Nico Iamaleava will most likely not make Miami football his home after transferring from Tennessee. Iamaleava's chaotic exit from Knoxville has shaken up the college football world, and head coaches of potential teams are growing wary of him.
Miami's Mario Cristobal is one who was strictly against the idea of getting a "holdout" in his program. "We're not going to do that at Miami - and I'm saying that without any hesitation. If anyone thinks of that, they could be the best quarterback in the world. If they want to play holdout, they might as well get out," Cristobal spoke about the Iamaleava situation no-holds-barred.
"We don't want to do that. We don't want Miami to become that. So many guys have sweat, bled, and laid it on the line on that field to ever become that kind of a program," the Hurricanes head coach further emphasized where the program draws the line between players getting compensated fairly for their skills and players playing just to get paid.
That said, the Hurricanes already have Georgia transfer Carson Beck to handle the starting QB reins in 2025. So they don't need a quarterback anyhow.
But programs that still have an open quarterback competition have protested against the idea.
Notre Dame, the program with the most intense QB battle going on, and USC, the No. 1 recruiting class of 2026, both have reportedly denied having any interest in Iamalaeva.
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"IMPORTANT TO NOTE HERE: Am told EMPHATICALLY that neither Notre Dame nor USC has any interest whatsoever in Nico," said John Brice of Irish Illustrated.
This makes the list of possible suitors even shorter for Iamaleava.
However, the list could also see some names getting added to it as the controversy erupts further.
We'll see how well Iamaleava's decision to part ways with Tennessee for NIL reasons fares.