There’s no denying that the landscape of college football has changed so much that the sport is nearly unrecognizable from where it was even 10 years ago. The injection of the Name, Image, and Likeness and the free-for-all nature of the transfer portal have led to what feels like the Wild, Wild West for collegiate athletics.
Now, things are really starting to hit the fan. There were reports earlier that Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava was holding out of spring ball in search of more compensation, only a few months removed from leading the Volunteers to the college football playoff.
Apparently, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, as one prominent college football insider had a major update to the situation on Saturday morning.
“Sources: Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel informed the team of the decision at a team meeting this morning. Iamaleava missed meetings and practice on Friday, which was the driver of this decision,” reported ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Now that this has happened, it’s likely to reoccur over and over with the sport’s top talents unless the NCAA can find a way to legislate and police things, something it has largely been unable to do thus far.
This reality was acknowledged by FOX Sports’ Joe Klatt.
“NIL and the XFR portal did not ruin College Football…The pathetic and inept NCAA not enforcing rules is threatening to ruin College Football…So, we need a governing body to step in and enforce mutually agreed upon rules…it is really that simple,” Klatt tweeted in the wake of Saturday’s news.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Volunteers fill the massive void created by Iamaleava’s absence.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.