In a surprising turn of events, the Tennessee Volunteers were struck with horrible news on Saturday, when starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava entered the transfer portal in search of a new program.
After a solid 2024 season, where he completed 213-of-334 passes for 19 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 145.3 passing efficiency rating, there are sure to be several teams interested in his services.
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Of course, it won’t come as a surprise if Iamaleava ends up transferring to a blue-blood type of program, but on Monday, Pete Nakos of On3 reported that the Tulane Green Wave have “started to kick the tires on the Tennessee transfer quarterback.”
There’s no doubt that jumping from the SEC to the AAC would be a bit of a step down and many fans have taken to social media to joke about the situation.
“Dude is going to Tulane for a package of free haircuts and a jelly of the month membership,” said one comment.
“he doesn’t want to win. haha pretty plain to see. also, what boosters does Tulane have to pull off the deal he’s asking for?” said another.
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“Tulane is nasty work,” a third added.
A fourth stated, “Tulane: “We’ll give you 50 bucks.”
“Would probably do great at Tulane. Ya know he had his best success against the lesser teams,” a fifth continued.
“could you imagine if I showed you this in like 2015 and Tulane was in a recruiting battle for a 5-star transfer with P5 schools?” said another.
Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8).Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Of course, it’s not a surprise to see people poking fun of Tulane being in the mix considering Iamaleava’s asking price for his next NIL deal is $4 million, per ESPN’s Chris Low, which is a number the Green Wave likely couldn’t reach.
Related: College Football Playoff Contender Loses Key Playmaker Via Transfer Portal
