There is no question that the Nico Iamaleava saga at Tennessee has dominated the college football landscape since Saturday, when it was revealed that the former 5-star quarterback and Tennessee were going their separate ways after being unable to agree upon an NIL raise. As soon as that news broke, people began speculating as to where Iamaleava might land and because of Texas Tech's offseason portal spending spree, many theorized that the Red Raiders could be a suitor.
We have already gone over in depth why that would be a terrible idea for head coach Joey McGuire and his Texas Tech football program. In summary, though, Iamaleava simply isn't worth the $4 million that he is asking for.
He put up just average numbers at Tennessee this past year, his first season as a starter. In fact, he numbers were significantly worse than the stats that Texas Tech's Behren Morton posted last fall, even though Morton was playing through an injury to his throwing shoulder that would eventually require a major offseason surgery.
Still, some wondered if the rumors were true and Texas Tech was going to make a play for the latest high-profile transfer to enter the portal. However, the program's top booster, Cody Campbell, quickly shut that idea down.
Replying to a post from the Barstool Texas Tech account on X in which Red Raider fans were asked if they would rather have Iamaleava or Morton next season, Campbell wrote "No. This is not even a rumor."
No. This is not even a rumor.
— Cody Campbell (@CodyC64) April 12, 2025
If anyone would know what Texas Tech's transfer portal strategy was, it would be the billionaire who is funding the vast majority of the Red Raiders' efforts. So we can take Campbell's word as definitive in this instance.
This is excellent news. Tech would be making a massive mistake by trusting Iamaleava to lead this program on the field and in the locker room.
After all, he's proven himself to be nothing more than a hired gun. Sure, you could say that about every transfer player who has changed zip codes because of a big pay day, including the 18 the Red Raiders have brought into the fold this offseason.
However, few, if any of them, tried to hold their former universities hostage last season, as it is now being reported that Iamaleava did.
According to 247 Sports' Josh Pate, Iamaleava was one of multiple Tennessee players who threatened to skip the Volunteers' College Football Playoff game against Ohio State in December in an attempt to leverage their situation for a new NIL payday. Though college athletes are now well within their rights to try to maximize their earning potential, doing so by threatening to sit out a playoff game is an awful look, especially for a quarterback who is supposed to set the tone for a program.
Ultimately, Iamaleava did play against the Buckeyes...but not well. He was just 14 of 31 passing for 104 yards in the 42-17 Ohio State blowout.
We'll never know if Tennessee's poor performance in that game was due in part to Iamaleava's drama and the impact it had on the locker room, or if the Buckeyes were simply that much better than the Volunteers, regardless of who played QB for Tennessee.
Fortunately, what we'll also never know is if Iamaleava would have succeeded at Texas Tech. That's because the Red Raiders appear to have no interest in acquiring the new face of NIL chaos in college football.
Thankfully, Campbell put an end to any of that speculation, and Red Raider fans don't have to worry about the drama that would ensue. Behren Morton is the QB1 for this program in 2025, and Will Hammond is his anointed successor. As for Iamaleava, he can go be a spare somewhere else.