Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava posted a message to social media on Friday afternoon for the first time since his split with the Volunteers’ program last weekend.
Iamaleava’s comments, directed at a previous report regarding his playoff status, came at the end of a series of pictures on his Instagram story.
The first captioned picture was of Iamaleava running the ball against Ohio State in the playoffs last season, with laughing emojis and the caption, “Damn I tried to sit out and throw the playoff game too? These boys just make me laugh man ain’t no way.”
The second picture was of himself and former Tennessee quarterback Navy Shuler before the OSU game, captioned, “Me and @NavyShuler talm bout how ima throw this game rq” with laughing emojis.
Iamaleava’s comments on the playoff situation come after a previous report stated that he was potentially close to sitting out of Tennessee’s playoff game against Ohio State because of contract negotiations.
More from RTI: Notre Dame Quarterback, Possible Tennessee Target Reportedly Enters Transfer Portal
In just over a week, Iamaleava went from being the face of Tennessee’s program to a UCLA transfer in the midst of a messy and public divorce with the Volunteers’ program.
The storyline first emerged last Thursday when On3 Sports’ Pete Nakos reported on contract renegotiations between Iamaleava’s camp and Tennessee’s NIL collective prior to the Orange & White spring game two days later. Nico Iamaleava’s father, Nic Iamaleava, refuted that claim on X later that night with strong words: “More games being played off the field than on the field. Bi7ch Nakos from @On3Sports called and asked my directly, I told him I had no idea what he’s talking about. He said his ‘close source’ that he trusts with his life from the University of Tennessee staff gave him this information. So y’all can ask them what’s going on, cuz it ain’t from us!”
Then, on Friday, a report from VolQuest’s Austin Price revealed that Iamaleava was absent from Tennessee’s final practice before the spring game. On Saturday morning, ESPN’s Pete Thamel broke the news that Tennessee was “moving on” from Iamaleava, which was confirmed by Josh Heupel after the spring game.
“Obviously, we’re moving forward as a program without him,” Heupel said last Saturday. “I said it to the guys today, there’s no one that’s bigger than the Power T, and that includes me.”
The spring transfer portal opened on Wednesday as speculation ran rampant around Iamaleava’s potential landing spot. That same evening, reports emerged that Iamaleava would be heading to UCLA – the same program that his younger brother, Madden, just transferred out of.
Iamaleava’s departure turns Tennessee into buyers in the spring portal’s quarterback market. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football coverage this offseason.
