'You're not in the top 50 for passing yards' - Former Vols QB shares thoughts on Nico Iamaleava's departure from Tennessee

It's been nearly three months since quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the Tennessee Vols parted ways, but there are still plenty of opinions flying around about what was easily one of the biggest stories of the college football offseason. 

The breakup between Iamaleava and Tennessee happened in April, after a report from On3's Pete Nakos surfaced suggesting that the quarterback was in negotiations with UT for an NIL raise.

Iamaleava did not attend Tennessee's final practice before the program's spring game and officially entered the NCAA transfer portal a couple of days later.

Former Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray recently appeared on the Bring the Juice podcast and he was asked for his thoughts on Iamaleava's breakup with the Vols. 

Bray, who played at Tennessee from 2010 to 2012, said that he thinks Iamaleava put the Vols in a "bad situation". 

"He kind of put Tennessee in a bad situation when it came to asking for more money," said Bray. "And I get it. The market, everything is off the charts.

"We were talking before about the guy from Tulane (Darian Mensah) that's now transferred to Duke -- $8 million quarterback. That's what the going rate for a quarterback is these days in college. So [Nico] wanted more money, but the numbers don't lie. When you're not in the top 50 for passing yards, rushing yards, none of that. But your running back (Dylan Sampson) is a top 10 guy. Your defense [is a] top 10 defense. That's why you're winning games. And then you want to go out and kind of stronghold Tennessee...if they give it to him, they got to give it to everybody else."

Bray was quick to also point out that the "full picture" of the situation with Iamaleava isn't totally known.

"That's one thing where you know his dad, I mean, we don't know the full picture either," added Bray. "His dad could have been trying to make loose behind the scenes. Like (Oregon Ducks head coach) Dan Lanning's sitting there and calling [Josh Heupel], like, 'Hey, your QB's dad is reaching out to us, talking about transferring'. Who knows what's really going on behind closed doors. But if they give in to him right there, like, "Oh yeah, we'll pay you a bunch of money', then you have your D-end coming up to you next. Then this guy wants more money."