Quarterback switch Nico Iamaleava is responding to criticisms and accusations.
The previous Tennessee quarterback publicly addressed latest rumors and allegations suggesting he held out of the School Soccer Playoff and deliberately underperformed on his manner out of the college.
Iamaleava, who entered the spring switch portal Wednesday, dismissed the claims on his Instagram story on Friday, saying, “Damn I tried to sit out and throw the playoff game too?” accompanied by three laughing emojis and a photograph from the first-round matchup towards Ohio State.
“These boys just make me laugh, man. Ain’t no way,” he added.
He additional mocked the allegations by sharing one other picture of himself conversing with quarterback Navy Shuler earlier than the sport, jokingly captioning it, “how ima throw this game rq [right quick],” once more with laughing emojis.
Iamaleava’s remarks come amid his latest departure from Tennessee, following a reported dispute over his identify, picture, and likeness (NIL) compensation.
Stories point out that Iamaleava and his representatives sought a brand new NIL deal valued at $4 million yearly, up from his preliminary $2.25 to $2.5 million contract.
When negotiations stalled, Iamaleava entered the switch portal, with UCLA rising because the frontrunner, per The Athletic.
Cowboys star linebacker Micah Parsons was amongst these to have criticized Iamaleava’s actions as indicative of broader points inside the sport.
“College football a joke now!” Parsons posted on X. “Y’all might as well just make college into a semi-pro league! Actually hold players accountable to the contracts they sign!”
Iamaleava threw for two,616 yards final season, together with 19 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
He additionally ran for 358 yards and three dashing touchdowns.
