In his first year as the program’s starting QB, Iamaleava threw for 2,616 yards and accounted for 22 touchdowns. While his game-to-game performance was often up and down, he led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff.

As Tennessee wraps its spring practice slate, the Volunteers have decided to move on from star QB Nico Iamaleava amid NIL contract negotiations. The talks escalated to the point that Iamaleava did not attend Tennessee's practice Friday ahead of its Orange & White spring game on Saturday,

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel reportedly told the team that they moved on from quarterback Nico Iamaleava a day after he skipped practice amid NIL contract negotiations.