Nico Iamaleava breaks silence on wild rumor about his last game as Tennessee quarterback in the midst of his expected transfer to UCLA
It seems as though Nico Iamaleava is amused at a recent rumor surrounding his performance in the College Football Playoff that has spread by some online after his departure from the Tennessee Vols to what is expected to be UCLA. Iamaleava has been the subject of a rumor by some who believe that the ex-Vols […]
It seems as though Nico Iamaleava is amused at a recent rumor surrounding his performance in the College Football Playoff that has spread by some online after his departure from the Tennessee Vols to what is expected to be UCLA.
Iamaleava has been the subject of a rumor by some who believe that the ex-Vols quarterback threw the playoff game against Ohio State, which Tennessee lost in convincing fashion 42-17 in Columbus in the event's opening round.
Iamaleava weighed in on Saturday, stating on his Instagram account, "damn i [sic] tried to sit out and throw the playoff game too?" followed by two laughing emojis. He also made a subsequent post joking about telling former Vols QB Navy Shuler that he was throwing the game with more laughing emojis.
It seems hard to believe that Iamaleava threw the game for the Vols or otherwise gave less than his full effort. First, Ohio State flipped a switch in the playoff, dominating largely on both sides of the ball on their way to the school's first national title since 2014. That run started with a spirited defensive effort that completely throttled what had been an effective Tennessee ground game for most of the season, keeping the Vols' offense in check for most of the game.
Iamaleava's effort, to the eye, also didn't seem to be less than normal. In fact, his grittiness was on display as he took a pounding for much of the game, even dealing with two helmets cracking due to the extremely cold weather conditions.
There has been a lot of frustration and anger surrounding Iamaleava's NIL dispute and resulting practice no-show and departure from the program, both among Vol fans and fans and media from around the country. Many have deemed Tennessee of acting properly and Nico and/or his camp as being the side at fault for the fallout.
However, it's hard to see anything from that dispute having spilled over into the playoff game back in December regardless of what folks might have put out on social media recently.
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