Why Nico Iamaleava would be wise to stay with Tennessee, eschew transfer portal amid reported contract talks

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the Volunteers are in “active” contract negotiations, according to On3, with Tennessee’s “Orange & White” spring game and the spring transfer portal window just days away. The timing suggests Iamaleava’s camp is trying to force Tennessee’s hand, but there’s a strong chance that the matter gets resolved quickly without Iamaleava testing the portal. 

The latest report does at least cast a shred of doubt on his future in Knoxville, but regardless of how the negotiations play out, leaving would be a bad move for Iamaleava. 

While the timing of it all puts some pressure on Tennessee, it also places Iamaleava behind the 8-ball. There’s no doubt that, were he to hit the portal, plenty of suitors would be willing to take a swing on his pedigree, but the market might not be as big as one would expect. Though prominent programs with significant NIL war chests like Oregon and Ohio State are embroiled in their own quarterback competitions, neither showed any interest in a quarterback during the more robust winter window. There’s a chance that they could move for a player of Iamaleava’s caliber, but it seems that those staffs, and staffs at places like Alabama and Notre Dame, are satisfied with the options that they have in house. 

A whopping 42 of 68 Power Four programs already took a quarterback in the winter transfer window. While some of those were depth moves, schools desperate for a new signal-caller have already loaded up. 

Perhaps somewhere like USC would make sense. Iamaleava is a product of Downey, California’s Warren High School. and plenty of his family still reside on the West Coast. Plus, the Trojans do have something of a quarterback vacancy after Miller Moss transferred to…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/why-nico-iamaleava-would-be-wise-to-stay-with-tennessee-eschew-transfer-portal-amid-reported-contract-talks/

Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2025-04-10 20:57:00

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