of high school, a reported $8 million over three years. When the NCAA investigated his recruitment, Tennessee filed a lawsuit to stop the NCAA which essentially did away with the NCAA’s recruiting rules.
In 2023, Iamaleava’s true freshman season, he was the backup to Joe Milton III. Nico played sparingly during the season until his first collegiate start against Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. In that game Iamaleava was the MVP as he went 12-of-19 for 151 yards and a touchdown while also getting 215 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
There were high hopes heading into the 2024 season after that performance and while Tennessee finished 2024 with a record of 10-3, Iamaleava’s season was filled with ups and downs. Against inferior opponents Iamaleava shined but when playing against tougher defenses his flaws stood out.
https://twitter.com/costello_nic/status/1910807814231958011
The inability to connect consistently on deep passes was evident. Part of what makes Heupel’s offense so deadly is when defenses load the box to stop the run the deep pass is utilized for big plays. Tennessee’s run game was not necessarily hurt by the lack of a consistent deep passing attack, but the offense could have been more explosive than it was.
Iamaleava’s ability to run is one of his better traits, but his numbers in 2024 do not jump off the page at you. He finished with only 358 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. The most rushing attempts Iamaleava had in 2024 came in the College Football Playoff game at Ohio State, where he rushed 20 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
The combination of less than stellar passing statistics and rushing statistics begs the question: why does Iamaleava’s camp believe he deserved more money in an NIL deal? Looking at it objectively, one could argue that he hasn’t justified the deal he signed out of high school.
From what is reported about Iamaleava, he is a good kid who works hard and is well liked. The unfortunate part of NIL is that a lot of players have parents, agents and others who are looking to benefit from the money the players are getting. This seems like the situation for Iamaleava, that this is being driven by others, not necessarily by Nico himself.
With Iamaleava gone the Vols will turn to redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger or true freshman George McIntyre. Another option will be if Heupel chooses to dip into the transfer portal for an experienced quarterback in a backup role.
https://twitter.com/joelklatt/status/1911088829056110733
Until college football decides to fix or enforce the rules and regulations of NIL and the transfer portal, these situations will continue.
Good on Tennessee for not allowing the camp of one of its players to dictate the situation. This might just be the gut shot that college athletics needed to pull their heads out of the sand and fix this wonderful sport we love.
