USA Today......"Time to let him go"

#101
#101
sami said:
100% this.

What's being exposed here is the fan base's real feelings about Nico, because if he had lit it up last year and decided to stay for one more season instead of entering the draft, a lot of the same people would be advocating to back up the truck and pay him whatever he allegedly is 'demanding'.

This "no renegotiations" moral stance is a hell of a lot easier given his uneven performance last year.
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You ok with a coach telling Heupel dad called and shopped his son out to his team?
 
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#105
#105
“The storied program of Gen. Neyland and Johnny Drum and Peyton and I Will Give My All For Tennessee Today won’t stand for this crap. And won’t give another penny to Iamaleava.”

Nico’s dad isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Because this BS could have some future ramifications.

Number 1. Does another top-flight program take a chance on this BS? Because the NFL has taught us that problem players continue to be problem players after they change scenery. If it happened at Tennessee, it likely will happen elsewhere.

Number 2. I suspect that Peyton carries as much clout as any former player in NFL front offices. I’d much rather have him in my corner than on the other side.

This is a risk of career suicide by the dumb-arse old man.

Nico would be wise to tell his dad to back off and let Nico lead his own life like the young adult that he is.
 
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#106
#106
sami said:
100% this.

What's being exposed here is the fan base's real feelings about Nico, because if he had lit it up last year and decided to stay for one more season instead of entering the draft, a lot of the same people would be advocating to back up the truck and pay him whatever he allegedly is 'demanding'.

This "no renegotiations" moral stance is a hell of a lot easier given his uneven performance last year.
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I'm going to disagree. I thought Nico was an okay QB for a first year starter and was looking forward to seeing his progress this year. However, pulling this stunt, after making demands over the winter, skipping practice, I've determined he isn't worth the trouble. He certainly isn't worth $4 million per year.

Now if he had looked like Bryce Young, you'd probably be right, people would be saying "pay the man". But he looked very average. It looked like he had trouble making decisions, reading defenses.
 
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#107
#107
Majors said:
You ok with a coach telling Heupel dad called and shopped his son out to his team?
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If that coach had a relationship with me, yes.
If my wife was cheating on me, or my child was abusing drugs, I’d hope that those that care about me would tell me.
 
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#108
#108
allstar34bd said:
Nico is 20. Nico chose to no show. The parents aren’t graded on attendance. This falls fully on Nico.

If he isn’t man enough to make his on decisions then he has other problems.
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That's my take also. People were saying, "It's Dad" and maybe Dad is behind the apparent leverage/strongarm attempt at getting more money, BUT...... the decision not to show up for the walk thru was all on Nico.

As men we've all had to man up and make a decision that the old man didn't like. This was Nico's moment to decide and he decided to skip the walk thru.

Dad didn't burn that bridge with the team, Nico knew what he was doing and turned his back on his teammates. His Dad didn't. Nico did.

I could forgive him leveraging his position for more money. I cannot forgive a no call, no show (and none of us know if that's actually how it went down but that's the report.)
 
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#109
#109
Godfatha said:
I'm going to disagree. I thought Nico was an okay QB for a first year starter and was looking forward to seeing his progress this year. However, pulling this stunt, after making demands over the winter, skipping practice, I've determined he isn't worth the trouble. He certainly isn't worth $4 million per year.

Now if he had looked like Bryce Young, you'd probably be right, people would be saying "pay the man". But he looked very average. It looked like he had trouble making decisions, reading defenses.
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Just deleted my post after reading this. Disgraceful move by the kid, bad advice or not. Given the massive amount of resources and time spent training and working with Nico, and he pulls a stunt like this at this crucial point? I'm not sure he would be worth any amount of money.

BREAKING: Tennessee Football Moving On From Quarterback Nico Iamaleava | Rocky Top Insider

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava is leaving the Tennessee football program after two seasons and one as the starting quarterback.
www.rockytopinsider.com www.rockytopinsider.com
 
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#110
#110
If players and/or their families/"advisers" who have their ears wish to market the players as commodities, that's all well and good. They should be prepared to be treated as commodities as well, though, and that knife cuts both ways. Forget the smokescreen of rah-rah b.s., they're simple entertainers and if their performance isn't up to snuff, then cut them loose.

Let the Iamaleava Family Circus go elsewhere.
 
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#111
#111
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, head coach Josh Heupel informed the team early Saturday morning of the plans to move on from the former 5-star recruit who started during the 2024 season. The situation came to a head when Iamaleava was absent from practice and team meetings on Friday on the eve of the spring game, something Thamel reported was a driving factor in the decision
 
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#113
#113
tbh said:
If players and/or their families/"advisers" who have their ears wish to market the players as commodities, that's all well and good. They should be prepared to be treated as commodities as well, though, and that knife cuts both ways. Forget the smokescreen of rah-rah b.s., they're simple entertainers and if their performance isn't up to snuff, then cut them loose.

Let the Iamaleava Family Circus go elsewhere.
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Arkansas has got to be looking at little brother and wondering if they're going to deal with the same thing.
 
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#116
#116
Orangeblooded615 said:
Pay him and see how the season plays out. If yall think a transfer learning the system or merk/mac is ready, yall are crazy. Merk is an an 8 win season. This is the landscape of nil. Minor league football. If we don't have the money to pay him. Someone else will.
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Dude threw 19 tds last year. 11 of them came against utc, utep, vandy. 2 came against Florida, Okie, bama, Ga, Ohio State. On what planet do we need that guy? Defense and running game won us every game last year. Not Lamalama and his gay (meaning happy) dress he wore.
 
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#117
#117
Orangeblooded615 said:
Pay him and see how the season plays out. If yall think a transfer learning the system or merk/mac is ready, yall are crazy. Merk is an an 8 win season. This is the landscape of nil. Minor league football. If we don't have the money to pay him. Someone else will.
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Worst decision our Athletic Department could make. It would be time for many of us to drop our season tickets and donations to them.
 
#118
#118
Butch s said:
Where are all the complete idiot defenders of nil. As most sane people understood from the jump, this has killed the sport. Just a slow death now
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NIL isn't the problem, it's having zero restrictions on it and the transfer portal that gives them the option to even further exploit it. Just like everything it needs guardrails.
 
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#119
#119
Orangeblooded615 said:
Pay him and see how the season plays out. If yall think a transfer learning the system or merk/mac is ready, yall are crazy. Merk is an an 8 win season. This is the landscape of nil. Minor league football. If we don't have the money to pay him. Someone else will.
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And let them. We have a coach who has taken a QB who lost his starting role at VA. Tech and took us to the brink of a CFP appearance. He took Milton and made him better and got him in the NFL.

If Nico, et al. Thinks that HIM learning a new playbook and HIM getting and building chemistry with a new coach, new OL and new WRs in the fall of the year he could declare for the NFL is a wise decision, the. Let’s see how that turns out.

But 100% we cannot let any player hold us hostage. This all may have been recoverable if he shows up to practice and meetings. But deserting the team at this point, selfishly taking QB1 snaps during spring ball as leverage…those are NOT traits of a leader. And QB1 should always be a leader on the team.
 
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#121
#121
Orangeblooded615 said:
Pay him and see how the season plays out. If yall think a transfer learning the system or merk/mac is ready, yall are crazy. Merk is an an 8 win season. This is the landscape of nil. Minor league football. If we don't have the money to pay him. Someone else will.
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Nico is a 9 win season, so are you really gaining that much?
 
#123
#123
For Nico, there's really no way back from the this. He would have to publicity make a statement about what happened and why, and apologize to the team and fanbase for any stress or ill will he might have caused. It would have to be sincere and convincing, and then he's have to absolutely ball out next season.

I was fine with Nico's performance last season: for a RS freshman on a huge stage against the highest level of competition he did pretty well.

I also think it's fair to adjust the deal now as the NIL market begins to mature and stabilize, considering objective data related to on the field performance and the pay scale compared to his peers.

But to do it this way is just pretty classless.
 
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#124
#124
allstar34bd said:
Yes it is. If you are constantly causing public distractions; based on greedily seeking raises while being the highest paid player on the team… that isn’t leadership.
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Would have been cool to watch the OL step aside and watch Nico get mashed into dust when he got into SEC play.
 
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