Las Vegas sets betting odds for Nico Iamaleava's next team
Las Vegas has set odds for Nico Iamaleava’s next teams, with BetOnline listing 11 possible destinations for the former Tennessee quarterback to land with on the other side of the NCAA Transfer.
Topping the list on Monday was UCLA at 2/1, ahead of North Carolina at 5/2. Next was USC at 3/1, ahead of Texas Tech (5/1), Colorado (6/1), Arizona State (7/1), Notre Dame (9/1), Maryland (11/1), Oregon (12/1), Cal (16/1) and Syracuse (20/1).
On3’s Pete Nakos reported Thursday that Iamaleava was in contract negotiations for a new NIL deal. A day later, Iamaleava’s Tennessee career was over.
Josh Heupel, Tennessee ‘moved on’ from Nico Iamaleava on Saturday
Josh Heupel made the decision for the Vols to move on from Iamaleava after he skipped practice Friday morning and was not in communication with the coaching staff throughout the day. Heupel informed his team of the decision on Friday morning.
Heupel addressed the decision at length during his press conference after Saturday afternoon’s Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium.
“Today’s landscape of college football,” he said, “it’s different than what it has been. And it’s unfortunate, just the situation and where we’re at with Nico. I want to thank him for everything that he’s done since he’s gotten here.
“That’s as a recruit to who he was as a player and how he competed inside of the building. So a great appreciation for that side of it.
Iamaleava will now enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, which opens for the spring window on Wednesday. He ends his Tennessee career 2,930 yards passing, 21 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 63.6% of his passes.
Iamaleava passed for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions in 13 games last season, his first season as Tennessee’s starter. The Vols went 10-3, ending the season with a 42-17 loss at Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.
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He was the No. 1 overall prospect when he committed to and signed with Tennessee in the class of 2023.
“Obviously we’re moving forward as a program without him,” Heupel said. “ … there’s no one that’s bigger than the Power T and that includes me. And (the players) hear me say that a lot inside of that team room.
“This program has been around for a long time with a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players that came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee Football. It’s going to be around a long time after I’m done and after they’re gone.”
‘We’ll have a quarterback that’s ready to go win and help us compete for a championship’
Tennessee redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman George MacIntyre are now the only two quarterbacks the Vols have on roster. Heupel will look to add another quarterback out of the transfer portal.
“This program is ready to go win next fall,” Heupel said. “And as a program since we’ve been here, we’ve won with a lot of different QB’s done it historically in my career with a lot of different QBs.
“Some of those guys have been older, some of them have been younger, but we’ll have a quarterback that’s ready to go win and help us compete for a championship.”
