There have been several rumors as to why Nico Iamaleava really left Tennessee. It was the money, it was the lack of an offensive line, but now the truth has really come to light and it brings a whole other side to the NIL era, that allows parents to have insight in a program.
The Tennessee Volunteers were stunned in April when Nico Iamaleava abruptly decided to leave the program. The news shocked many and was initially thought of as a contract dispute. Iamaleava’s father didn’t take kindly to the report and decided to call Nakos out.
“More games being played off the field than on the field. Bi7ch Nakos from On3 called and asked me directly, I told him I had no idea on what he’s talking about. He said his ‘close source’ that he trusts with his life from the University of Tennessee staff gave him this,” Iamaleava’s father wrote.
With Iamaleava’s departure, the Vols were left with two inexperienced quarterbacks who had never played in a meaningful collegiate game. This led Tennessee to pursue Joey Aguilar in the transfer portal, and he already appears to be making a positive impact in the locker room, something Iamaleava wasn’t the best at.
As the situation unfolded, Josh Pate suggested that Iamaleava’s representation had misled him and contributed to the chaos.
“The people who screwed this up for him, his representation, should do the first dignified thing they’ve done and step up to take the arrows for him,” Pate said on The Pat McAfee Show. “He’s not the one that got himself into this mess.”
In a recent interview on the Try That in a Small Town Podcast, Kirk Herbstreit revealed the bold ultimatum Iamaleava’s father gave to head coach Josh Heupel.
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“You got to get better around him if you want us to stick around. Which blows my mind that a college quarterback’s dad would do that to a head coach,” Herbstreit shared.
It seems Iamaleava’s father may have been too involved in the process and overplayed his hand. This kind of interference is almost unheard of, and a parent trying to influence a head coach is far from wise. Eventually, Heupel had enough and made it clear that no one is bigger than the Power T.
Category: General Sports
