Nico Iamaleava transfer rumors: USC passing, Colorado interest, SEC teams off-limits

The unthinkable has actually come to pass: After a standoff this spring over NIL compensation, Tennessee and starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava have officially gone their separate ways, with the former five-star now set to hit the spring transfer portal this week after two years in Knoxville.

It's a development that has sent and will continue to send shockwaves around the sport, a flashpoint in the ongoing evolution of NIL, the portal era and how to compensate college athletes. But this is also an on-field story as well, an established SEC starter at the most important position on the field now looking for a new home just months ahead of the start of the 2025 season.

As you might imagine, the rumors about where Iamaleava may wind up have already started flying. Here's all the latest on which schools are (or aren't) interested.

Nico Iamaleava transfer rumors: SEC teams are off-limits

From the moment news of friction between Iamaleava and the Vols broke, potential landing spots started flying fast and furious. While it's still far too early to know where the QB might wind up playing in 2025, we at least know where he won't: anywhere in the SEC.

That's because, per conference rules, no SEC player can transfer to another SEC school during the spring window with immediate eligibility, even as a grad transfer. The rule was has been kept in place throughout the transfer portal era, largely out of fear that a rival would poach a player after spring practices had wrapped and be able to game some schematic advantage.

Granted, there weren't a ton of natural landing spots for Iamaleava in the SEC anyway, but he'll have to look elsewhere to continue his career.

Nico Iamaleava transfer rumors: USC not in the running

One of the most popular fits when word of Iamaleava's transfer broke was USC. Not only were the Trojans involved in his recruitment out of high school, but Lincoln Riley also finds himself in need of some help at quarterback right now, with Jayden Maiava hardly seizing his opportunity toward the end of last year and not wanting to throw promising true freshman Husan Longstreet directly into the fire. Riley needs to shake things up in year four in L.A., and nabbing Iamaleava would certainly qualify.

Yet, it seems like USC doesn't have a ton of interest, at least if a report from Rivals' Adam Gorney is to be believed.

While an Iamaleava transfer would certainly help Riley win the news cycle, that doesn't seem to be where his focus is right now. Nor should it be: Nothing we've seen from Iamaleava so far suggests that he'd be good enough to elevate the Trojans to title contenders in 2025, and bringing him in at this point of the offseason comes with plenty of financial and culture risk.

Riley instead looks to be taking a more sober, measured approach to building his USC program, and that will likely pay more dividends in the long run.

Nico Iamaleava transfer rumors: Colorado an option?

While USC doesn't appear to be on the table, don't rule out Deion Sanders and Colorado just yet.

Of course, the above report should be taken with a grain of salt; all it says is that Iamaleava's camp reached out, not that the programs reciprocated that interest, and leaking that sort of news was likely just an attempt to exert some pressure on Tennessee amid tense negotiations.

That being said, it's hard to count Deion Sanders out of any situation like this, even if he already made his transfer splash with Liberty's Kaidon Salter (and already brought in five-star Julian Lewis from the high-school ranks). The Buffaloes have some very big shoes to fill under center, and Iamaleava comes with a ton of upside.