New Twist In Nico Iamaleava Saga Pokes Some Holes In His Dad's Story

The term "helicopter parent" is nothing new in the world of college athletics, but for Nico Iamaleava's father, we need to come up with a new, more pointed descriptor.

I was considering going with "generational wealth fumbling, pathological liar" parent, but it doesn't necessarily roll off the tongue, so, I'll keep workshopping it.

Regardless, a new twist in the story about Nico's departure from Knoxville has emerged from the lips of none other than ESPN college football personality Kirk Herbstreit.

If what Herbie is saying is true, then Nico's dad didn't just fumble the bag for his son, he's also completely ignorant.

Let's start with the money aspect, since that was Iamaleava's original purported reason for holding out of spring camp at Tennessee.

Nico was the original poster boy for bloated NIL deals, receiving a rumored $8 million in total incentives as a five-star recruit coming out of high school.

After sitting out all spring hoping for a pay increase, the former Volunteers QB bolted for the West Coast and UCLA for a rumored $1.75 million, even lower than what he was originally set to receive at Tennessee.

That's not even counting state taxes, which he will now have to pay after moving to California from the great, tax-free state of Tennessee.

Putting the finances of the move to the side, if Nico's dad really told Vols coach Josh Heupel that they need to "get better around him" before becoming a UCLA Bruin, then he's probably even dumber than we originally anticipated.

Tennessee went 10-2 last year and made the College Football Playoff, mostly behind the strength of its run game and defense.

Running back Dylan Sampson was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-American, and edge rusher James Pearce was a first-team All-SEC selection and a first-round draft pick in 2025.

To go even deeper, cornerback Jermod McCoy was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2024 and the receiver room was littered with speed up and down the depth chart.

Iamaleava wasn't even the first of several reasons the Vols were in the Playoff, so if anything, Nico should've gotten better for the team around him.

Now he is in Westwood playing for UCLA, a team that is breaking in a second-year head coach coming off a losing record last season and is projected to finish third from the bottom in the Big Ten.

That's a far cry from what could have been had he stuck around in Knoxville with a quarterback-friendly system like Heupel's.

If Iamaleava's dad really believed what he said to Heupel before advising his son to enter the transfer portal, then, in the immortal words of DJ Khaled, "Congratulations, you played yourself."