Nico Iamaleava has been the story in college football the past few days since opting out of Tennessee and entering the transfer portal in hopes of landing a better NIL deal.
Many have credited Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel for not giving into Iamaleava's attempt to get more money from the school, a decision that led the QB opting to leave.
Urban Meyer talked about that decision on his podcast, The Triple Option, on Tuesday and while he said the decision was "great" and it was Heupel's "prerogative" to make such a move, he also had a pretty blunt message on where this puts the Vols moving forward.
"Here’s the reality—Tennessee is screwed," Meyer said. "They’ve got a problem. You lose a potential high draft pick. You have the backup quarterback left last year and now you have a redshirt freshman who threw nine passes and a freshman."
Meyer then spoke about how things could go badly for them this coming season.
"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 hey, ‘It’s OK, I made a stand way back when.'”
That exact situation won't happen in 2025 because Tennessee plays Florida on the road (on Nov. 22), but Meyer could be right about the fan base freaking out if they get off to a bad start to year.
For now, it will be interesting to see where Iamaleava plays next.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Urban Meyer Didn't Hold Back on Tennessee Over Nico Iamaleava Decision.
