Just about everyone has fired off their opinion when it comes to Nico Iamaleava and his disappointing divorce with the Tennessee football team. Moving forward, Josh Heupel and his Vols coaches will now be on the lookout for a new starter.
If you ask legendary head coach Urban Meyer, though, he won't hesitate in telling you that Heupel and Tennessee are screwed. Yikes. While speaking with Rob Stone and Mark Ingram on The Triple Option show, Meyer had some choice words for the program now that Nico has left Knoxville:
NEW: Urban Meyer on Nico Iamaleava's departure:
— On3 (@On3sports) April 16, 2025
“Tennessee is screwed. They got a problem.
...Everybody’s saying, ‘Nice job Tennessee, making a stand.’ I’ve got a little comment on that. Tennessee plays Florida usually every year in October.
Can you imagine that game’s going… pic.twitter.com/hJHiaIpnZG
Urban Meyer claims Tennessee football is 'screwed' with Nico Iamaleava gone
“And here’s the thing, there’s a couple key elements here,” Meyer said via On3. “Everybody’s saying, ‘Nice job Tennessee, making a stand.’ I’ve got a little comment on that. Tennessee plays Florida usually every year in October. Can you imagine that game’s going the other way and coach Heupel grabs the microphone and stands on the 50-yard line in Neyland Stadium and says, ‘It’s OK, I made a stand way back when.'”
First off Mr. Meyer, Tennessee will be taking on Florida this year on Nov. 22. More importantly, though, are we just going to sit here and pretend like the Vols don't have a backup plan in the works? Iamaleava was reportedly looking for $4 million in NIL money, up from the $2.5 he was set to make in 2025.
Tennessee was never going to blink with that number and Pete Nakos reported some teams interested in Iamaleava's services are only willing to offer him $1 million or so. Were Heupel and Tennessee supposed to give into Iamaleava's reps and give him a huge raise when he didn't deserve one?
Let's not pretend he was a Heisman contender in 2024. Iamaleava looked sharp at the end of the season, but he also had plenty of struggles to open the year. If anything, Tennessee fans are thankful that Heupel took a stand and didn't give him a penny more.
Meyer may disagree with things, but the Vols made the right call. Meyer will have to eat his words if Tennessee brings in a standout via the portal within the next week as well. The trick might be up Heupel's sleeve.