Urban Meyer Says Tennessee Is ‘Screwed’ Without Nico Iamaleava, Will Regret Decision To Let Him Walk
Urban Meyer believes the University of Tennessee will regret the way it handled the situation with Nico Iamaleava.
Iamaleava officially entered the transfer portal on Wednesday morning after Tennessee refused his demands for $4 million in NIL money — leaving the Vols without a starting QB.
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"Here’s the reality: Tennessee is screwed," Meyer said. "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."
(Nico Iamaleava and Urban Meyer. Imagn-Images)
With Iamaleava under center in 2024, the Vols went 10-3 and made their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance. Iamaleava threw for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions, while also rushing for 358 yards and three touchdowns.
OutKick's Trey Wallace has reported that Iamaleava will transfer to UCLA, but the money being discussed is nowhere near what he would’ve made at Tennessee this season. Simply put, the 20-year-old's representatives demanded more money than he was worth, and Tennessee called their bluff.
READ: Nico Iamaleava Ordeal At Tennessee Is Not A New 'Holdout' Trend, It Was Just Bad Business
But if you ask Urban Meyer, it's Tennessee who fumbled the bag.
"There’s a couple key elements here," the former National Champion head coach said on The Triple Option podcast. "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.'"
First of all, Urban, Tennessee never plays Florida in October. And this year, the game is in Gainesville.
But semantics aside, I'd argue the Tennessee fanbase would be way more upset mid-season if their QB got paid $4 million to overthrow receivers and get concussed multiple times. Which, judging by the 2024 season, was the alternative option here.