'I love Nico' – Former Vols standout still has a lot of love for Nico Iamaleava despite departure from Tennessee
It seems like the majority of the Tennessee Vols fan base views former UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava as a villain, due to the way his time on Rocky Top ended. Iamaleava and Tennessee went through a very public and messy breakup near the end of spring practice, which led to the quarterback's transfer to UCLA. […]
It seems like the majority of the Tennessee Vols fan base views former UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava as a villain, due to the way his time on Rocky Top ended.
Iamaleava and Tennessee went through a very public and messy breakup near the end of spring practice, which led to the quarterback's transfer to UCLA.
Despite the way Iamaleava left Tennessee, many of his former teammates have made it clear that they are fans of Nico as a person.
Former Vols wide receiver Dont'e Thornton, who was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, is one of those former teammates who remains close with Iamaleava.
"That's my dog. It was great [being Iamaleava's teammate], I love Nico," said Thornton during a recent appearance on NINTH ISLVND. "We were real close. Football aside, that was my dog.
"Coming in 2024, it was my senior season, it was his redshirt freshman season, we had a great connection that developed over that year of time from when I got healthy back in the spring leading up the season. I guess it got to a point where when we were playing, he had a lot of faith in me and I had a lot of faith in him. It just always worked, no matter how it ended up being."
It shouldn't be a surprise to hear those comments from Thornton.
After all, Thornton, like all of Iamaleava's former teammates at Tennessee, knows the California native on a personal level — in a way that fans don't. To Thornton, Iamaleava is more than just a football player, he's a friend.
What happened between Iamaleava and Tennessee is the result of the current state of college football. Ultimately, Iamaleava, like the rest of the young adults playing college football, are human beings. And not every decision that a player makes is going to make sense to every fan. You can't make everyone happy…
