Nico Iamaleava shocked the college football world when he ghosted Tennessee over NIL contract disputes before later being dismissed from the team. It brought a spotlight back to the conversation of how the NCAA royally screwed up how they implemented NIL.
But as they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. While Tennessee was ready to move on from the pending headache that was Iamaleava, there won’t be a shortage of teams that will want to lure him with his reported $4 million price tag.
One of those teams could be a nightmare for Tennessee. Not that they’d ever face said team, but it could cause a headache in the College Football Playoff discussion as his new team could end up taking a spot from the Vols if Iamaleava improves on his redshirt freshman year at Tennessee.
Nico Iamaleava paired with Mike Denbrock would make Josh Heupel, Tennessee regret letting Iamaleava walk
If I’m Marcus Freeman, I’m not wasting any time in talking with Iamaleava to lure him to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have a quarterback vacancy and they have a secret weapon that could almost instantly amplify their offense.
Mike Denbrock spent two seasons at LSU and was the offensive coordinator both of Jayden Daniels’ years with the Tigers. By the end of his senior season, Daniels was a Heisman winner and then ended up being the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. This past season, Daniels led the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Iamaleava could use a coach like Denbrock to develop under. Iamaleava showed signs of being a solid quarterback, but needs some extra work. With what Denbrock was able to do with Daniels for two seasons, Iamaleava could greatly improve under Denbrock.
Freeman has the secret weapon to unleash if he’s interested in another transfer portal quarterback. Freeman and the Fighting Irish dipped into the portal last year to pluck Riley Leonard from Duke.
He’s had some success with portal quarterbacks, playing for the school’s first national championship since former coach Brian Kelly led Notre Dame to the 2012 title game against Alabama.
Freeman has been quiet when it comes to looking at portal quarterbacks, but Iamaleava could change that. Iamaleava is a dual threat quarterback that could still improve as a passer, but can create with his mobility.
Iamaleava needs the right system to truly develop into an elite quarterback and live up to his five-star rating. Right now, he still has a lot to improve on. Denbrock could be the perfect coach to develop him.
It could also be the reason Tennessee might get left out of the College Football Playoff. If Iamaleava looks better at his next school and it happens to be Notre Dame, the Vols could have nightmares about Iamaleava as long as he’s still in college.