Spare me the accolades going to the Tennessee Vols and Josh Heupel for toughness in not caving in to more cash demands from Nico Iamaleava. It is likely true that the Vols could have thrown more money at Iamaleava and possibly held on to him. Doing so would have been such a mistake; Tennessee should have booted Nico out without considering one more penny.
Instead, it is apparent that the Vols dithered, hoping to retain their former 5-star quarterback. Iamaleava beat Tennessee to a decision point and decided to enter the Portal. Josh Heupel was left with no choice but to pass on a bidding war.
Other stories are being told about this mess. One source trumps all the others. Chris Low has more inside information on Tennessee football than anyone in the media business. Low explained, "Iamaleava notified Tennessee OC Joey Halzle late Friday night he had completed his paperwork and was entering the portal next week, sources told ESPN. This after Josh Heupel and multiple staffers had tried to reach Iamaleava and/or his reps to no avail for a day and a half." So Heupel was still trying to make a deal when Nico's negotiators decided to move on.
Central to the story is how Iamaleava got to Tennessee. His original $8M deal was illegal based on NCAA rules at the time. The rules were that schools or NIL collectives could not use money as an inducement to sign high school players. The quotes below from Chris Low and Ross Dellenger explain what happened.
Chris Low: "Not lost in the Iamaleava saga is that Tennessee AG sued the NCAA last year for “unlawful enforcement” and won (injunction granted) after his recruitment was scrutinized and he was on the cusp of being declared ineligible by the NCAA. A little more than a year later, he’s gone."
Ross Dellenger: "If you forgot, the Tennessee AG's lawsuit over Nico's recruitment - and subsequent injunction - paved the way for boosters and collectives to negotiate with athletes before their enrollment, dismantling NCAA recruiting rules in the process."
Alabama Crimson Tide fans remember a Nick Saban statement
Alabama Crimson Tide fans remember that years ago, soothsayer Nick Saban asked is this what we want college football (sports) to become. A current perspective is provided by ESPN's David Hale, "As an AD told me a while back, what we’re seeing in college sports right now is a version of irrational capitalism. It’s a free market but w/o the restraints of logic. There’s always someone w/money > brains. Players in CFB/hoops right now are like toilet paper during COVID."
Tennessee is no doubt already shopping for a quarterback. Followers of the Vols will laud Josh Heupel for courage and the Tennessee head man might end up with a quarterback better than Iamaleava - for less money. Only in that sense is this mess a 'win-win' for Tennessee.