It may have been Moving Day at the Master’s in Augusta on Saturday but in Knoxville Nico Iamaleava made his move. The quarterback who took the country by storm will not be returning to the University of Tennessee. Iamaleava plans to enter the Spring Transfer Portal.
After a 10-2 season with wins over four of Tennessee’s major rivals and a trip to the College Football Playoffs Nico’s representatives asked the University for a $2 Million pay bump. The California native, who was expected to make $2.4 Million in NIL this season, tried to get the Vols to raise that to $4 Million. However UT weren’t gonna bend a knee for Nico, according to a source from UT they told ESPN, “We weren’t gonna flinch this time either.”
The quarterback room is still promising as Jake Merklinger will most likely be UT’s starting quarterback this fall with Nashville native George McIntyre at the back up spot. The Vols also have a 5-Star recruit in the Class of 2026 named Fazion Brandon committed to UT. This is all pending any transfer portal moves by Tennessee.