Nico Iamaleava is no longer on Tennessee’s roster as Heupel says no one’s ‘bigger than the program’

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava was not at Tennessee ‘s Orange and White game Saturday and is no longer on the roster.

It appears Iamaleava is headed toward the transfer portal that opens Wednesday, as coach Josh Heupel had a short answer before the spring game about the past 48 hours.

"It's the state of college football," Heupel told the Vol Network. "At the end of the day, no one’s ever bigger than the program. That includes me too. And we got an opportunity. We got a bunch of guys that are going to give their all for Tennessee and we move forward, got a great group. Let’s go compete."

Iamaleava is the quarterback whose name, image and likeness deal bringing him to Tennessee prompted an NCAA investigation and 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 spent spring practice as the quarterback expected to start for a second straight season. He 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 and was not at practice Friday.

Not only was Iamaleava no longer listed on the Tennessee website or roster, gear with his No. 8 was not seen in shops at Neyland Stadium.

That leaves Heupel with a pair of four-star recruits in his quarterback room led by Jake Merklinger, who joined Tennessee for spring practice a year ago, and incoming freshman George MacIntyre. Heupel has a commitment from the No. 1 overall recruit for 2026 in quarterback Faizon Brandon out of Greensboro, North Carolina.

"We got two guys in that room, excited to watch them go play," Heupel said of Merklinger and MacIntyre. "They’ve had a really good spring. They’ve grown throughout it. Excited about getting out, having a chance today to get out in front of our fans and our guys go compete today."

Tennessee has plenty of room for improvement in its passing offense. With Iamaleava in 2024, the Vols ranked 77th nationally averaging 221.2 yards passing per game.