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Nico Iamaleava officially enters transfer portal
By Paul Harvey
Published:
The spring transfer portal window officially opens on Wednesday, and, to little surprise, quarterback Nico Iamaleava was among the first players reported as officially in the portal Wednesday morning.
The move by Iamaleava was confirmed by multiple reporters, including Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer with CBS Sports/247 Sports. The former starting quarterback for Tennessee and the former 5-star prospect was already removed from Tennessee’s roster for Saturday’s spring game, so entering the portal was just a formality at this point.
The report by Zenitz and Hummer indicates Iamaleava has entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag. Whether or not Iamaleava has decided on a new home, that designation is not surprising.
Over the past couple of days, teams have been pulling out of the pursuit of Iamaleava, even before his name officially entered the portal. USC and Notre Dame were among the first power conference teams to reportedly indicate they were not interested, and reports have surfaced to indicate UNC and Tulane are also no longer pursuing Iamaleava.
Now, head coach Josh Heupel and the Vols will begin their own search for a new QB in the portal. Who that player turns out to be for the Vols remains to be seen, but players with previous starting experience at a power conference would be among the top candidates if such a player surfaces in the portal.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
