Josh Heupel addresses Nico Iamaleava situation: 'No one is ever bigger than the program'
Josh Heupel addressed the Nico Iamaleava situation publicly for the first time Saturday afternoon during a pregame interview with The Vol Network before the Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee parted ways with Iamaleava after a messy breakup over the last two days. Iamaleava was in contract negations for a new NIL deal on Thursday, then no-showed at practice Friday morning and did not communicate with Tennessee coaches through the day on Friday.
It was reported Saturday morning that Heupel and the Vols were “moving on” from the redshirt sophomore quarterback.
“Man, listen, it’s the state of college football,” Heupel told Brent Hubbs on The Vol Network radio broadcast. “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 that will give their all for Tennessee.
“We move forward. Got a great group. Let’s go compete.”
Nico Iamaleava last season: 2,616 yards, 19 TDs, 5 INT
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Saturday morning that Tennessee was parting ways with Iamaleava, a decision Heupel shared with his players Saturday morning. On3’s Pete Nakos on Saturday morning reported that Iamaleava plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal when the spring portal window opens on Wednesday.
Nakos first reported Thursday that Iamaleava was in contract negotiations for a new NIL deal. It was reported by Volquest’s Austin Price Friday that the redshirt sophomore did not practice with his teammates Friday morning.
“Iamaleava missed meetings and practice on Friday,” Thamel reported, “which was the driver of this decision.”
It was a widely reported later that the absence took Tennessee coaches and players by surprise. Iamaleava was not in contact with Tennessee on Friday.
Iamaleava last season threw for 2,616 yards, with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions in 13 games, completing 63.8% of his passes. He had a career-high 314 yards passing in the season-opening win over Chattanooga and a season-high four passing touchdowns in the win over Vanderbilt on November 30.
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Iamaleava was a five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, ranked No. 1 overall in the On3 ratings. He was the No. 1 quarterback in the class in the On3 ratings and was the No. 1 overall player in the state of California, out of Warren High School in Long Beach.
He enrolled at Tennessee in 2022 and backed up Joe Milton III during the 2023 season. Iamaleava appeared in five games as a freshman, passing for 314 yards and two touchdowns, completing 62.2% of his passes.
Tennessee’s new QB Room: Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre
Without Iamaleava, Tennessee will move forward relying on redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman George MacIntyre.
Merklinger was a four-star prospect ranked as the No. 12 quarterback in the 2024 class out of Calvary Day School in Savannah, Georgia. He was ranked No. 201 overall in the country and No. 23 overall in the state of Georgia.
MacIntyre was a four-star prospect in the 2025 class out of Brentwood Academy in Nashville. He was ranked as the No. 15 quarterback in the class. He was No. 192 overall and No. 3 in the state of Tennessee.
freshman George MacIntyre in Saturday’s spring game.
“We got two guys in that room, excited to go watch them go play,” Heupel said on The Vol Network. “They’ve had a really good spring, grown throughout it. Excited about having a chance to get out in front of our fans and our guys go compete today.”
