The Tennessee Volunteers were the focal point of the college football world this past weekend when they opted to move on from quarterback Nico Iamaleava. This happened after Iamaleava, the team's starting quarterback last season, held out of spring practices and meetings over a dispute regarding his name, image, and likeness (NIL) contract. With that, Iamaleava entered the transfer portal, with fans and media members around the world wondering where he will land.
The main reason why Iamaleava held out is because he was reportedly looking to earn $4 million on his NIL deal. So, that is likely what he's looking for from his new team. Unfortunately for Iamaleava, his options are legitimately drying up.
That was evident this past week when the North Carolina Tar Heels, who were predicted to be a legitimate landing spot, bowed out, according to On3 Sports' Pete Nakos. Instead, the Tar Heels are opting to pursue South Alabama's Gio Lopez.
So with the Tar Heels out, there are very limited options left for Iamaleava. So, was it really worth it for Iamaleava to walk out of Tennessee?
Nico Iamaleava's landing spots are drying up after declaring for transfer portal
The Tar Heels would have made sense, considering the Tar Heels are looking to contend with Bill Belichick as their head coach. But, Belichick has his eyes on Lopez instead. So, who is left in the running for Iamaleava?
A report from ESPN's Pete Thamel and Chris Low this past weekend that Iamaleava reached out to the Oregon Ducks before spring practices. However, Oregon told Iamaleava that they were not interested. So, that was one spot off the board.
Given the SEC rules, Iamaleava could not play during the 2025 season if he were to transfer to an in-conference school, so those options were off the table as well.
Nakos reported that there were three schools were in the mix for Iamaleava — North Carolina, UCLA, and Tulane. With North Carolina pulling themselves out of the running, that leaves UCLA and Tulane. UCLA makes sense since Iamaleava is from Long Beach. As for Tulane, they have a quarterback need with TJ Finley suspended.
What other programs are there as landing spots for Iamaleava? USC and Notre Dame were both programs linked to Iamaleava, but Nakos reports that neither school will pursue him. Texas Tech was also a potential landing spot for Iamaleava, but they are also not pursuing the quarterback.
But on Tuesday, Nakos reported that multiple schools are waiting for Iamaleava's asking price to drop to around $1 million. If that does happen, there will be more contenders.
We should get a bit more clarity on the Iamaleava situation once the spring transfer portal window opens up on Wednesday, Apr. 16. Will there be more schools in the running? Or will Iamaleava truly be left choosing between UCLA or Tulane? Perhaps most importantly, was it worth it for Iamaleava to force his way out of Tennessee, especially if he doesn't get the NIL raise he was looking for from the Volunteers?
Again, we should get our answers in the coming days.