The biggest domino to fall in the spring transfer window just hit college football.
Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava less than a year after he led the Volunteers to a College Football Playoff berth. The redshirt sophomore had missed spring practices and meetings during an apparent hold out for a new NIL deal.
But before fellow SEC teams begin salivating over the chance to bring the 2025 Heisman Trophy hopeful to their campus, they need to remember it's extremely unlikely the QB even considers one of Tennessee's rivals.
Conference rules prohibit immediate eligibility for intra-conference transfers during the spring window:
In order to gain immediate eligibility, a student-athlete will need to declare his or her intent to transfer by February 1 for Fall sports, May 1 for Winter sports and July 1 for Spring sports. NCAA rules include similar deadlines except the NCAA deadline for Fall sports is May 1.
Iamaleava — or a rival SEC school — could attempt to challenge this rule in court, but there's no telling how that could play out.
So for now, consider Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Ole Miss and the like out of the running for Iamaleava's services.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava won't transfer to an SEC school
