Auburn's Hugh Freeze Weighs in on Nico Iamaleava Saga

Everyone knew that the NIL era of college football was going to turn how things previously worked completely upside down.

Of course, the toxic contractual impasse which came to bear with Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava down in Knoxville, has got everyone talking. Iamaleava reported more money, held out of practice, and was turned loose by the Vols.

Some veteran figures such as the Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze, are now going public with how much they dislike the direction the college game is going these days.

"Our game needs some change for sure," Freeze told Paul Finebaum on his podcast Monday. "Until we get some structure around us where there is some accountability to the contracts that are signed with collectives and schools, I think we're going to be up for some of this that's not healthy for our sport, truthfully."

The multi-billion dollar industry of college football has over-corrected when it comes to players’ rights. Freeze hits on a key point – accountability for the contracts. However, with one-year deals, how much accountability can there be?

What we're seeing is a huge reset in terms of shaking up the whole establishment, and Iamaleava seems confident to hold out to get paid what he feels he's worth.

In the process of revolutionizing the entire way the college game always went about its business, it all means coaches like Freeze are rapidly playing catch up in order to stay competitively relevant.

Collective heads are clearly spinning, and Freeze and others can be forgiven for lamenting how levels of trust just flew out the window.

"I don't know if I would describe it as pressure," Freeze told Finebaum about adjusting to the new challenges. "It's just, it's very unsettling. You build these relationships that you think you have that are on a solid footing and sure, now this week, I'm quite certain I'll get smacked in the face that that relationship may not be as tight as I thought it was.

"It's not so much pressure as it is just frustrating... I was in with our personnel right before this. You think you know who your squad is, and you keep hearing, but we really don't know."

One-year deals mean the coach is constantly re-recruiting his entire team. Multi-year contracts would cure a lot of what ills the transfer portal era.

How current collegiate rosters are currently being built has undoubtedly popped the cork on the genie's bottle, and nothing the likes of Freeze can do is going to reverse the tidal wave of players finally receiving their share of the billions of dollars in revenue flowing through NCAA football programs.

Some could say that it's a classic case of snooze and you lose. Getting onboard with playing the transfer portal has been good for Freeze and Auburn, including talented former Oklahoma Sooners signal caller Jackson Arnold.

Perhaps letting the whole NIL system run wild straight from the get-go was a big mistake, but crossing the streams at the juncture could also prove even more catastrophic.

That's not to say that the coaching fraternity shouldn't speak their minds forcefully, and call for changes where they are required. Post haste introducing some sort of NIL buyout might be a suggestion worth adopting, but turning around the NCAA juggernaut is bound to take plenty of time.

But changes will come. Coaches and fans alike won’t stand for repeated Nico Iamaleava holdout situations.