Nico Iamaleava decided to enter the transfer portal after not showing up to the Tennessee Volunteers' spring game. Things turned south quickly, as the 20-year-old quarterback wants to improve his NIL deal from roughly $2 million to $4 million. The North Carolina Tar Heels were deemed as a potential suitor, however, new reports suggest head coach Bill Belichick is going a different route.

North Carolina was one of the three teams believed to be pursuing Iamaleava alongside the UCLA Bruins and Tulane Green Waves. Instead, Bill Belichick is seemingly not going after the former Volunteers quarterback and is rumored to be recruiting South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez in the transfer portal, according to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports.

“NEW: North Carolina is out of the mix for Tennessee transfer QB Nico Iamaleava, Pete Nakos.”

It's not entirely clear what led to the Tar Heels already dropping out of the Iamaleava race. It could do with the fact that the former Volunteers quarterback is demanding for large increase in NIL pay.

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Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel claimed that his team would be going in a different direction not long after Iamaleava was a no-show to the spring game. There are rumors though Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning informed Tennessee that Nico Iamaleava reached out to them about possibly transferring to Oregon. But reports indicated that the Ducks are not interested in the phenom quarterback.

As for Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels, they are seemingly going after Lopez, who has played for Southern Alabama for two seasons. During his sophomore campaign last year, he finished with 2,559 passing yards, 25 total touchdowns (18 passing), and five interceptions while throwing a 66.0% completion percentage.

As for Iamaleava, he's coming off his first year playing as a starter. Wherever he signs, Iamaleava will likely want to play for a team that allows him to continue serving as the starting quarterback. He ended the 2024 campaign with 2,616 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, and five interceptions while recording a 63.8% completion percentage.