Breaking Down Tennessee & Nico Iamaleava's Wild Weekend
“There’s no one bigger than the Power T," Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. "That includes me.”
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Tennessee’s Culture
On Friday, just one day before Tennessee’s spring game, quarterback Nico Iamaleava missed meetings and practice as part of college football’s first-ever public holdout over NIL compensation.
The former five-star gunslinger and his representatives reportedly wanted to renegotiate his NIL deal worth at least $2 million for the 2025 season, seeking around $4 million annually for his services moving forward.
While Iamaleava and his counterparts thought they had the upper hand with the spring transfer portal window opening on Wednesday, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel had other ideas.
Ultimately, he dismissed Iamaleava from the team, altogether.
“At the end of the day, no one is ever bigger than the program,” Heupel told reporter Brent Hubbs on Saturday. “… We move forward. [We] got a great group. Let’s go compete.”
With Tennessee moving on from their former starting signal caller, the Volunteers are now in the market for a Power Four plug-and-play piece under center in the spring window.
As for Iamaleava, USC, Notre Dame, and North Carolina are all reportedly “out” on the transfer quarterback, as it’s become more than likely no school will match his original deal from Tennessee.
College Football’s Popularity
CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd recently wrote a piece pondering college football’s financial valuation and how the sport still manages to leave “billions of dollars” on the table.
Based on ratings, viewership, and fan engagement, college football currently stands as second most popular sport in America, trailing only the NFL.
According to the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame, college football attracts more than 145 million unique viewers per season. Still, Dodd’s report shows that the sport could be worth “$4 to $5 billion more” in media revenue.
The Power Four media rights deals are currently worth a combined $17 billion. But, Casey Wasserman of Wasserman Group believes that creating a “Super League” of 72 teams could maximize revenue generation by bundling media rights under one umbrella.
Dodd mentioned “at least one” venture capital entity had interest in buying into a Power Four athletic department, which could soon become a widespread trend.
“What we’re trying to do is find sports that are undervalued and invest in those,” former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry told Dodd. “… So that five years from now, as they get their new media deals, that’s when you’ll capture the upside.”
John Mateer
Quarterback, Oklahoma
Matt Hayes of USA Today recently captured a story on the attitude of Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, who will now lead the Crimson and Cream offense after a stellar 2024 go-around at Washington State.
Hayes described Mateer’s demeanor as “equal parts Baker Mayfield and Cam Ward, and embattled Sooners’ coach Brent Venables.” — a statement that shouldn’t be taken lightly in Norman.
“I’m from the south, and all of these SEC teams recruit in the south,” Mateer said. “So I guess they all passed on me… There’s a couple [teams] here and there that really make me mad. I’m not over it.”
Mateer threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns as a first-year starter last fall and accumulated an additional 829 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
Per Venables, his intensity and focus is “off the charts.”
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Nico Iamaleava
Former Tennessee Quarterback
When former Volunteer quarterback Nico Iamaleava initially held out of Friday’s spring practice, many analysts believed Tennessee would match his $4 million request to remain in orange to avoid an offseason fiasco.
Instead, Tennessee held firm, and now Iamaleava is scrambling to find a new suitor just one day before the spring portal window opens.
Not only did Iamaleava and his representatives walk away from a deal worth over $2 million from Tennessee, but now, several programs are already reportedly “out” on the Iamaleava sweepstakes.
Now, Bleacher Report is reporting that “multiple” teams are waiting to see if Iamaleava drops his lofty NIL demands. According to On3’s Pete Nakos, UCLA and Tulane could still be in play if the price tag decreases.
Auburn’s Portal Departures
Before the Tigers’ spring game on Saturday, Auburn had 20 players enter the transfer portal since the 2024 campaign’s conclusion in November.
Following Saturday’s scrimmage, an additional two members of head coach Hugh Freeze’s secondary hit the portal in Terrance Love and JC Hart.
Love, a lengthy 6’2”, 200-pound safety by way of Atlanta, Georgia, saw action in 22 games over the previous two seasons for Freeze’s defense.
The versatile defensive back was expected to play a heightened role in the Tigers’ backend this season after coming to campus as a four-star recruit in 2023.
Auburn has already added 15 transfers this offseason, but Freeze will search to add additional depth to his secondary throughout the spring cycle.
Between The Numbers 📊
1,021
Nittany Lions’ senior tailback Nicholas Singleton has run for at least 1,021 yards in two of the last three seasons.
Now, ahead of his fourth go-around donning the Basic Blues, he needs another campaign with 1,021 yards on the ground to overtake Evan Royster as Penn State’s all-time leading rusher.
During last week’s media availability session in State College, Singleton was asked about breaking the program’s rushing record. His response was simple:
“That’s definitely doable,” he said.
This spring, Singleton has been more creative in the open field and making the second level miss more consistently. According to Rich Scarcella of the Reading Eagle, James Franklin has witnessed Singleton’s physical improvement up close.
“He’s been a guy who’s extremely strong, extremely explosive, and extremely fast,” Franklin said. “But we want to work on those open-field runs, so he can get more 80-yard, 90-yard runs, which we think he’s capable of getting.”
In addition to breaking the all-time rushing record in Happy Valley, Singleton is also on track to become Penn State’s career leader in all-purpose yards and touchdowns with comparable production moving forward.
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Josh Heupel | Head Coach, Tennessee
“There’s no one bigger than the Power T. That includes me.”
When Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel spoke to the media for the first time since Nico Iamaleava’s departure on Saturday afternoon, he was blunt regarding when he knew he’d be moving on from his former blue-chip passer.
Per Heupel, he recognized the pair would part ways on Friday morning when Iamaleava failed to show up to practice. From there, it was apparent he would no longer be a part of the Big Orange culture.
“Obviously, we’re moving forward as a program without him,” Heupel said directly, before discussing the weight of Tennessee’s “Power T” emblem.
While Heupel didn’t ask for publicity throughout the program’s dispute with Iamaleava and his representatives, it’s evident that the head coach cares deeply about the Volunteers’ tight-knit locker room.
If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by email at adam@brenemanmedia.com.
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Shoutout to Connor Krause for helping to write this newsletter and putting it together!
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