Urban Meyer reacts to Nico Iamaleava leaving Volunteers due to NIL rift: 'Tennessee is screwed'

Add former college football coach Urban Meyer to that mix.

"Here's the reality - Tennessee is screwed," Meyer explained. "They got a problem. You lose a potential high draft pick. You have the backup quarterback left last year, and now you have a redshirt freshman that threw nine passes as a freshman. You have zero experience, and the portal opens as we speak. They are going to have to go get one."

"It's the state of college football," Heupel told the Vol Network Saturday. "At the end of the day, no one is ever bigger than the program. That includes me too. 

"We've got an opportunity. We've got a bunch of guys who are going to give their all for Tennessee. We move forward. Got a great group. Let's go compete."

The rift between quarterback and team was irreconcilable, and Tennessee made it known when Iamaleava was left off the spring game roster. 

Meyer, though, thinks fans are going to forget about Tennessee's stance if it's not winning. After all, Iamaleava led the team to the College Football Playoff this past season.

"Everybody's saying, 'Nice job Tennessee, making a stand.' I've got a little comment on that. Tennessee plays Florida usually every year in October. Can you imagine that game's going the other way and coach Heupel grabs the microphone and stands on the 50-yard line in Neyland Stadium and says, 'It's OK, I made a stand way back when.'"

Meyer said he doesn't have the right answer for Tennessee now that it split with Iamaleava. But as someone who has seen just about everything in college football, he can't believe the situation today. 

"I, as a guy that's been involved almost 40 years in this game, I can't believe this happened," he said. 

Iamaleava has been linked to Oregon as a possible destination, according to multiple reports.