Tennessee football is at the forefront of headlines in college football on Friday as starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava did not show up at practice amid reports he is looking for a new NIL deal.
As the situation plays out in Knoxville, former running back Jabari Davis, who played at Tennessee from 2001 to 2004, took to social media, presumably sharing his opinion on the matter.
“And all I ever wanted after a game was $500, a cold orange Gatorade and some thunder road wings from Copper Cellar!” Davis wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday.
REQUIRED READING: Nico Iamaleava misses Tennessee football practice amid reports of NIL negotiation | Source
Iamaleava’s absence from the Vols practice on Friday comes after a Thursday report he wants to renegotiate his NIL contract with Tennessee, per On3’s Pete Nakos. As previously noted by Knox News, neither Spyre Sports Group, the NIL collective that pays Iamaleava, nor Iamaleava’s father, Nic Iamaleava, have responded to multiple requests for comment.
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As noted by Knox News’ Adam Sparks, Iamaleava’s status for Tennessee’s spring game on Saturday remains up in the air, both as a participant and an attendee. Nic Iamaleava wrote on X late Thursday night that he did not know about Nakos’ report and that people “can ask” Tennessee what’s going on as it isn’t his son or him spreading the report the 6-foot-6 quarterback wants to renegotiate his NIL deal.
In four seasons with the Vols, Davis ran for 1,228 career rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns on 278 carries, according to his College Football Reference page.
Tennessee is set to play its Orange and White Spring Game on Saturday, April 12 at 2 p.m. ET at Neyland Stadium with or without Iamaleava.