Former Tennessee quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, remains in headlines after skipping the Volunteers’ Spring Camp practice one week ago amid a “holdout” surrounding his NIL compensation.
Iamaleava, who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season, was reportedly demanding a new contract ahead of the 2025 season.
Now, after the situation went public, the Volunteers and Iamaleava have gone their separate ways with the coveted signal-caller entering the NCAA Transfer Portal.
The UCLA Bruins remain the destination that has gained the most traction with multiple reports stating that the California program is the favorite.
When asked about the situation at hand and what it means for college football, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin believes the narratives being put on social media are not “fair.”
“That could be a lot of things within that answer. I’m not really going to comment much on that because I don’t know all the details. That happens a lot with media with fans obviously nowadays with how quickly things are put out or somebody says something from an unnamed source and all those things and these comments are made,” Kiffin said on Thursday.
“In this instance about a kid and we don’t even have the facts to know if the stuff and the narratives out there is even true.”
Kiffin believes the narratives being spread aren’t fair considering the work that goes on behind the scenes in college football.
“So, I don’t think it’s really fair to take shots at him when all the facts and details of the situation aren’t out there and seem to be more in favor of the program side,” Kiffin said.
“We’re able to have a big voice as a program when a kid leaves or something because we get much more access to the media and controlling the message than the kid does.
“I don’t know the details in that. So, I think it’s a little bit unfair what’s going on, especially because I hear the other side that those details that are out there are not accurate.”
Kiffin stated that he has “talked to the other side” and the Iamaleava side is much different than the narrative being spread across social media.
“Again, I’m not going to get into that too much because I think that’s the narrative that’s out there of what happened. I’ll just say I’ve talked to the other side of that and Nico’s side is a very different story of what happened.
“So, I don’t think it’s fair to comment on that or to say that’s exactly what took place.”
Iamaleava is expected to land with the UCLA Bruins, according to multiple reports, after a two-year stint in the SEC with Tennessee.
Ole Miss Quarterback Confident He’s “The Best” QB in the 2025 NFL Draft
Top-10 Quarterback in America Locks in Ole Miss Visit
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Rebels Confirm Spring Game Plans in April
Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
