REPORT: Tennessee ‘moving on' from quarterback Nico Iamaleava
Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
Tennessee is reportedly 'moving on' from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
Days after a reports involving Iamaleava and NIL negotiations surfaced and one day after Iamaleava no-showed at the Vols' final spring practice, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Saturday that Josh Heupel informed the team that Iamaleava was no longer part of the program.
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Iamaleava is expected to enter the transfer portal when the spring window opens on Wednesday.
Tennessee is set to play its annual Orange and White Spring Game at Neyland Stadium at 2 p.m. ET.
Initially, Thursday saw a report from Pete Nakos claiming that Iamaleava was in 'active contract negotiations' regarding his NIL deal. The post breaking the news also said it was 'unclear if the negotiations will impact whether he enters the spring transfer portal.'
Then, Iamaleava's father, Nic, took to his Twitter/X to claim he 'had no idea on what he's talking about.'
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On Friday, Pete Thamel reported that Iamaleava was absent from Tennessee's practice on Friday morning.
Iamaleava is coming off his second season with Tennessee and first as the starter.
He led the Vols to a College Football Playoff berth before falling on the road to Ohio State in the opening round. It was the second double-digit win season under Josh Heupel.
Iamaleava finished the year with 2,616 passing yards on 64% completion. He threw for 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 364 yards and three touchdowns.
He was the first Tennessee true or redshirt freshman quarterback to lead the Vols to 10 regular season wins. He also notched a Tennessee record by being named SEC Freshman of the Week four times, breaking Tyler Bray's old record of three
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As a true freshman, Iamaleava started in the Citrus Bowl. He led the Vols to a dominant win over Iowa.
On the year, he threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns while scampering for 71 yards and three scores. He did not throw an interception.
Iamaleava was a five-star recruit and No. 2 overall player in the 2023 class. He was the top player out of California and No. 2 at his position.
The only player in front of him was Arch Manning, the current Texas signal caller.
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