I don’t necessarily agree with Urban Meyer that Tennessee is at "nada, zero" after Nico Iamaleava's departure, but there is an interesting question about how the rabid Volunteers’ fan base is going to absorb this whole thing once the situation settles down and Tennessee has to actually start playing games without its five-star quarterback.
The only two quarterbacks on the roster are former four-star Jake Merklinger, who only has experience against Chattanooga and Kent State, and George MacIntyre, who at 6-foot-6 and 190 pounds needs to hit Golden Corral daily before he will see the field. The Vols could go portal but what high-end guys are left available?
MORE IAMALEAVA: Urban Meyer speaks out about Nico-Vols situation | High school QB recruits react
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One wonders if coach Josh Heupel, after building up some credibility after going 30-9 over the last three seasons and taking the Vols to the College Football Playoff, is kitchen-sinking this thing after Iamaleava’s departure. Blame Nico for 2025.
What else could be the explanation unless the Vols are fixing to hit the transfer portal mighty hard in the spring window and not just for a quarterback replacement.
Over the last few days, I’ve talked to numerous people around Iamaleava and quite honestly I don’t know what story to believe. It sure feels like he was asking for more money according to all the reports.
But over the course of last season, I’m quite certain Iamaleava’s father was imploring Heupel and the Tennessee staff to get better receivers who could separate more and build a better offensive line so Iamaleava didn’t crack helmets and get sacked 28 times.
I know for sure in December the Tennessee staff was made aware that Iamaleava was seriously considering – to the point of having family meetings – entering the transfer portal then.
It would have made significantly better financial sense for Iamaleava to leave Knoxville then, before the majority of teams already jumped on other star quarterbacks like Carson Beck (from Georgia to Miami), John Mateer (from Washington State to Oklahoma), Jackson Arnold (from Oklahoma to Auburn) and so many others.
Whether it was horrifically poor advice or a poor decision or clutching to hope things would change, Iamaleava returned to Knoxville frustrated.
By the end of those weeks back with the team, the feeling from him and his family was that things were not improving at receiver – and actually had regressed – and by last week after reportedly being asked multiple times by Heupel if he was staying or going, it was time to go.
The timing could not have been worse as the reports now are that Iamaleava is having difficulty finding a new home, and probably at a reduced price.
But leading receiver Bru McCoy is gone to the NFL Draft. Speedy Squirrel White transferred to Florida State. Dont’e Thornton, who led the team in touchdowns, is off to the NFL. According to the Rivals Portal numbers, nine Tennessee pass-catchers are looking for a new school. Who’s left?
Former NFL receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who knows the Iamaleava family, said on LaVar Arrington’s podcast that Tennessee was “lying” about this whole situation of Iamaleava holding out for more dough. A source told me that neither Iamaleava nor his reps had talked to Spyre Sports Group, Tennessee’s collective, since January.
The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Iamaleava was probably trying to rework his NIL deal after major frustrations emerged. Give me more if I’m going to take a beating and have to throw to these nobodies.
There’s no doubt he was seriously thinking about a portal jump in December and Tennessee knew it. I saw text messages clearly stating that.
But it’s also true that by waiting, Iamaleava took a major gamble and now finds himself in a more precarious position from a football and PR standpoint.
“Today’s landscape of college football is different than what it has been,” Heupel said after Saturday’s spring game.
“It’s unfortunate and the situation we’re at with Nico. I want to thank him for everything that he’s done since he’s gotten here. As a recruit to who he was as a player and how he competed inside of the building. A great appreciation for that side of it. Obviously, we’re moving forward as a program without him. I said it to the guys today, ‘There is no one that’s bigger than the Power T and that includes me.’”
Only time will tell how Heupel will be received by the Tennessee fan base for his handling – rightly or wrongly – of the Iamaleava situation. The Vols are undoubtedly worse at the position at least for this season until five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon gets to town. Next man up, I guess.
“Everybody’s saying, ‘Nice job Tennessee, making a stand,’ ” Meyer said on The Triple Option podcast. “I’ve got a little comment on that. Tennessee plays Florida usually every year in October. Can you imagine that game’s going the other way and Josh Heupel grabs the microphone and stands on the 50-yard line in Neyland Stadium and says, ‘It’s OK, I made a stand way back when.' "
