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Nico Iamaleva created a great stir in the world of college football over the weekend by jumping into the transfer portal in search of a better payday after refusing to participate in spring practice at Tennessee.
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Iamaleava's negotiations with Tennessee failed to increase the value of his $8 million NIL deal with the school's collective. However, according to ESPN's Dan Orlovsky, it isn't about Iamaleava's choice, but about how the institutions that have allowed this kind of situation to develop.
"This is on the NCAA, and the NCAA should be, and its leadership should be ashamed of itself, and it should be embarrassed that it's gotten to this point because they're the lack of leadership that has led to this. ... This is what happens when you place people in leadership roles, and they have no idea what they're doing and they have no ability to see that the tentacles that are attached to the decisions they're making down the line," Orlovksy said on ESPN's "First Take" on Monday (Timestamp: 3:00).
The ESPN analyst said that he doesn't like what this new era of NIL deals has brought to the sport in terms of making it ever more businesslike. But he also added that he wasn't in for criticizing players and that he believes that anyone who is put in a situation like the one Iamaleava was in would chase the bigger paycheck.
Tennessee's Josh Heupel on what Nico Iamaleava's departure means for the program
Reacting on Saturday to the news that Nico Iamaleava was leaving the program, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said that no one is greater than the sum of the whole that is the Volunteers:
“It’s the state of college football,” Heupel told Brent Hubbs on The Vol Network radio broadcast. “At the end of the day, no one is ever bigger than the program. That includes me, too. We’ve got an opportunity. We’ve got a bunch of guys that will give their all for Tennessee.
“We move forward. Got a great group. Let’s go compete.”
The Volunteers face a difficult task nonetheless. Their quarterback room was already thin to start with, and now they have only the final window of the transfer portal to bring in a suitable replacement for Nico Iamaleava.
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