Tennessee Situation Takes Bad Turn, UCLA Must Learn From It

When DeShaun Foster was a player at UCLA, there were no such things as player contracts, NIL, transfer portal, or anything like that. In fact, outside of the actual game of football, there really was nothing that mimicked his collegiate experiences with his time as a Carolina Panther.

Now as UCLA's head coach, Foster is watching college football become a semi-pro league to the NFL in every way.

We've seen how money has impacted the game. Constant transfers, schools poaching players, things of that nature. That's not new to the sport. Players leveraging themselves for money is.

We saw the first case of this happening at UNLV during the 2024 season. Starting quarterback Matt Sluka won his first three starts before redshirting himself, claiming NIL money that he was due wasn't being paid to him. He would leave the program shortly after redshirting himself.

At that time, I was covering UNLV, and that situation lifted a veil on the shadiness behind college football. While that situation would take a lot of time to dissect, it came down to three factors. Promises made by people who shouldn't be making promises, representatives who aren't qualified to be representatives, and the lack of oversight over business dealings within the sport.

With Nico Iamaleava's situation in Tennessee, we're seeing those elements in play again.

On3's Pete Nakos reported that his sources inside the Tennessee program stated Iamaleava wanted more NIL money. Iamaleava's representative, his father Nic, said that wasn't true. Nic then doubled down on X, formerly known as Twitter, with colorful language.

"More games being played off the field than on the field," Nic Iamaleava wrote. "Bi7ch Nakos from On3 Sports called and asked me directly, I told him I had no idea on what he's talking about. He said his "close source" that he trusts with his life from the University of Tennessee staff gave him this."

Then, in another twist, Nico missed practice on Friday, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. Tennessee twitter, who ran to the defense of Nico, feel they have been lied to.

Sources: Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava did not attend Tennessee spring practice today. He’s been in conversations with Tennessee about a new contract. The no-show of practice came as a surprise. pic.twitter.com/VXsXTPDZpu
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 11, 2025

"Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava did not attend Tennessee spring practice today. He’s been in conversations with Tennessee about a new contract," Thamel wrote. "The no-show of practice came as a surprise."

UCLA needs to be paying attention. There was a reason why Iamaleava, a native a Long Beach, chose to play at Rocky Top.

Now, Tennessee Twitter essentially hates both Nico and Nic, there are discussions that this situation could push forward player contracts, discussions about teams being able to cut players, and a lot more. During a time that is supposed to be about silent improvement, there's a lot of dirty words being thrown around, and Foster must make sure these conversations do not make their way to Westwood.

UPDATE: On Saturday morning, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel announced the Volunteers would be moving forward without Iamaleava.

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