Sometimes, even in college football’s wildest transfer portal chaos, a move still catches you completely off guard. And that’s what happened earlier this year when one of the nation’s star young quarterbacks walked away from a playoff-caliber SEC program and landed at a school that hasn’t sniffed the top 25 in years. It wasn’t about playing time; he had that. It wasn’t about winning; he’d just done that. So what was it? Fans, analysts, and even former players were left asking the same question: “Why would he leave now?”

The confusion hasn’t died down either. We’re talking about Nico Iamaleava, former 5-star, rising superstar, and the guy Tennessee fans believed could carry them to a national title. His move to UCLA stunned just about everyone, especially considering how close the Volunteers were to breaking through. As per the official person, Nico asked for more money, double of what he made last year ($2 million), and Josh Heupel said, Enough is enough!

Nico entered the portal, and weeks later, he joined the Bruins. Since then, many different layers of the ordeal have been uncovered, starting from the demands from Nico’s camp. Years later, we’d still remember this fiasco by Nico’s dad fighting with CFB journalists, denying their stories (which later proved to be true). Despite everything, we continued to be surprised by why it happened. But now, someone with serious college football credentials has spoken up, and let’s just say, he’s scratching his head too.

That voice belongs to Urban Meyer, and he talked about this in a recent episode of The Triple Option. “I like Ohio State, Texas. That makes sense. Um, Tennessee’s gone. I don’t. I had them. This is before the Nico transfer, which still to this day, I’m scratching my head, ‘What in the world happened there?’ There’s going to be a story someday about what happened there.” Meyer said. He was clearly baffled, not just by the move itself, but by the circumstances around it.

“I don’t know what it is. Why would you leave a team that just made the playoffs?” Meyer said, and he’s absolutely right. Josh Heupel’s team made it to the playoffs but were defeated in the first round by a much stronger team, Ohio State (17-42). However, their overall record of 10-3 was enough to tell how good they were in the last season. “He’s as talented a quarterback as I’ve seen in a long time, and he’s at UCLA, which is great,” Meyer concluded.

When a popular figure like Urban Meyer defines you as a talented quarterback, you know that you’ve done something good to earn those compliments. And Iamaleava’s numbers are the proof for that. Standing at 6 feet 6 inches and weighing around 215 lbs, Iamaleava racked up 2,616 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions last season for Tennessee in 2024. Despite this, he decided to leave the program and start fresh at UCLA. And while fans continue speculating, the rumors are swirling harder than ever about why this really happened

Nico Iamaleava’s exit was never about the money

Many thought Nico Iamaleava’s move was all about the bag, that he wasn’t satisfied with his NIL deal in Knoxville. And on paper, it made sense. Reports suggested he was set to earn around $2.5M at Tennessee but had asked for nearly $4M before the winter portal closed. When the school reportedly said no, it looked like Iamaleava, backed by his father, was out. But according to Kirk Herbstreit, it wasn’t that simple. In fact, money might not have been the issue at all.

Speaking on the Try That In a Small Town podcast on July 13, Herbstreit dropped a little behind-the-scenes tea. “I’ve heard different stories. Some people thought it was about money. I’ve heard from close sources that it was more about Nico’s dad going to Josh back in December before they played Ohio State, like, ‘Hey, listen, you gotta get better at offensive line and better at receiver, you gotta get better around him if you want us to stick around’, which blows my mind that a college quarterback’s dad would do that to a head coach.” Herbstreit said.

So now it’s not just about NIL or even loyalty; it’s about an internal standoff between a rising star’s camp and a head coach fresh off a playoff run. Whatever the real reason is, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Iamaleava’s transfer wasn’t some simple exit. Urban Meyer thinks we’ll get the full story one day. Herbstreit’s already hearing whispers. And the fans? They’re just hoping this all leads somewhere that makes sense.