Kirk Herbstreit offers strong comments about the character of former Tennessee Vols QB Nico Iamaleava
ESPN College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit became the latest high profile sports media personality to comment on the public breakup between the Tennessee Vols and quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Herbstreit joined The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday and he detailed his personal experience from his interactions with Iamaleava. "I did about four or five games [involving] […]
ESPN College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit became the latest high profile sports media personality to comment on the public breakup between the Tennessee Vols and quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
Herbstreit joined The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday and he detailed his personal experience from his interactions with Iamaleava.
"I did about four or five games [involving] Tennessee," said Herbstreit. "First time I did a Tennessee game, I was very interested to see what it was going to be like in our production meeting, what he's going to be like. I saw the pajamas. I heard about the $8 million. No idea what's true, what's not, and he hopped on our first call that we did with him, it was against NC State early in the year, I think it was the first game of the year. And I thought, alright, here we go. And this dude was one of the typical Polynesian, laid back, calm, quiet, humble, nicest guys I've ever spoken to, I was blown away.
"So I'm not piling on Nico at all. I don't know what's gone on. I don't know. I hear about his dad, I hear about his team. I can just tell you the kind of guy that [he seems to be]. That's why I'm sure it's tough for Josh Heupel to let him go. If it's Nico, Nico is, like, a great teammate. Nico is a great guy. Nico is a guy that, from my time being around him, you want him in your huddle. I talked to (former Buckeyes pass rusher) Jack Sawyer after the Ohio State/Tennessee game, we're getting ready to do the Oregon game, and we were just reminiscing about the week before, and he said, 'I'll tell you what man, we knew we had them early, but I was blown away by their quarterback. That guy, we cracked a couple of his helmets, he just kept coming back. He kept competing'. He goes, 'That kid's the real deal'. So, I'm impressed with Nico as a person. I'm impressed with Nico as a player."
The whole situation is unfortunate. You hate to see any partnership between an athlete and program end with negativity. That's not what any true sports fan should be rooting for in any situation.
But the damage has been done. And both sides have to pick up the pieces and move forward as best they can. Hopefully, though, folks remember that before he's a football player, Nico is a 20-year-old that has his whole life ahead of him. Folks have their opinions about how things went down. But there's nothing wrong with showing kindness, or at least refraining from negativity, when it comes to how Iamaleava is treated in the aftermath of his departure from Tennessee.
‘There’s more to this story than just money’ – Insider says Nico Iamaleava’s departure was related to Tennessee’s offensive style
There’s always more to the story
