KIA said:

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Best available QB for Tennessee?

Rumor is they are reaching out to player agents for P4 QB's and are willing to pay 4mil.

If you were a really good QB with little or no chance of going to the NFL, would that amount of money shake your loyalty? Would you be an idiot if it didn't?

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My coworker is a vol and he was telling me today they would be looking for a 1 year guy like a grad transfer bc they have a lot of younger qb talent on the roster and dont want them to transfer. They would be fine with just a good bus driver type of guy.

Looks like UCLA

GoodOleBaylorLine said:

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Looks like UCLA

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Doubt he gets what he was wanting at Tennessee

muddybrazos said:

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KIA said:

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Best available QB for Tennessee?

Rumor is they are reaching out to player agents for P4 QB's and are willing to pay 4mil.

If you were a really good QB with little or no chance of going to the NFL, would that amount of money shake your loyalty? Would you be an idiot if it didn't?

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My coworker is a vol and he was telling me today they would be looking for a 1 year guy like a grad transfer bc they have a lot of younger qb talent on the roster and dont want them to transfer. They would be fine with just a good bus driver type of guy.

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They do have very promising young QB talent with a 4star recruit in the 2025 class and the #1 rated QB recruit in the nation in the 2026 class. I was wondering how they were going to keep those young guys happy with Nico potentially blocking them, but after watching Nico last year, it was conceivable that he might even get beaten out by one of their young guys.

Hearing UCLA’s number for Nico Iamaleava is around $1.75 million

A significant hit from what the family was seeking pic.twitter.com/GwwUcdyXwY

— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) April 17, 2025

boognish_bear said:

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Hearing UCLA’s number for Nico Iamaleava is around $1.75 million

A significant hit from what the family was seeking pic.twitter.com/GwwUcdyXwY

— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) April 17, 2025

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Worse when considering state income tax.

Mitch Blood Green said:

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boognish_bear said:

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Nico Iamaleava Has 'Zero Market' According to Power 4 General Managers https://t.co/zyUG6hrT0r pic.twitter.com/mL8qzkb1oA

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) April 16, 2025

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There's something about football culture that he violated. (Especially Old-School Guys like his coach.) I'm reading that he was a "me," not "us" guy.

This is the guy you want to play with.



Marshall Herd QB Byron Leftwich carried down the field

We have this in Sawyer.

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The violation was probably trying to leave a Power 2 program.

Has anyone already made the joke about how this guy's last name should have been foreshadowing?

Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels finally have their transfer quarterback.

News story @espn on South Alabama QB transfer Gio Lopez’s commitment to North Carolina, including contract details, spring involvement with Georgia and LSU and more here: https://t.co/oRVJvQ0Gvf

— Eli Lederman (@ByEliLederman) April 18, 2025

Wonder if they have called Sawyer

Tennessee reportedly tried to offer Hoover 1M more than his current deal to get him to leave TCU, and Hoover said no.

Of QBs returning in 2025, only LSU's Garrett Nussmeier had more passing yards in 2024. https://t.co/D2oP5tQBVJ

— CFB Home (@CFBHome) April 20, 2025

I saw UCLA's HC is already trying to get more NIL for him to try to keep him from leaving UCLA.

I doubt it will happen… But I would love to see some schools get nailed on this

Tennessee has been accused of tampering with TCU QB after the Nico news… pic.twitter.com/vS4RevDTdl

— College Football Alerts  (@CFBAlerts_) April 20, 2025

boognish_bear said:

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Wonder if they have called Sawyer

Tennessee reportedly tried to offer Hoover 1M more than his current deal to get him to leave TCU, and Hoover said no.

Of QBs returning in 2025, only LSU's Garrett Nussmeier had more passing yards in 2024. https://t.co/D2oP5tQBVJ

— CFB Home (@CFBHome) April 20, 2025

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This is why clear rules need to be established. Teams should not be able to contact players or their agents when they are under contract with another team.


Just like it is in all the pro sports where you cannot shop for a player that is not a FA (outside of trades but that means contacting the team not the player)

Tampering like this should be a lost scholarship/postseason ban type of offense. But there's no one to enforce it.

That said, Hoover is exactly who I would expect them to reach out to. Runs basically the same offense already and has experience.

It's a 3 ring circus out there

BREAKING: Arkansas early enrollee QB Madden Iamaleava plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, @CBSSports reports.

Madden is the younger brother of UCLA signee/former Tennessee Vol Nico Iamaleava. https://t.co/7mMMAuhtYf pic.twitter.com/xmyXYLYXwv

— On3 (@On3sports) April 21, 2025

this family is effed up

Many athlete contracts with school-affiliated NIL collectives do feature buyout language. Though often privately done, some of those buyouts have been enforced. Most have not.

Arkansas announces its support to enforce buyouts a day after Madden Iamaleava entered the portal. https://t.co/rd3ZOHH8Vl

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) April 22, 2025

Just so we're clear, and correct me if I'm wrong. Madden enrolled at Arkansas in January. Never played a snap for the Razorbacks. Waited to get paid his NIL money then immediately transferred to UCLA. This is what we are teaching our 18 year old's?! https://t.co/qlCLqFKaGn

— Uncle Cocktail (@StillRadNotaFad) April 22, 2025

Is Madden his real name? I guess I just do not get Gen Z baby naming logic

Contracts with very clear language about when payments are given, when money is owed back, buyouts, etc. are badly needed so we don't have these situations anymore.

This is the source of the rumor that Tennessee wanted Sawyer Robertson.

LIB,MR BEARS said:

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Isn't Livingstone a big shot with the ncaa?

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yep….

[Media Center 8/2/2022

Baylor President Linda Livingstone elected chair of NCAA Board of Governors]

historian said:

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This is the source of the rumor that Tennessee wanted Sawyer Robertson.

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sawyer aint leaving. i went to baylor and tennessee and Sawyer wouldnt fit the vibe of tennessee. plus, they got their qb1 (which is sort of surprising to me)

NEW: President Donald Trump is considering an executive order "that could increase scrutiny" on NIL after meeting with Nick Saban, @WSJ reports👀https://t.co/RegfqaalMM pic.twitter.com/pN76YdXPWM

— On3 (@On3sports) May 2, 2025

No. It's a silly rumor.

What's interesting is that everyone took those stories as truth without hearing from both parties
.
Apparently imaleave's discontent went back months and centered around the lack of help on the O, the fact that Tenn was losing 4 OL starters and that promises were made but not kept on getting that help on O. He claims he never asked for more money.

"It was a false narrative and they took that s--- and ran with it," a source close to Iamaleava said. "It became bigger than what it was, when it wasn't even the case."


What this all tells me is that the first "source" to go to the media will usually run the narrative, even if its false. In some ways it reminds me of the BS that our BOI did here a decade ago.


https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/44787682/why-nico-iamaleava-left-tennessee-joined-ucla

KIA said:

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Best available QB for Tennessee?

Rumor is they are reaching out to player agents for P4 QB's and are willing to pay 4mil.

If you were a really good QB with little or no chance of going to the NFL, would that amount of money shake your loyalty? Would you be an idiot if it didn't?

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That amount of money and I would be gone in a second. Unless I was already getting that kind of money.

You can bet I wouldn't hold out for more either.

morethanhecouldbear said:

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What's interesting is that everyone took those stories as truth without hearing from both parties
.
Apparently imaleave's discontent went back months and centered around the lack of help on the O, the fact that Tenn was losing 4 OL starters and that promises were made but not kept on getting that help on O. He claims he never asked for more money.

"It was a false narrative and they took that s--- and ran with it," a source close to Iamaleava said. "It became bigger than what it was, when it wasn't even the case."


What this all tells me is that the first "source" to go to the media will usually run the narrative, even if its false. In some ways it reminds me of the BS that our BOI did here a decade ago.


https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/44787682/why-nico-iamaleava-left-tennessee-joined-ucla

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This sounds like his side of the story trying to make himself look better but the facts don't seem to back that up.

Tenn got some o line help in the portal. Maybe not the guys or the amount Nico wanted but they did go get some.

I don't believe for a second that him sitting out and then leaving was because he didn't like the transfers they got and that he thought they had not improved the offense over the money issue.

If that was the case he would not have gone to a team with a worse offense and even LESS oline talent.

That is Nico's side of the story. They did get a couple decent portal OL and a big recruit. If OL and WR rooms were the biggest reasons he claims he left then why did he leave for a program in an even worse position?

It sounds like he got very bad advice. Josh Pate reported players were threatening to opt out of playoff games if not given more NIL. I also have Knoxville sources that say Nico was not great at showing up to all of his NIL commitments. Feel free to take that with a grain of salt due to the breakup but that's the word out of Knoxville.

Texas Tech NIL collective founder Cody Campbell, who sold his oil and natural gas company, Double Eagle, for $4.1 billion, will be the co-commisioner with Nick Saban, sources tell @On3sports. https://t.co/ubS2KjjbXO

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) May 8, 2025

where is all this tech money coming from?

cowboycwr said:

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morethanhecouldbear said:

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What's interesting is that everyone took those stories as truth without hearing from both parties
.
Apparently imaleave's discontent went back months and centered around the lack of help on the O, the fact that Tenn was losing 4 OL starters and that promises were made but not kept on getting that help on O. He claims he never asked for more money.

"It was a false narrative and they took that s--- and ran with it," a source close to Iamaleava said. "It became bigger than what it was, when it wasn't even the case."


What this all tells me is that the first "source" to go to the media will usually run the narrative, even if its false. In some ways it reminds me of the BS that our BOI did here a decade ago.


https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/44787682/why-nico-iamaleava-left-tennessee-joined-ucla

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This sounds like his side of the story trying to make himself look better but the facts don't seem to back that up.

Tenn got some o line help in the portal. Maybe not the guys or the amount Nico wanted but they did go get some.

I don't believe for a second that him sitting out and then leaving was because he didn't like the transfers they got and that he thought they had not improved the offense over the money issue.

If that was the case he would not have gone to a team with a worse offense and even LESS oline talent.

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Well to be honest - there are few known "facts" that back up either side, because most of what we have is speculation and rumor.

Tenn did go to the portal - Imaleave's camp didn't think it was enough and said as much. He suffered multiple concussions last year - that's a fact. Them asking for more help and not being happy with the help obtained seems very realistic and probable to me. Maybe they did ask for more money, too. However, to leave knowing you will earn less doesn't support Tenns claims that this was about money. He could have stayed and made a lot more vs. what he is getting from UCLA. Yet...he left.

By the way I have no personal attachment to Imaleave or Tenn, I often choose to side with the less popular position or argument for the reason that I think both sides need to be heard.

I'll just go back to my earlier statement - the first side that goes to the media gets to run the narrative.

When he was a no show to practice he was off the team. Maybe he'd already made up his mind to leave or maybe he was holding out for more money. As you say only a handful of people know what really went down. With all the information I have I tend to side more with the Tennessee camp. Having your dad be your agent does not usually workout, just ask Shedeur

boykin_spaniel said:

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When he was a no show to practice he was off the team. Maybe he'd already made up his mind to leave or maybe he was holding out for more money. As you say only a handful of people know what really went down. With all the information I have I tend to side more with the Tennessee camp. Having your dad be your agent does not usually workout, just ask Shedeur

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My Off season boredom is in full swing.

One of his advisors is sports attorney Michael Huyghue, the UFL's former commissioner. A guy more than savvy enough to know he was going to earn a lot less if he left Tenn. If he was trying to maximize his earnings, he would have stayed. Name an employee who asks for a raise, gets denied but is still wanted and is still getting paid but leaves to take less money. That's not a money move - there's something else going on.


I will play the other side now.

His camp demanded more money and more help on O, but didn't tell Nico about they money part. After they weren't happy with the help on O that Tenn obtained, they stuck with the money demands and Tenn refused the money increase. Tenn then leaked the money demands and Nico (who wasn't aware) was blindsided by it all and decided to leave.

I also see another scenario. He was looking for more help on O (concussions last year and getting banged up) and did ask for more money too, but was mostly concerned about the help on O. He did not expect these conversations to get leaked to the media . He felt these were private conversations and was coming back until they were leaked. Imagine asking your boss for a raise, getting denied and then having your boss spew your request all over twitter. I'd leave too.

I join you in offseason boredom which is why I'm here haha

Truth often falls somewhere in the middle. Life is rarely black or white.