Sources lay out family drama and blame of Nico's unprecedented exit from Tennessee

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This recent contractual renewal wasn't the first demand coming from the Iamaleava side. During the tail end of the season, there was already some planning ahead that was happening for the support system for the talented signal caller, according to those around his inner circle. Those conversations centered around the offensive line, which was a unit that needed some revamping for the Volunteers.

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The demands were spearheaded by Nic Iamaleava, Nico’s father. In their familiar hierarchy, his dad has the majority of say regarding what he believes to be the best for Nico and their entire family, and they are expected to follow his lead. Along with Nico’s agent, the two of them wanted to be guaranteed that his son would be better protected, and wanted to see the actions to follow.

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Tennessee did hit the transfer portal for offensive linemen this past winter, which included the additions of Sam Pendleton (Notre Dame) and Wendell Moe Jr. (Arizona). It appears that more support was wanted, and that meant that the Iamaleava side now wanted more benefits to stay. All demands were not met.

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Even before spring practice, the wheels had begun turning around this whole situation. In fact, contact with other schools began back around the winter portal window. Most just didn’t know it.

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According to multiple sources, the duo of Nic Iamaleava and their agent were already shopping around to generate interest for Nico. Oregon was amongst the schools they contacted, but that was where things started backfiring for the Iamaleava camp.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning reached out to Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel regarding them reaching out directly. As you can imagine, that wasn’t well received. The fracturing began, and this was the start of even more lies and deceptions to follow.

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Some of the other schools that were reached out to in the winter window were Notre Dame, USC, UCLA, and Texas Tech. The Fighting Irish, like Oregon, were not interested. Making the move for both USC and UCLA didn't make much sense at the time. Texas Tech at least listened, but also didn’t make a move.

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The shame of this all is that Nico wasn’t privy to the majority of what was happening behind the scenes. This is just how things are managed in their family dynamic. He is typically used as an important piece in a game of leveraging, deception, and is expected to follow without any pushback.

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With the intention to let the process play out, everything remained quiet for the next few months. Spring ball began, and things continued to be calm on the surface level. Unannounced to both Nic and Nico, their agent went behind their back to work negotiations once again. When he overplayed his hand, things got messy quickly. He attempted to save some face with the family by blaming the Tennessee side.

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The story eventually made its way to On3, not via the Tennessee coaching staff or program. 
When the story from Nakos came out, the Iamaleava family was completely blindsided by it. They all felt deceived, and Nico and other parts of his family were especially affected. With a lack of information about everything that was taking place, Nico was once again relegated to following his dad and his orders to not show up to practice last Friday.

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Once that happened, the relationship was to the point of no repair. With Coach Heupel and Tennessee furious about the situation, they made the only decision that made any sense at that point, moving on from their talented signal caller. Tennessee AD Danny White was a major part of that final decision, and sounds like he gave the last nudge to cut the cord.

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