Younger Iamaleava must face fallout from brother Nico's actions at Tennessee

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A few days ago, while doing background research on a story about how quarterbacks KJ Jackson and Madden Iamaleava are about to embark on a year-long battle to see who will be the successor to Taylen Green, an odd headline popped up.

It indicated UCLA was trying to scrape up roughly $5 million because people there believed Iamaleava's older brother Nico wasn't happy about things at Tennessee and the Bruins might be able to bring him back home. The story wasn't from an established reputable site and had nothing to do with the story being written, so it was cast aside as just a wild rumor and forgotten.

That is until the following day when Nico haphazardly announced to the world he is in a contract dispute with the Volunteers by not showing up to spring practice as a way of sitting out until Tennessee could cough up more money. Apparently he is fully ready to leverage the upcoming opening of the transfer portal to squeeze the Vols for whatever a few good games against bad teams and several average to below average performances against SEC schools is worth.

However, in the process, what he isn't understanding is how his younger brother is becoming collateral damage at Arkansas. Madden was a surprise last second addition to the Arkansas recruiting class this past December and he has manged to make a lot of noise with his natural talent in the first several days of spring practices.

There's a real chance he can earn the starting job next spring. However, Nico's actions have muddied the waters a bit.

Now, if Madden edges out Jackson next April, the staff has to seriously consider whether it will be safe to name him the starter. Doing so means there's a good chance Jackson jumps in the portal as soon as it opens.

What that does is automatically give Iamaleava leverage to hold the Razorbacks hostage like how his brother is trying to do at Tennessee. He can threaten to go into the portal also if Arkansas doesn't meet his financial demands.

One would hope his personal character is better than that, but Nico hasn't done his little brother any favors. No matter how hard he works and how effectively he plays, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has to keep what's going on at Tennessee in the back of his mind now.

He can't risk giving the young man too much leverage and suddenly see the entire program implode if he takes more money elsewhere. However, there is one possible saving grace for both parties.

The college football coaches unanimously approved sending a proposal to the NCAA that would shorten the transfer portal to a single window taking place in January. While it's still being considered, if accepted, it would be a solution to a potential major issue in the Razorbacks program.

That would mean both Iamaleava and Jackson would be locked in for the 2026 season when spring practices begin next March. That would free the coaches to name whomever the best man for the job ends up being as the starter without worrying about transfers or being held hostage.

However, if the second spring window stays open, the Arkansas staff will have a lot to consider as it faces a difficult situation. Unfortunately for Iamaleava, there's not a whole lot he can do to change the thought process.

His brother has already messed that up for him. He just has to live with the consequences.

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