Major SEC quarterback news broke on Saturday morning as ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Tennessee and QB Nico Iamaleava went their separate ways. The move came a day after Iamaleava missed Tennessee practice amid speculation of a holdout.
Iamaleava signed with Tennessee as a five-star quarterback in the class of 2023 and took over the starting job last fall. A move of this magnitude at this point in the calendar is rare, but the portal and NIL have changed how coaches manage teams.
On Saturday, LSU football head coach Brian Kelly was asked to share his thoughts on the situation.
"I think that we're going to see a lot of this, you know, this is a new world and I think we're going to navigate it the best that we can, but I think that there's going to be other situations that come," Kelly said.
Kelly said the information regarding player compensation and value is improving. That could lead to better front office decision making.
"I think there's going to be better information out there that will allow people to look at comps for positions and say that makes sense, that doesn't make sense, and it'll allow us to navigate this a lot more reasonably moving forward," Kelly said.
Sources: Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel informed the team of the decision at a team meeting this morning. Iamaleava missed meetings and practice on Friday, which was the driver of this decision. pic.twitter.com/BsdhJMDXiz
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 12, 2025
With the upcoming House settlement, Kelly was optimistic about a clearer structure being in place.
"And moving forward, I think with the house settlement and, you know, potentially a clearinghouse for NIL, I think we'll see, you know, a better place," Kelly said.
I asked LSU's Brian Kelly if he had thoughts about what's happening with Tennessee football and Nico Iamaleava
— Michael Cauble (@Cauble) April 12, 2025
Here's his answer⬇️ pic.twitter.com/uy3OAIK5l3
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football coach Brian Kelly shares thoughts on Nico Iamaleava story
