As the contentious saga between Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee comes to an end, at least one college football coach wants no part of the drama.
Iamaleava chose to enter the transfer portal on Saturday after a very public failed attempt to renegotiate his NIL deal with the Volunteers. The former five-star recruit skipped spring practice on Friday to stage an unprecedented holdout, which proved to be the breaking point for coach Josh Heupel and the program.
With Iamaleava's future shrouded in uncertainty, Colorado coach Deion Sanders sent a strong message to those wondering whether the Buffaloes were entertaining the possibility of adding the Vols signal-caller this spring.
Sanders retweeted a rumor that claimed Colorado was one of three schools pursuing Iamaleava after his no-show at Friday's practice and wrote, "Not True."
Sanders added, "& God bless we Good."
Not True. & God bless we Good https://t.co/qo5t2u4nCV
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) April 13, 2025
That should settle it. Colorado will enter a new era under Sanders next season with Sanders's son, Shedeur, and Travis Hunter entering the 2025 NFL draft next month. Even with their star losses, the Buffaloes don't appear to have an ounce of interest in acquiring Iamaleava, a talented though not totally proven quarterback who led the Vols to their first-ever College Football Playoff berth last year.
Iamaleava, who has three years of eligibility remaining, can't transfer and play immediately within the SEC due to conference rules. That makes him a top rumored option in other conferences (like the Big 12)—assuming programs are willing to pay his reported $4 million a year asking price.
For now, Sanders seems perfectly happy with the Buffaloes' quarterback room composed of former Liberty signal-caller Kaidon Salter and top-ranked recruit Julian Lewis. The Buffaloes finished 9–4 last year, losing the program's fifth straight bowl game in a 36–14 loss to BYU in the Alamo Bowl in December.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Deion Sanders Had Blunt Two-Word Response to Rumors Linking Colorado, Nico Iamaleava.
