Mike Elko Sends Clear Message On Nico Iamaleava Transfer Situation

Former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava shocked the college football world by ostensibly forcing his way out of Knoxville in recent days due to a dispute over his NIL dealings with the school.

Reports indicated that Iamaleava was attempting to increase NIL earnings. Unforunately for Iamaleava, Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel stood his ground, and elected to go another direction at the position, forcing his former starter to find a new home via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

It was thought that Iamaleava hand found a new team in the UCLA Bruins, with all signs pointing toward him ending up in Los Angeles. However, it has now been reported by On3's Steve Wiltfong that the Bruins are simply using Iamaleava as recruiting tactic with other college football agents.

Either way, it is a cautionary tale for the rest of college football. But fortunately for the Texas A&M Aggies and head coach Mike Elko, there appear to be no risks of something like that happening in College Station with quarterback Marcel Reed - or anyone else for that matter.

Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed runs the ball as the Auburn Tigers take on the Aggies | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"You should ask Marcel if I had any words on how I might handle a similar situation in recent times with him, because I'll probably just keep that between him and I," Elko said. "No, we're all on the same page, across the board. Everybody agrees that the players deserve something. Everybody agrees that this system has caused this to become what it's become. Everyone believes that the system currently is not working. It's not good for anybody."

"I think I heard somebody, maybe it was Kirby (Smart), say that the long term ramifications of this, when we look back at this period of what the development of young people looks like 10 years from now, I think we're going to be really embarrassed with what that actually looks like. But again, it is what it is, and nobody really cares what we think."

Of course, there will still be players that elect to enter the spring portal. There was already an example of that from receiver Micah Hudson who only spent a matter of weeks in Aggieland. There will also be players who attempt to negotiate NIL deals as the years go on.

That said, Elko has made it clear that his program will not be held hostage by the idea of a player hold out, and will not be afraid to move on if that becomes the case.

He has also made it extremely clear that he is aligned with other coaches across the country in terms of their the views of the state of college football in regards to the transfer portal and NIL, and that something needs to change.

But until something is done at the base level to help put some parameters or guidelines on the situation, programs will continue to be in danger of falling into a similar situation as the Volunteers.