Nico Iamaleava was 'extraordinarily ungrateful' in Tennessee exit: GameDay host

The former Tennessee quarterback couldn't have really handled this any worse, according to the voice of ESPN's College GameDay.

Nico Iamaleava came off as ungrateful to Tennessee amid the quarterback's sudden exit from the program. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nico Iamaleava’s bombshell exit from Tennessee couldn’t have been handled much worse and showed the quarterback was “extraordinarily ungrateful” to the program, according to the host of ESPN’s flagship College GameDay program.

“There’s a way to conduct business and there’s a way not to conduct business. And in my judgement, Nico Iamaleava and his representatives, which include his father and other agents, handled this as ham-handedly and as poorly as you can possibly imagine,” GameDay host Rece Davis said.

Davis’ comments on the College GameDay Podcast illustrate something of a consensus in the wake of Iamaleava’s transfer from Tennessee to UCLA amid reports he was seeking a larger NIL package from the Vols, one they weren’t interested in giving him.

Reports indicated the quarterback was receiving around $2.4 million per year from Tennessee’s football collective, but was interested in scoring a new deal more in line with the perceived market value of around $4 million for quarterbacks.

Iamaleava held out the Vols’ final football practice in the days before the transfer portal was set to open, but the team didn’t give into those reputed demands, and were content to let him walk.

Leaving a setup where you’re the starting quarterback for an SEC team that was in the playoff and returning good skill players with good guaranteed money doesn’t look like the best business decision in hindsight.

“They didn’t have the leverage that they thought they had,” Davis said.

“They didn’t have a landing spot, which you need to have a landing spot before you go in and start demanding extra money. And the other thing is that they came off as extraordinarily ungrateful in all of this, which is also a damage to your reputation.”

Iamaleava was a major recruiting gain for Tennessee, signing with the program as a five-star prospect, playing 18 games and starting 14 contests for the Volunteers.

In his career, the quarterback has 2,930 passing yards with 21 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, rushing for 435 additional yards and 6 more touchdowns.

Last season as the full-time starter, Iamaleava passed for 2,616 yards with 19 touchdowns and 5 picks, leading the Vols to a 10-3 record and its first appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Now it’s expected Iamaleava will now earn much less than he was set to with Tennessee, and on a far less talented team.

What’s done is done, with Iamaleava set to start for UCLA, and Tennessee on the lookout for his replacement.

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