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Paul Finebaum: Tennessee wins short-term battle with Nico Iamaleava but situation ‘worked out well’ for QB
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Tennessee’s saga involving star quarterback Nico Iamaleava caught the college football world by storm recently, and Paul Finebaum is weighing in on the matter.
During his Monday morning appearance for “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” Finebaum described the situation as one that Tennessee has fared well in with the reaction across the country. However, Finebaum also questions if there was even a decision the Vols could make based on Iamaleava’s absence.
“I think from an early view of it all, Tennessee fared incredibly well. They’re being credited and praised across the country for getting rid of him. I’m still not sure they had a choice,” Finebaum admitted. “He didn’t show up for practice and didn’t show up on Saturday, so they were done. In relation to this moment in time, I think it is a critical moment. I think we’re talking about one of the most important recent stories in college football history.”
Moving forward, Finebaum does believe Josh Heupel secured a short-term win for his program. However, Iamaleava still got what he was ultimately searching for, and Tennessee now has a major question mark at quarterback.
“In relation to Nico, I think it was inevitable, based on all the information that is floating out there that he was looking to leave and clearly did not feel he was getting an appropriate deal. I think it worked out well for Nico as he’s got a chance to go somewhere else, wherever that is,” said Finebaum. “Tennessee may have won the short-term battle, they still have the most obvious question facing them and that is who is going to be the quarterback and how effective is that person going to be.”
The Vols will certainly look to add depth and likely a plug-and-play starter when the transfer portal opens this week. However, such a shake-up this late in the offseason can be potentially disastrous for a team looking for a repeat trip to the College Football Playoff.
Prior to the drama, Tennessee received the 4th-best SEC Championship odds in the country, listed at +1000 by DraftKings. However, that number feels likely to change as the roster evolves, and fans can track all the odds with the TN sports betting apps.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
