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Nico Iamaleava broke his silence on Friday afternoon to dispel the notion that he “almost” sat out of Tennessee’s College Football Playoff game last December as a negotiating tactic.
The idea that Iamaleava nearly held out of a CFP game amidst contract negotiations has been shared by college football analyst Josh Pate and others since Iamaleava’s departure from Tennessee became official last weekend.
Pate claimed Iamaleava almost sat out of Tennessee’s CFP loss to Ohio State as he was attempting to re-negotiate his deal with the Vols. He added that Iamaleava was “not the only [player]” who tried that tactic.
As for Iamaleava, he responded to the CFP holdout accusations Instagram story on Friday afternoon. He also mocked the idea that he tried to “throw” the game.
“Damn I tried to sit out and throw the playoff game too?” Iamaleava wrote. “These boys just make me laugh man, ain’t no way.”
Here’s a screenshot courtesy of Vol Report:
While Iamaleava may not have attempted to throw the game against Ohio State, it was perhaps his worst game as a Vol. He threw for just 104 yards on 31 pass attempts in a 42-17 loss to eventual-champion Ohio State.
Iamaleava is expected to land at UCLA after entering the transfer portal earlier this week. His split from Tennessee has dominated college football conversations over the past week as it leaves both Iamaleava and the Volunteers with a somewhat-uncertain future.
Tennessee is expected to recruit a transfer quarterback this spring to replace Iamaleava.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
