Dan Lanning's silence is deafening as Nico Iamaleava transfer rumors continue to swirl

The college football world is still reeling from Nico Iamaleava's decision to transfer from Tennessee amid a dispute about his NIL compensation. Most of the conversation has focused on what this saga says about the current state of the sport, and whether schools are finally set to put their foot down when it comes to the transfer portal's ever-increasing financial arms race (especially when it comes to starting quarterbacks).

But Iamaleava and Vols head coach Josh Heupel are far from the only characters in this story. Attention has also shifted to Oregon coach Dan Lanning, and exactly what role he played in Iamaleava's decision to transfer — and Tennessee's decision to let him.

The speculation began in the wake of the Iamaleava bombshell on Saturday, when ESPN's Pete Thamel mentioned that the QB's camp had reached out to Oregon ahead of the start of spring practice. about the possibility of transferring to Eugene. According to Thamel, Lanning and the Ducks didn't show much interest, content to roll with former five-star prospect Dante Moore as the heir apparent to Dillon Gabriel.

But Thamel's report was just the beginning. It wasn't long before social media and message boards were running rampant with rumors that Lanning had given Heupel and Tennessee a heads-up that their starting quarterback was shopping around.

Of course, if everything posted to message boards turned out to be true, college football would look very different right now. It's hard to know just how much fire there is behind all the smoke, and Lanning didn't help matters when pressed by reporters on Saturday.

Dan Lanning stays mum about Nico Iamaleava transfer despite Oregon rumors

Unsurprisingly, the Iamaleava saga was among the first things Lanning was asked about after the Ducks wrapped up practice on Saturday. Also unsurprisingly, he wasn't too keen on getting into the whole thing.

“I’m not getting into anything else except — let’s talk about our scrimmage today,” Lanning said. “The Ducks worked really hard at our scrimmage today.”

That won't do much to slow down speculation here, especially considering the history between Iamaleava and Oregon. The QB was originally expected to commit to the Ducks as a five-star recruit in the class of 2023, before eventually settling on the Vols. Given Oregon's uncertainty under center as it moves on from Gabriel, and Phil Knight's ability to blow just about everyone else out of the water when it comes to NIL, you can understand why Iamaleava might have looked west if he were hoping for a heftier payday.

You can also understand why Lanning wasn't willing to bite; bringing a new starter in on the fly at the most important position on the field is always fraught, and there's plenty of reason to believe in Moore's potential — he was the No. 2-ranked QB in that same class, just ahead of Iamaleava in the eyes of most evaluators. Moore has a head start on learning OC Will Stein's system, and he already has buy-in from the locker room. Why risk that in order to accommodate an expensive and still relatively unproven passer?

That still doesn't answer the question of whether Lanning tipped Heupel off about what Iamaleava was doing. But Tennessee's head coach took a defiant tack when asked about the situation at the end of the Vols' spring game on Saturday.

“Man, listen, it’s the state of college football,” Heupel told Brent Hubbs on The Vol Network radio broadcast. “At the end of the day, no one is ever bigger than the program. That includes me, too. We’ve got an opportunity. We’ve got a bunch of guys that will give their all for Tennessee. We move forward. Got a great group. Let’s go compete.”