Nico Iamaleava Contacted Oregon Ducks Before Entering Transfer Portal

Iamaleava's interest in the Ducks was not reciprocated by Lanning and his staff, signaling some confidence within Eugene and the program's quarterback room. Oregon is expected to start Dante Moore at quarterback, but he is competing for the job against quarterback Austin Novosad.

The Ducks also don't make much sense as a program for Iamaleava, considering Oregon signed Moore out of the transfer portal before the 2024 season. Both Moore and Novosad sat behind Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel with the expectations of having a chance at the starting job in 2025.

On the latest episode of his podcast, CBS Sports' Josh Pate spoke about the Iamaleava situation, and Pate expressed his frustrations at the lack of regulation surrounding NIL deals. On his show, Pate suggested that Iamaleava was one of a few players on College Football Playoff teams that threatened to hold out for playoff games in order to gain leverage.

Bringing in Iamaleava, who is reportedly looking for an increased name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal, would not only disrupt Oregon's quarterback room but also cut into the Ducks' transfer portal and recruiting budget. Lanning and his staff have had success in landing top transfers in the portal like offensive lineman Isaiah World and Emmanuel Pregnon as well as safety Dillon Thieneman.

Lanning and the Ducks have also landed three transfer portal quarterbacks at Oregon: Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and Dante Moore. With the Ducks, Nix and Gabriel played themselves into the Heisman Trophy ceremony as finalists for the award in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Lanning was asked about the happenings at Tennessee, and he declined any comment.

"Not getting into anything else except, let's talk about the scrimmage today. The Ducks worked really hard in a scrimmage today," said Lanning.

The Ducks were heavily involved in Iamaleava's recruitment as a high school prospect, but that ship has seemingly sailed.

At Tennessee, Volunteers coach Josh Heupel chose to talk about the program's rich history that has come before him and will continue after him.

"This program has been around for a long time," Heupel said after the Volunteers played their spring game Saturday. "There are a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players who came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football. It's going to be around a long time after I'm gone and after they're gone."

The transfer portal officially opens on Wednesday, April 16, and will close on April 25. The Ducks will play their spring game on April 26, giving fans a chance to see More and Novosad compete inside Autzen Stadium.