Nico Iamaleava gone from Tennessee as Heupel says no one is 'bigger than the Power T'

Tennessee is moving forward without quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and coach Josh Heupel said Saturday he had a simple message to the remaining Volunteers.

No one is bigger than the Power T, including the coach himself.

Even now in the different landscape that is college football.

“This program has been around for a long time with a lot of great coaches and a lot of great players that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football,” Heupel said. “It's going to be around a long time after I’m done and after they’re gone, and that’s what special about being here is that there is a legacy and a tradition that is so rich and a logo that’s recognized not just across the nation but around the world too."

Heupel called losing Iamaleava an “unfortunate” situation." He thanked Iamaleava for his work while at Tennessee. Asked about the timing without notice just before the spring game Saturday, Heupel said there's never an easy time to lose a player. Heupel told his coaches Friday that he’s lost players at the start of training camp or during the season with adversity a chance to either bring teams together or divide them.

“If it's going to happen, rip the Band-Aid, too,” Heupel said about losing a player. “At the end of the day, we got a lot of great work for the two guys that are here. We've got a chance to move forward as a program. It's unfortunate in the landscape of college football that it happens at this point.”

Iamaleava had been practicing all spring and expected to be the starting quarterback for a second straight season. Asked when Heupel knew the Vols would not have Iamaleava moving forward, the coach said Friday morning when the quarterback was a “no show” with no communication with Heupel. The Tennessee coach refused to get into details about any discussions with Iamaleava and his representatives.

“He’s moving on, we’re moving on, too,” Heupel said. “We’ll be ready to roll when we get to next fall.”

So Iamaleava was not at Saturday's Orange and White game and not listed on Tennessee's roster on the website before the session started. His No. 8 gear also was not inside shops at Neyland Stadium after two days of speculation about Iamaleava's future with Tennesssee.

Iamaleava is the quarterback whose name, image and likeness deal bringing him to Tennessee prompted an NCAA investigation and a lawsuit by the attorneys general of both Tennessee and Virginia in January 2024. The NCAA was looking at both Tennessee and The Vol Club, an NIL collective run by Spyre Sports Group over the recruitment of the five-star quarterback from California and his NIL contract with Spyre.

The NCAA settled that lawsuit Jan. 31 over its rules prohibiting name, image and likeness compensation for recruits.

Iamaleava helped Tennessee go 10-3 last season and earn a berth in the newly expanded College Football Playoff. According to reports, he was looking for a big hike in his NIL compensation after getting his first start at the 2024 Orange Bowl. The Vols ranked 77th nationally averaging 221.2 yards passing per game last season. Iamaleava played in 18 games and threw for 2,930 yards with 19 of his 21 touchdown passes and all five of his interceptions coming in 2024.

That leaves Heupel with a pair of four-star recruits in Jake Merklinger, who joined Tennessee for spring practice a year ago, and freshman George MacIntyre. Heupel has a commitment from the No. 1 overall recruit for 2026 in quarterback Faizon Brandon out of Greensboro, North Carolina. Merklinger appeared in two games as a freshman and is 6 of 9 for 48 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

That's why Heupel will be looking for more experience at quarterback once the transfer portal opens Wednesday. He added Joe Milton, now backing up Dak Prescott with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, not long after being hired in 2021.

Southeastern Conference rules prohibit players from transferring inside the league during the spring portal window, limiting options for both Tennessee and Iamaleava.

“We're going to have to find another guy,” Heupel said.

Heupel is going into his fifth season at Tennesssee and sees a program in much better shape and built to win now than when he took over. He said the Vols have plenty of time before opening the season Aug. 30 against Syracuse in Atlanta.

“This program's ready to go win next fall," Heupel said. "As a program since we've been here, we've won with alot of different QBs and done it historically in my career with a lot of different QBs. Some of those guys have been older, some of them have been younger. But we'll have a quarterback that's ready to go win and help us compete for a championship.”

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football