Urban Meyer reacts to Nico Iamaleava leaving Volunteers due to NIL rift: 'Tennessee is screwed'
The college football world saw the first player holdout due to NIL negotiations at Tennessee with quarterback Nico Iamaleava, which led many to speculate who was right and wrong in the first-of-its-kind dilemma.
Add former college football coach Urban Meyer to that mix.
Meyer discussed it on his "The Triple Option" podcast. And no, he isn't all for Tennessee and head coach Josh Heupel making a stand and not giving into Iamaleava's NIL demands.
"Here's the reality — Tennessee is screwed," Meyer explained. "They got a problem. You lose a potential high draft pick. You have the backup quarterback left last year, and now you have a redshirt freshman that threw nine passes as a freshman. You have zero experience, and the portal opens as we speak. They are going to have to go get one."
The same transfer portal Iamaleava is heading to is where Tennessee is expected to be looking for a potential new starter heading into the 2025 season. Heupel and his program did not expect to be in this position, but he sent a stern message when asked about the quarterback dilemma he finds himself in.
"It's the state of college football," Heupel told the Vol Network Saturday. "At the end of the day, no one is ever bigger than the program. That includes me too.
"We've got an opportunity. We've got a bunch of guys who are going to give their all for Tennessee. We move forward. Got a great group. Let's go compete."
As Meyer mentioned, Iamaleava is expected to be a first-round talent heading into the 2026 NFL Draft. He wanted to renegotiate his reported $10 million NIL deal with the Vols, which spanned multiple years, according to ESPN.
The rift between quarterback and team was irreconcilable, and Tennessee made it known when Iamaleava was left off the spring game roster.
Many commended Tennessee for its stance, which included Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal, who made it clear to his own program that NIL holdouts wouldn't be tolerated.
"We're not going to do that at Miami, and I say that without any hesitation," he said at the Hurricanes' spring game, according to the Sun-Sentinel. "If anyone's thinking that — and they could be the best player in the world — if they want to play holdout, they might as well play get out."
Meyer, though, thinks fans are going to forget about Tennessee's stance if it's not winning. After all, Iamaleava led the team to the College Football Playoff this past season.
"Everybody's saying, 'Nice job Tennessee, making a stand.' I've got a little comment on that. Tennessee plays Florida usually every year in October. Can you imagine that game's going the other way and coach Heupel grabs the microphone and stands on the 50-yard line in Neyland Stadium and says, 'It's OK, I made a stand way back when.'"
Meyer said he doesn't have the right answer for Tennessee now that it split with Iamaleava. But as someone who has seen just about everything in college football, he can't believe the situation today.
"I, as a guy that's been involved almost 40 years in this game, I can't believe this happened," he said.
Iamaleava has been linked to Oregon as a possible destination, according to multiple reports.
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