At least three teams have shown interest.
Nico Iamaleava’s messy exit from Tennessee will become official on Wednesday when the post-spring transfer portal period opens for ten days. The former five-star quarterback will be looking for a new home after Tennessee balked at his camp’s latest demands, which included a pay raise of up to $4 million per year.
Iamaleava was finishing up spring practices and prepping for the weekend’s Orange and White Game when a report from On3 stated that he was in active negotiations with Tennessee on a new contract. That was seemingly shot down late on Thursday night by his father, but then Iamaleava didn’t show up to practice on Friday morning.
That was enough for Heupel, who quickly told the team that Tennessee would be moving forward without him as a part of the program. Heupel is left with a huge hole on his roster with just a summer’s worth of time to fix it. Iamaleava now becomes the hottest name in the spring portal.
The rumor mill had been churning here for a while with Nico. Iamaleava flirted with the portal in December, and some reports state that he and his reps were even approaching different schools in an attempt to make a move. Oregon, USC, UCLA, Notre Dame and Texas Tech were the main schools involved, but now with a timeline like this, many already have answers at quarterback and don’t have the funds to add another this late in the process.
So where could Iamaleava end up? According to Pete Nakos at On3, three options have emerged.
UCLA
With Oregon and USC reportedly not interested, UCLA is one of the few P4 programs that make sense. Can they meet the Iamaleava’s financial demands though? Furthermore, what does this relationship even look like after little brother Madden’s decommitment from the Bruins just a few short months ago? UCLA could certainly use the talent, but the fit is still in question.
North Carolina
I’ll be honest, this one surprised me. New head coach Bill Belichick is notoriously a no non-sense guy, and him dealing with the circus that is the Iamaleava camp doesn’t seem like something he would be interest in. But a need at quarterback may spur some action here.
Belichick inherits Max Johnson, who is coming off of injury from last season. He likely sees Iamaleava as an obvious upgrade, but is the money and potential headache worth it? That’s something he and his staff are likely figuring out as we speak.
Tulane
And finally out of left field, Nakos mentions Tulane as a wildcard. Head coach Jon Sumrall has a need at the position following the suspension of TJ Finley and will likely try to add someone in the spring portal window. Should Iamaleava’s value be less than what the family believes, could the Green Wave be an option?
Any of these three options are clear downgrades for Nico, who helped push Tennessee to a College Football Playoff berth last season through the SEC. He’ll now be forced to learn a new offense and acclimate to a new school and staff ahead of his redshirt sophomore season — one that could have sent him to the NFL at Tennessee if all went well.
Knowing this situation, it likely won’t be cut and dry as they try to navigate the next several days and find a new home. Tennessee is on the opposite side of the equation now, likely in contact with sitting starting quarterbacks elsewhere in an attempt to save the upside of the 2025 season.
Buckle up.