Having trouble keeping up with all the Tennessee football news for the day? We can't blame you, as the earth-shattering Nico Iamaleava update arrived on Saturday morning before the Vols took the field at Neyland Stadium for the spring game.
This is still something people can't believe, but the fact of the matter is that Iamaleava is set to enter the transfer portal next week and his days suiting up for the Vols are over. So, what does Josh Heupel think about all of this?
Understandably, this isn't the way he was hoping things would go down with his star quarterback. However, before taking the field at Neyland for Saturday's events, he delivered quite the message to VolQuest's Brent Hubbs. Plain and simple, no one comes before this program as a whole:
NEW: Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel to @Brent_Hubbs on Nico Iamaleava's departure:
— On3 (@On3sports) April 12, 2025
“At the end of the day, no one is ever bigger than the program... We move forward. Got a great group. Let’s go compete.”https://t.co/X2lmZduNP0 https://t.co/HXxebFRuT0 pic.twitter.com/mODdUje6ma
Josh Heupel is ready to move forward following Nico Iamaleava leaving Knoxville
That "No one is bigger than the program" is a pretty telling response from the UT leader. It's also exactly what fans have been saying online in recent days. Per multiple reports, Iamaleava has been looking for his current NIL deal to be moved to $4 million per season - he's making around $2.5 right now.
However, negotiations with the Vols have gone south, leading to Iamaleava informing the team that he indeed is planning on entering the transfer portal. There will of course be plenty of suitors for the former 5-star signee and No. 2 ranked quarterback for the 2023 class.
At the same time, Heupel and Tennessee decided to put their foot down - they weren't going to let Iamaleava's reps pull a fast one like this, especially with spring ball wrapping up. For all of this to go down ahead of the spring game is nothing short of disappointing.
Now, all eyes will be on Jake Merklinger and George MacIntrye moving forward, while the Vols could look to add another QB via the spring portal as well. Things are a bit unknown there, but what we do know is that Heupel is confident with his QBs room moving forward even without a player of Iamaleava's caliber.