There’s no shortage of drama surrounding Nico Iamaleava right now.
The former 5-star quarterback and Tennessee Volunteer is officially entering the NCAA Transfer Portal, and he’s instantly become one of the most talked-about names on the market.
But according to longtime SEC analyst Paul Finebaum, schools might want to think twice before jumping in.
“I would stay away from him,” Finebaum said during an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. “Buyer beware of this guy.”
That’s a bold statement for someone who has as much potential as Iamaleava, but Finebaum isn’t just talking about football. The red flags he sees are all about what’s happening behind the scenes—things that have nothing to do with throwing a football and everything to do with the people managing Iamaleava’s next move.
“It’s not even Nico,” Finebaum explained. “It’s the whole apparatus. Something tells me Nico is not personally in the middle of these negotiations. Team Nico is. “And I mean there is a, there is a toxic feeling about this player because of the attention and because he is the one that everyone is talking about. And I would be very careful.”
While Iamaleava himself may not be the issue, the situation around him—centered on NIL money and last-minute demands—has raised a lot of eyebrows.
Like it or not, he's suddenly the symbol of everything people love and hate about college football’s new era: big expectations, bigger money, and lots of uncertainty.
Finebaum admitted that Iamaleava could help a team. He’s certainly more talented than a guy who’s just out there signaling plays from the sideline. But is he elite? That’s still up for debate.
“In the short term,” Finebaum said, “I don’t think he’s going to make a significant difference.”
That’s not to say he won’t impact whatever team he lands with—because he will. But Finebaum’s larger point is this: are the headaches worth the production? And is this really the type of quarterback a team wants to build around when the spotlight is already burning hot?
“There’s going to be this halo around him,” Finebaum said. “That says he held out, he asked for money, he’s a problem child.”
That perception, whether fair or not, is now part of Iamaleava’s story. It’s the cost of doing business in the new college football world. And according to Finebaum, if you’re a head coach trying to build a stable program, you might want to keep scrolling through the portal—because this one might come with more baggage than it's worth.
Multiple programs have already reportedly pulled out — including USC, UNC, and Tulane — so it will be interesting to see where Iamaleava ends up when it's all said and done. Right now, it feels as if UCLA would considered the favorite.