Talk about a new twist in things that plenty of people probably weren't expecting. Yes, we know you're probably a little tired about hearing things on former Tennessee football quarterback and 5-star signee Nico Iamaleava. However, Kirk Herbstreit provided an update we've got to share.
While speaking on a podcast, Herbstreit revealed that according to some of his sources, it wasn't all about money for Iamaleava and his camp when it came to his transfer. On top of that, Herbstreit said that Iamaleava's dad, as early as December, was on Josh Heupel and the Vols about not surrounding his son with enough talent.
Yup, per Herbie, the elder Iamaleava continued to voice his displeasure with Tennessee in the spring as well. Iamaleava ended up leaving Knoxville and he's now getting ready to suit up for UCLA, while it's unknown who Tennessee's starting QB will be for Week 1.
Kirb Herbstreit provided a Nico Iamaleava update that Tennessee fans will hate
"I've heard from close sources it was more about Nico's dad going to Josh (Heupel) back in December before they played Ohio State and he said, 'Listen, you've got to get better at offensive line, better receivers - you got to get better around him if you want us to stick around.' That blows my mind that a college quarterback's dad would do that to a head coach," Herbstreit said.
Herbie added that he found it 'disgusting' if those rumors out of Knoxville indeed were true. We don't want to jump the gun here and say we're leaning one way or the other on if we believe this update, but if it indeed is true, then you can't fault Heupel and his staff for wanting to move on.
At the end of the day, Heupel has made it clear throughout the offseason that no individual player is going to be bigger than the entire locker room. Moving forward, there will be a three-man battle at fall camp for the starting job, though Joey Aguilar is our favorite to lead the offense out onto the field vs. Syracuse.
As for Iamaleava, he's now closer to home in Westwood, getting ready for his first season in the Big Ten. Heupel has taken the high road recently, saying that he has nothing but love for Nico and that he wishes him well. Tennessee fans on the other hand remain quite upset with him and his camp for how the departure from UT was handled. This news from Herbstreit is only going to make things worse.