At this point, it’s hard to view Tennessee as anything but a team in disarray.
The ongoing situation with quarterback Nico Iamaleava has turned into a full-blown circus—and the latest development is the biggest red flag yet. According to multiple reports, Iamaleava was a no-show for a team practice on Friday, catching coaches completely off guard.
For a guy who’s supposed to be the face of the program heading into a pivotal 2025 season, this kind of absence sends a loud message. Whether it's over NIL negotiations or something else, the relationship between Nico and Tennessee has clearly hit a rough patch—and it’s hard to see this getting better quickly.
A report from CBS Sports indicated that Iamaleava's family was happy with his current contract, meaning that this dispute could be even deeper than an NIL negotiation.
"The family are happy (with Tennessee)," Cordell Landers, a close friend of the Iamaleavas. Landers is a former assistant director of player personnel at Florida who also works with a number of notable players from California, told CBS Sports. "There are no (contract negotiations), they're happy with the contract they have."
Why Tennesssee will not be a championship contender in 2025
What's sad is that Tennessee’s schedule this season actually shaped up favorably. The Vols had a legit path to another College Football Playoff berth in the expanded 12-team format, dodging teams like Texas, Ole Miss, and South Carolina.
But let’s be honest—even if Nico ends up staying, how can anyone expect this team to be a legitimate competitor with this much off-field noise? It takes a lot more than just talent to win a national championship. It takes leadership and culture, both of which are being tested currently in Knoxville.
The way this circus has unfolded, at least in my opinion, it indicates that there could be deeper issues in Tennessee than just what we're hearing on the surface. Regardless of that, Tennessee is in a lose-lose situation. You either lose your starting quarterback who you've built your system around, or you keep him to only have potential splinters in the locker room and a lack of trust. In addition, I'm not sure the folks in Neyland will be all that kind and welcoming to their starting quarterback, either.
Could Tennessee still sneak into the Playoff if Nico stays and balls out? Absolutely. But that’s a far cry from actually being a true contender to win the whole thing. When you couple the off-field stuff at Tennessee with the personnel losses from last season, it just feels like Tennessee is primed to take a step backward in 2025.