It is a stunning transfer, however some would say it was certain to occur.
Nico Iamaleava was the beginning quarterback at Tennessee till Saturday morning. He was coming off a dominant season throughout which he led the Volunteers to the inaugural 12-team Faculty Soccer Playoff.
On Thursday, a report emerged that Iamaleava and Tennessee had been having “contract negotiations” for a brand new NIL deal for him in 2025. Then, taking a web page out of the NFL playbook, Iamaleava seemingly staged a “holdout.”
He didn’t attend follow on Friday, a day earlier than Tennessee’s Orange and White scrimmage. That prompted head coach Josh Heupel to inform the crew on Saturday morning that Tennessee was moving on from Iamaleava.
Heupel’s announcement emerged after the report that the previous five-star quarterback was coming into the switch portal. ESPN’s Chris Low is reporting that Iamaleava notified Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle on Friday night time of his choice to enter the portal, and Heupel and “a number of staffers” tried to succeed in out to him.
