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Nico Iamaleava gone from Tennessee as Heupel says no one is 'bigger than the Power T'

By Canadian Press on April 12, 2025. Tennessee is moving forward without quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and coach Josh Heupel said Saturday he had a simple message to the remaining Volunteers. No one is bigger than the Power T, including the coach himself. Even now in the different landscape that is college football. “This program has […]

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Nico Iamaleava gone from Tennessee as Heupel says no one is 'bigger than the Power T'

By Canadian Press on April 12, 2025.

Tennessee is moving forward without quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and coach Josh Heupel said Saturday he had a simple message to the remaining Volunteers.

No one is bigger than the Power T, including the coach himself.

Even now in the different landscape that is college football.

“This program has been around for a long time with a lot of great coaches and a lot of great players that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football,” Heupel said. “It’s going to be around a long time after I’m done and after they’re gone, and that’s what special about being here is that there is a legacy and a tradition that is so rich and a logo that’s recognized not just across the nation but around the world too.”

Heupel called losing Iamaleava an “unfortunate” situation.” He thanked Iamaleava for his work while at Tennessee. Asked about the timing without notice just before the spring game Saturday, Heupel said there’s never an easy time to lose a player. Heupel told his coaches Friday that he’s lost players at the start of training camp or during the season with adversity a chance to either bring teams together or divide them.

“If it’s going to happen, rip the Band-Aid, too,” Heupel said about losing a player. “At the end of the day, we got a lot of great work for the two guys that are here. We’ve got a chance to move forward as a program. It’s unfortunate in the landscape of college football that it happens at this point.”

Iamaleava had been practicing all spring and expected to be the starting quarterback for a second straight season. Asked when Heupel knew the Vols would not have Iamaleava moving forward, the coach said Friday morning when the quarterback was a “no show” with no communication with Heupel. The Tennessee coach refused to get into details about any discussions with Iamaleava and his representatives.

“He’s moving on, we’re moving on, too,” Heupel said. “We’ll be ready to roll when we get to next fall.”

So Iamaleava was not at Saturday’s Orange and White game and not listed on Tennessee’s roster on the website before the session started. His No. 8 gear also was not inside shops at Neyland Stadium after two days of speculation about Iamaleava’s future with Tennesssee.

Iamaleava is the quarterback whose name, image and likeness deal bringing him to Tennessee prompted an NCAA investigation and a lawsuit by the attorneys general of both Tennessee and Virginia in January 2024. The NCAA was looking at both Tennessee and The Vol Club, an NIL collective run by Spyre Sports Group over the recruitment of the five-star quarterback from California and his NIL contract with Spyre.

The NCAA settled that lawsuit Jan. 31 over its rules prohibiting name, image and likeness compensation for recruits.

Iamaleava helped Tennessee go 10-3 last season and earn a berth in the newly expanded College Football Playoff. According to reports, he was looking for a big hike in his NIL compensation after getting his first start at the 2024 Orange Bowl. The Vols ranked 77th nationally averaging 221.2 yards passing per game last season. Iamaleava played in 18 games and threw for 2,930 yards with 19 of his 21 touchdown passes and all five of his interceptions coming in 2024.

That leaves Heupel with a pair of four-star recruits in Jake Merklinger, who joined Tennessee for spring practice a year ago, and freshman George MacIntyre. Heupel has a commitment from the No. 1 overall recruit for 2026 in quarterback Faizon Brandon out of Greensboro, North Carolina. Merklinger appeared in two games as a freshman and is 6 of 9 for 48 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

That’s why Heupel will be looking for more experience at quarterback once the transfer portal opens Wednesday. He added Joe Milton, now backing up Dak Prescott with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, not long after being hired in 2021.

Southeastern Conference rules prohibit players from transferring inside the league during the spring portal window, limiting options for both Tennessee and Iamaleava.

“We’re going to have to find another guy,” Heupel said.

Heupel is going into his fifth season at Tennesssee and sees a program in much better shape and built to win now than when he took over. He said the Vols have plenty of time before opening the season Aug. 30 against Syracuse in Atlanta.

“This program’s ready to go win next fall,” Heupel said. “As a program since we’ve been here, we’ve won with alot of different QBs and done it historically in my career with a lot of different QBs. Some of those guys have been older, some of them have been younger. But we’ll have a quarterback that’s ready to go win and help us compete for a championship.”

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press

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Johnny Manziel thinks he would have stayed in college over the NFL ‘no matter what’ with NIL

Johnny Manziel truly believes he would’ve stayed in college football at Texas A&M in the NIL era, rather than go to the NFL as early as he did. Following two years as a starter, Manziel declared for the NFL Draft and was a first round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2014. However, his NFL […]

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Johnny Manziel truly believes he would’ve stayed in college football at Texas A&M in the NIL era, rather than go to the NFL as early as he did. Following two years as a starter, Manziel declared for the NFL Draft and was a first round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2014.

However, his NFL career quickly flamed out and he had stints in the CFL a few years later, as well as Fan Controlled Football, an arena league. But, the former Heisman Trophy winner has been open and honest about his post-collegiate struggles on and off the field but has his moments where it’s fun to play the hypothetical game.

Just imagine Manziel, at the peak of his collegiate powers, rolling in the NIL dollars. And then coming back to Texas A&M on top of it? Oh man.

“I mean, I think no matter what, being in the NIL era, if that would have, you know, been the equivalent of 2013, I would have stayed no matter what,” Manziel said on Always College Football. “Just because, you know, a couple million bucks in College Station goes a really, really long way. And, you go to the NFL, or a first round pick, you know, you sign for $10 million or whatever it is, you know, that’s the two years that I had remaining at Texas A&M, to be able to make (that) through NIL. So I think, for me, when I think back about it now, I definitely, if there would have been any real money involved, I definitely would have stayed no matter what.”

This isn’t the first time Manziel alluded to more time in College Station. He spoke to fellow Heisman winner Matt Leinart about the topic back in December with NIL being such commonplace across college athletics.

“Yeah, I think so, just because, I mean, you know, you get into your rookie contract if you’re not taken  high enough, I mean, you know, I could have stayed two more years in college and probably made what I made throughout the four years of your NFL deal for the most part,” Manziel said. “So I think it would have given me the opportunity to still be at a place today and then like that, be able to make money and be able to, you know, still continue to go play the college football life. It’s tough for me looking back, having left two years of eligibility on a table.”

Manziel burst onto the college football scene in 2012 when he became the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy. That year, he threw for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns to help the Aggies to an 11-2 record. 

Along the way, he set multiple records, including one against Arkansas when he had 557 yards of total offense. That broke Archie Manning’s record, and Manziel broke his own mark just two games later with 576 yards of offense in a single game. As a redshirt sophomore in 2013, Manziel threw for 4,114 yards and 37 touchdowns as he finished fifth in the Heisman voting.



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Vanderbilt football coach on revenue sharing vs NIL

Martel Hight will play both ways in 2025: Clark Lea Here’s what Clark Lea said about Martel Hight’s potential as a two-way player for Vanderbilt football in 2025. ATLANTA – Just a few years after NIL and instant eligibility for transfers upended the college football world, programs must adjust again. The recent House settlement implemented […]

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ATLANTA – Just a few years after NIL and instant eligibility for transfers upended the college football world, programs must adjust again.

The recent House settlement implemented revenue sharing, where schools pay players directly rather than them signing contracts with a collective. There’s a cap on how much revenue sharing money schools can give out, split across all sports. NIL deals can still exist, but they must go through a clearinghouse run by Deloitte called NIL Go.

On top of that, football teams can give out scholarships to anyone on their roster, but rosters will be capped at 105. Some players, called Designated Student Athletes, can be grandfathered in during the first few years of the roster limits if they were previously on the team.

Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea was slow to adapt to the original NIL and transfer rules, but he believes he’s better prepared this time around. If anything, he said, the new rules make roster-building more straightforward.

“I don’t want to say it’s a seamless transition, because it’s a transition,” Lea said in a session with local media at SEC media days on July 14. “We’re going from contracts written through a collective to now having those as part of the revenue share salary cap. And so we have to transition to those contracts in a way that keeps up moving without skipping a beat.

” … There is no room for a team in our league that’s not fully participating. From there, it becomes, how do we engage the Nashville community to go beyond the revenue share? And I’m excited to explore all those things to better position us for where the game is headed.”

To engage the Nashville community, Lea said he saw opportunities for partnerships with local businesses that could sign Vanderbilt players to NIL deals above the revenue-sharing cap. Lea said he was not directly involved with those conversations, as he was better off focusing on football, but that other parts of the department were focused on taking advantage of those opportunities.

The Commodores have a higher profile going into 2025 than they’ve had in a while with returning quarterback Diego Pavia and tight end Eli Stowers, plus several other good players. Martel Hight could play offense, defense and special teams.

But there are still questions abounding. NIL Go has rejected several NIL deals, leaving teams uncertain about the level of enforcement that will take place.

Lea and Vanderbilt, like everyone else, will have to figure out those things as they go.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.





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Brian Kelly endorses the possibility of Nick Saban returning to college football

Nick Saban and his potential return to coaching college football has become a trending topic at SEC Media Days. LSU head coach Brian Kelly is hoping it comes to fruition. The fuse was lit by former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, when he relayed that he’s heard someone predict the legendary leader will return to […]

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Brian Kelly endorses the possibility of Nick Saban returning to college football

Nick Saban and his potential return to coaching college football has become a trending topic at SEC Media Days. LSU head coach Brian Kelly is hoping it comes to fruition.

The fuse was lit by former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, when he relayed that he’s heard someone predict the legendary leader will return to coaching at some point. He cited a “very much in the know person” thinks Saban will get back to the sidelines.

McElroy continued to hammer home the idea with SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum. Saban currently works as an analyst for ESPN, but he’s not part of SEC Network’s coverage of SEC Media Days in Atlanta and is not in attendance this week.

As the story makes its rounds in Georgia, Kelly was asked about a potential return to the sport for Saban. It’s something the Tigers leader would sign up for, believing college football as a whole is better when Saban is on the sidelines.

“It’d be better for college football if Nick Saban is coaching. Period,” Kelly told On3’s Alex Byington. “There’s nobody better to develop players and certainly build championship programs, but at the same time understanding how to do it and how to do it the right way. It’d be a great day if he was back in it.”

While it may seem a bit far fetched, McElroy is beating the drum, and Kelly is hoping for the best. The former Crimson Tide signal-caller did point out it was someone “notable” who told him they think Saban isn’t necessarily done coaching. In fact, he said the person was “adamant.”

“This is a little bit out of left field, but the question was asked of me … a very much in the know person that I have a lot of respect for and have spent a lot of time around and just really, really admire,” McElroy said. “They seem to think Nick Saban’s not done coaching. I had a similar reaction. He’s pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again. … Look, if it wasn’t someone notable, I’d never say a word.”

Before the hype train leaves the station, Finebaum did rain on the parade a bit, responding with a resounding, “No” when McElroy asked if he “bought” the speculation. The former Alabama quarterback agreed with him, and Finebaum pointed out the life the legendary coach is living – including his improving golf game.

Stranger things have happened though. Brian Kelly wouldn’t mind the competition if Nick Saban decided to return. A rising tide lifts all boats. It’s certainly something to keep an eye on moving forward.

— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.

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New House proposal could reign in NIL chaos in college athletics

A new bill introduced in the House of Representatives calls for regulation in college athletics as leaders search for answers in the new era of Name, Image and Likeness. The SCORE Act, introduced to the House last week, aims to provide the NCAA with antitrust protections, pre-emption of state laws that regulate NIL payments and […]

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A new bill introduced in the House of Representatives calls for regulation in college athletics as leaders search for answers in the new era of Name, Image and Likeness.

The SCORE Act, introduced to the House last week, aims to provide the NCAA with antitrust protections, pre-emption of state laws that regulate NIL payments and a ban on making student athletes employees of their schools, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The bill comes on the heels of the House settlement, instituted on July 1. Schools can now share up to $20.5 million directly to players this year in a revenue share model. Additionally, the NCAA is set to pay $2.8 billion to current and former athletes for use of their NIL.

Seven republicans and two democrats are listed as co-sponsors of the SCORE Act, which primarily intends to impose national standards on NIL payments that continue to rise in the aftermath of the settlement.

If passed, the bill will also ban schools from using “athletic fees” imposed on students to fund athletic departments. Schools like Clemson, Tennessee and Arkansas have already implemented similar costs this year.

As football and basketball are set to receive the majority of the $20.5 million revenue-share cap, non-revenue sports would be protected by the SCORE Act, in part, by a requirement on schools to maintain at least 16 sports if one coach makes more than $250,000 a year.

According to the report, the bill has a “fair chance” at passing in the House but a “slim” chance of pasisng in the Senate, where the SCORE Act would need at least seven Democratic votes.



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Texas Tech hoping big money and top transfers lead to unprecedented payback in football | Football

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire had already completed his portion of Big 12 football media days when Colorado’s Deion Sanders was asked if he has been paying attention to what the Red Raiders did in the transfer portal. The gist of that question was really about all the money for Texas […]

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FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire had already completed his portion of Big 12 football media days when Colorado’s Deion Sanders was asked if he has been paying attention to what the Red Raiders did in the transfer portal.

The gist of that question was really about all the money for Texas Tech athletes, which is widely reported to be around $55 million for the upcoming school year. A significant chunk of that is expected to go toward the transformation of a football program that has never won a Big 12 title or even had a 10-win season since 2008, six years before three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Patrick Mahomes played his first game for the Red Raiders.

“Yeah, Joey got some money. Joey, where you at, baby? Spending that money, I love it,” Sanders said emphatically about the fellow Big 12 coach he calls a friend, and who coached two of his three sons in high school. “I love you, man. I appreciate you. Can you send a few of those dollars to us so we can get some of those players too?”

The reported dollar figures are staggering, even in these early days of schools being able to pay athletes directly. That total supposedly includes the maximum $20.5 million of revenue each school can share with players under the NCAA’s landmark House settlement that took effect this month, meaning the rest would come through name, image and likeness deals.

Red Raiders spending big

Last fall, Texas Tech said it was budgeting $14.7 million for the fiscal year — about $9 million more than the previous year — in support for the athletic program, which had a budget of nearly $129 million. The headlines started to come soon after.

Tech’s softball team had never won a Big 12 regular-season or tournament championship before standout pitcher NiJaree Canady arrived last year in Lubbock with a NIL deal that made her the first $1 million softball player.

With Canady, who had been to the previous two Women’s College World Series with Stanford, the Red Raiders won both of those league titles and got all the way to the final game of this year’s WCWS before losing to rival Texas.

Canady has already signed a similar NIL deal for next season. Tech also added three top transfers: Florida second baseman Mia Williams; two-time 20-game winner Kaitlyn Terry from UCLA; and Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Jackie Lis, an infielder from Southern Illinois.

Along with all the money spent on players, Texas Tech this spring unveiled a $240 million football complex at Jones AT&T Stadium, where Cody Campbell Field is named after the former offensive lineman who made a $25 million donation to the project.

Campbell’s financial impact on the program goes well beyond that. He is chairman of the school’s Board of Regents, a billionaire who with his oil and gas partner John Sellers co-founded The Matador Club, the school’s NIL collective that is now under the umbrella of the athletic department’s Red Raider Club. Sellers and Campbell earlier this year sold some subsidies of an oil and natural gas company for about $4 billion.

Last week, Campbell announced the launch of a nonprofit called Saving College Sports to help solve a “crisis” as the industry “faces an existential turning point as legal, governance and economic challenges threaten” hundreds of thousands of athletes, fandom and the economies of campus communities.

On the gridiron

The Texas Tech men’s basketball program has four Sweet 16 appearances since 2018, including a run to the national title game in 2019. But the big moneymaker for all programs is football and the Red Raiders will find out this fall if a big financial commitment to those players will get them into the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Texas Tech brought in 22 football transfers in what many consider a top national portal class. Most are highly touted players, with about half expected to be starters and most of the others impact players on a team already with several key returners after going 8-5 last year in McGuire’s third season.

“Yeah, it’s been a fun offseason,” McGuire said before Sanders took the podium. “We were really aggressive whenever it came to the portal and meeting some of our needs for the football team. … I think this conference is really strong. There’s a lot of teams that have some big opportunities this year to really make a statement, and we’re planning on being one of them.”

With the amount of money involved, some front-loaded NIL deals before the House settlement with new guidelines went into effect, it will certainly be a huge and expensive disappointment if they are not.

“I understand how important this year is,” McGuire said. “We’ve got to have a lot of things go right, but everybody does. You’ve got to keep your quarterback healthy. You’ve got to play at a high level. I know there’s a lot of expectations. My job that I’m going to really try to do is keep the pressure on me and the coaches.”

Tech returns senior quarterback Behren Morton, who threw for 2,976 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, and senior linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, the league’s top tackler with 126 last year. Rodriguez is the preseason Big 12 defensive player of the year, and on the league’s preseason team with a pair of four-star transfers: edge rusher David Bailey (Stanford) and defensive lineman Lee Hunter (UCF).

“It’s unbelievable, those guys came in and bought in to what we were talking about,” Rodriguez said. “I love those guys to death already and I think they’re going to make my job a lot easier, especially with the guys we have up front.”

It will also be up to McGuire to deal with paid players, some making significantly more than others on the roster.

“I think that goes into your culture,” the former Texas high school coach said. “It’s real. It’s real money. Guys are making different amounts of money in the locker room.

“One thing that you better understand if you dream to play in the NFL, your contract’s not going to be the same as the guy next to you, and if that’s what you focus on, then you’re going to spend a lot of time wasting a lot of energy,” McGuire said. “If guys want to increase that, focus on what you can control. That’s your game and how hard you’re practicing and how hard you’re playing.”


AP Sports Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed.


AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football



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Incoming Virginia Tech men’s basketball star uses filthy move that should fire up fans

It has been some time since the Virginia Tech men’s basketball program has had some hype surrounding an incoming freshman. In fact, this season, there is a real chance that when all is said and done next June, veteran coach Mike Young could be looking at having a pair of draft picks in the 2026 […]

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It has been some time since the Virginia Tech men’s basketball program has had some hype surrounding an incoming freshman. In fact, this season, there is a real chance that when all is said and done next June, veteran coach Mike Young could be looking at having a pair of draft picks in the 2026 NBA Draft on his 2025-26 roster.

Those two players would be Tobi Lawal and incoming freshman Neoklis Avdalas, both of whom entered the NBA Draft process this spring, but withdrew to play another year of college basketball. Lawal, who transferred to Virginia Tech from VCU last season, will play his second season for Young, while Avdalas gave a verbal commitment to the Hokies and then signed after withdrawing. He is not on campus yet as he is playing in the FIBA Eurobasket U20 with Greece, and he had a move that should fire up Tech fans for next season.

Virginia Tech incoming freshman Neoklis Avdalas drops a filthy move in a FIBA matchup

If there is one thing that is clear about Avdalas, it’s that he has the opportunity to be a special player at Virginia Tech. Expect him to be able to play multiple positions for the Hokies, and that even includes handling the ball as the point guard. He had a play against Lithuania that Hokies fans hope to see next winter in Blacksburg: a filthy crossover.

That was certainly a filthy move by Avdalas and Virginia Tech fans are hoping that they see that a few times next winter. One thing is clear, Avdalas has multiple ways he can score the ball and that is something Hokies fans have seen a lot of. The Hokies are going to have multiple options on offense next season, but Avdalas might very well end up being their best option. It almost seems too good to be true.





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