For Steve Spurrier to show any sympathy to the Tennessee Volunteers, you know something major has happened. The Head Ball Coach grew up in Johnson City, but was not recruited by his home state's team out of high school. He went on to become a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for Florida before eventually becoming the greatest coach in program history at two different SEC institutions.
Spurrier has never shied away from a controversial comment, especially if he can poke fun at a rival team of Florida or South Carolina's. His favorite punching bags historically have been Auburn, Florida State and Georgia, but the amount of animus he harbors toward Tennessee is and always will be next level. So when Spurrier actually defends Tennessee in the Nico Iamaleava situation, color me dumbstruck.
Here is what Spurrier had to say on the situation while appearing on Another Dooley Noted Podcast.
“It’ll be interesting to see who picks him up. But Tennessee, I think they did the right thing. They said, ‘Hey, we had a deal for four years.’ I think they had with him, and now he wanted to open it. And they said, ‘No, we’re not going to do that’. So they’re looking for a quarterback. So many schools are. Basketball coaches are the same way, and it’s just open season on everybody.
Spurrier finished his comment with another great point: Everybody is a free agent every year now.
“Everybody’s a free agent every year in all sports in college now. Let’s have some rules here and go from there. But they haven’t yet. We’re going to be in this 'til somebody changes the rules. I don’t know who’s going to do it.”
Here is the entire episode of Another Dooley Noted Podcast where Spurrier talked about Tennessee.
In a way, it does not surprise me that a former SEC head coach would defend other head coaches.
Steve Spurrier's defense of Tennessee over Nico Iamaleava is spot on
Spurrier may be old school, but I appreciate the notion of Tennessee having made a deal with Iamaleava to come there. His brief foray into the transfer portal has been a dark mark on the sport of college football. The fact he has entered it with a do not contact label suggests he already has his new team picked out. We saw this when Kadyn Proctor returned to Alabama after leaving for Iowa.
Obviously, nobody is ever actively rooting for their rival. You may find pleasure in their misfortune more often than you should. However, situations like the one manifesting in Knoxville between Iamaleava's camp and the Volunteers football program is not one to openly mock. As Spurrier implied, this is bad for the sport. It may be the new way of doing things, but optically, it is terrible.
Ultimately, Tennessee is going to have to find a new quarterback and Iamaleava will have to find new place to play. For Spurrier, this makes his rooting interests in Florida even better, as the Gators stand a far better chance of beating the Volunteers this season without Iamaleava as part of the Vols' program. Regardless, we can only hope this situation is the anomaly and not a sign of more things to come.
Spurrier can be petty, but his astute commentary is part of why we love this sport so very much.