College football through the lens of Arch Manning, Nico Iamaleava, and the 2023 quarterback class

It sounds like something from a late-night variety show. “Have you heard about this Nico Iamaleava guy? Sounds like he’s going to live up to his last name for the Volunteers!”

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Iamaleava’s contract negotiations, a story broken by On3’s Pete Nakos, are the front and center topic in college football at the moment. Despite protestations about the story’s veracity from the Iamaleava camp on Thursday night, the sophomore quarterback skipped Tennessee’s Friday practice in what appears to be a game of brinksmanship between Josh Heupel‘s program and the quarterback associated with a reported $8 million NIL deal coming out of high school.

Iamaleava was part of the class of 2023, a class that featured other five-star signal-callers such as Arch Manning, Dante Moore, Jackson Arnold, and Malachi Nelson.

Inside Texas asked Manning a question Thursday that turned out to be conveniently timed: is there anybody in your recruiting class, whether it be someone like Nico or Dante, where you look at the path they took and look at the path you took and think you got the better end of the deal in how you handled it at Texas compared to what they were able to do?

“I don’t really like to look at that,” Manning said. “I’m going to see all those guys at Manning Passing Academy this summer. Excited to catch up with them and see how they’re doing. But I’m really focused on myself.”

To be sure, Manning has taken a completely different path than so many others in his class. It makes sense that quarterbacks are not only paid, but they also seek a place where they can be paid and play. The top of the depth chart is so valuable for young quarterbacks that they’ll often leave a successful program in order to find a place where they can see the field, often spurning patience for dollars and cents in the process.

It’s common in college football, yet it also tells a story about where college football currently finds itself.

And the top six quarterbacks from Manning’s 2023 class can tell that story better than most other student-athletes.

All rankings are from the On3 Industry Ranking.

Arch Manning

• On3 Industry Ranking: No. 1 overall prospect, No. 1 QB
• Signed with: Texas
• Currently playing for: Texas

The most well-known quarterback in college football, Manning has only played in 12 games during his first two years spent backing up Quinn Ewers. Yet the patience Manning showed despite everything else happening around him has him primed to lead a Longhorn program back to great heights in his first year as a starter. Manning’s tale isn’t common, especially considering his talent. As mentioned, quarterbacks want to play and play quickly. That didn’t happen, but Manning didn’t want to be anywhere else.

Dante Moore

• On3 Industry Ranking: No. 3 overall prospect, No. 2 QB
• Signed with: UCLA
• Currently playing for: Oregon

Moore was once committed to Oregon but signed with UCLA and saw action in nine games during his true freshman season with Chip Kelly and showed he wasn’t ready for the challenges the 2023 Pac-12 put in front of him. He made a savvy decision to transfer back to Oregon and sit behind Dillon Gabriel for a year in order to put himself in position to take over for the Ducks’ offense. He’ll have to fend off Austin Novosod, the No. 10 quarterback in the 2023 class.

Nico Iamaleava

• On3 Industry Ranking: No. 6 overall prospect, No. 3 QB
• Signed with: Tennessee
• Currently playing for: Tennessee?

Here’s why we’re talking about all this. Iamaleava had a redshirt year behind Joe Milton before taking the reins in 2024. The Vols made the College Football Playoff, but it’s safe to say Iamaleava padded his stats against Tennessee’s worst opponents. Of his 19 touchdowns, 16 were against Chattanooga, NC State, Mississippi State, UTEP, and Vanderbilt. Not exactly the best ROI for Tennessee’s collective, especially in an offense not as complex as others in his own conference. Yet Iamaleava is at the table asking for more.

Jackson Arnold

• On3 Industry Ranking: No. 8 overall prospect, No. 4 QB
• Signed with: Oklahoma
• Currently playing for: Auburn

It looked like Arnold was in a quality situation at first. He had a year to be Gabriel’s understudy and helped the Sooners barely hang on at BYU in 2023 when he had to step up. An up-and-down bowl performance versus Arizona had Sooner fans confident that the bridge year between no one and Arnold with Gabriel had worked. But when Jeff Lebby left Norman and most of Oklahoma’s wideout room ended up in the infirmary, things collapsed around Arnold. He was benched for Michael Hawkins, and now goes to Auburn where he’ll be charged with making things work for Hugh Freeze in a critical year for the Tigers. At least he has Cam Coleman to throw to.

Malachi Nelson

• On3 Industry Ranking: No. 11 overall prospect, No. 5 QB
• Signed with: USC
• Currently playing for: UTEP

Nelson was shown the door by Lincoln Riley and Boise State jumped on the five-star, but 6-foot-3, 193 pounder just has not been able to translate his athleticism and arm talent into success on the field. Miller Moss won the battle to succeed Caleb Williams, so Nelson ventured to the blue turf for an opportunity. There, he couldn’t unseat Maddux Madsen on the Broncos’ way to the College Football Playoff. UTEP may be nothing more than a one-year prove-it opportunity for Nelson, one the Miners probably don’t mind providing if it helps Scotty Walden get out of the Conference USA cellar. Nelson at this stage is a bust compared to his lofty projection.

Jaden Rashada

• On3 Industry Ranking: No. 73 overall prospect, No. 6 QB
• Signed with: Florida
• Currently playing for: Recruitment open

Rashada walked so Iamaleava could run. After the California quarterback asked out of his letter of intent to Florida because of alleged unpaid NIL commitments, he sued Billy Napier and others in the UF collective and decision-making ecosystem before bouncing for Arizona State. Tempe under Kenny Dillingham didn’t work as he was often banged up, so he transferred to Georgia to sit behind Carson Beck and compete with Gunner Stockton for the backup spot. That didn’t work out either, and now Rashada is looking for a new home with UConn, Tulane, and Western Kentucky among his current options.

If this is happening at the top of the sport, it’s likely happening at all levels of it at least in FBS. Quarterbacks want to play, but they want what they think is theirs at a time of their choosing.

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Like in the real world, you can’t always get what you want. It remains to be seen who will win this standoff in Knoxville. But the standoff at one UT, and the well-handled situation at the real UT, tell a story common across college football in the modern climate.