Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava turned heads recently after opting to sit out of practice over disputes about his NIL contract with the program. Although the situation came as a surprise to many, rumors suggest Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel may have gotten a heads-up about Iamaleava's decision ahead of time.

During a guest appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Josh Pate of CBS Sports floated a rumor that Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning informed Heupel that Iamaleava reached out to the Ducks football program before ultimately deciding to sit out of practice. Pate also suggested that due to the NIL, perhaps college football head coaches are looking out for each other.

“Now here is a hot rumor. Allegedly a certain friend of the program out on the West Coast, maybe up near Eugene may have sent up a flare to let Tennessee know that this was happening behind the scenes. Imagine that other head coaches send up the flair to let their fellow peers know there is some shadiness going on behind the scenes here. Might they be looking out for each other's best interest for a change, allegedly.”

 

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As of April 12, Iamaleava reportedly informed Tennessee that he plans to enter the transfer portal when it opens on Wednesday, April 16. Reports do indicate that the 20-year-old quarterback did reach out to Dan Lanning and the Ducks about possibly transferring to Oregon, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. However, the Oregon football program claimed it is not interested in Nico Iamaleava.

“Tennessee was aware that Iamaleava's representatives had reached out to at least one other school, Oregon, prior to the start of spring practice, sources told ESPN, but Oregon said it wasn't interested.”

Iamaleava is requesting for his NIL deal to reach around $4 million. But that's a number the Vols are seemingly not going to agree with. As a result, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has already claimed the Volunteers will be moving on from the phenom quarterback. In his statement, the 47-year-old head coach claimed that “no one is bigger than” the program.

“This program has been around for a long time,” Heupel said after the Volunteers played their spring game Saturday. “There are a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players who came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football. It's going to be around a long time after I'm gone and after they're gone.”