It's actually pretty darn wild how things can change at a moment's notice. On Wednesday, there was literally zero worry about Nico Iamaleava and his future with the Tennessee Vols. Fast forward to Thursday and Pete Nakos dropped earth-shattering news, stating Nico was negotiating a new contract and the door wasn't closed for him to transfer.
Now on Friday, Iamaleava has skipped practice and it's unknown whether or not he'll be at Neyland Stadium on Saturday for the spring game. Not only that, his once bright future with the Vols is now in question, as ESPN's Chris Low has reported Iamaleava's camp is looking for a new NIL deal worth around $4 million per season.
He's currently making north of $2 million, but that's not going to cut it. At the same time, Low's sources have told him that Tennessee 'won't blink' in contract talks. Should Iamaleava end up transferring, several schools will be ready to call him. From our chair, we think these three would make the most sense. Keep in mind too that he can't transfer to an SEC program if he wants to play next season.
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
In 2023, C.J. Stroud was the starter for Ohio State, while 2024 was the Will Howard show. This spring, there's been a battle between Alabama transfer Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz. However, it's fully up in the air who Ryan Day will rock with once Week 1 gets here.
Could Iamaleava make the decision easy for Day if he ends up changing schools? The Buckeyes are coming off a natty-winning season and the pieces are in place for this team to push for a repeat. Jerremiah Smith will no question be a stud once again, and fans would love the idea of someone like Nico throwing him the ball this fall and winter.
2. Oregon Ducks
Staying in the Big Ten, what about the Oregon Ducks? Dillon Gabriel is off to the NFL and Dan Lanning is in need of a new starter. Former 5-star prospect Dante Moore is expected to be the QB1 next campaign, but he's lacking experience.
There are surely going to be some growing pains for him in his first season as the starter if he leads the Oregon offense in 2025. Interestingly enough, Moore was ranked the No. 3 QB for the 2023 class, right behind Iamaleava, who was No. 2. Oregon is never limited when it comes to resources and NIL money. They'd be one to watch.
1. USC Trojans
Lastly, what about the USC Trojans? Lincoln Riley has been on a tear out on the recruiting trail and he could send quite the statement if he were to pull off some magic and bring in Iamaleava to take over his offense. Again, this all depends on whether or not Nico officially ends up in the portal next week.
USC would make a ton of sense for several reasons. At the top of the list has to be that Iamaleava is a SoCal product, graduating from Warren High in Downey - which is about 30 minutes from Los Angeles. UCLA could be in the mix too, but with Riley facing loads of pressure to deliver, going all-in to sign Iamaleava would be a wise move from him. Jayden Maiava (11 passing touchdowns in 2024) is USC's projected starter, but few can argue that he's not at the same level as the Tennessee superstar.