It just means more drama. That is the best way to describe the Winter and Spring SEC Transfer Portal. Two SEC teams that went to the College Football Playoff saw their quarterbacks hit the portal. In the Winter portal, Carson Beck took his talents to South Beach to join the Miami Hurricanes. What looked like a slow Spring portal window got really spicy in a hurry. The Iamaleava brothers decided the sunshine of Southern California was better than anything Tennessee or Arkansas offered. Let’s take a closer look at the drama in Knoxville and Fayetteville and then take a quick look at how the SEC rsoters were impacted by the two Portal windows.
SEC Transfer Portal Tracker: The Iamaleava Effect
Iamaleava Brothers Highlight SEC Transfer Portal Impact
Nico and Madden Iamaleava were the most prominent names to hit the SEC Transfer Portal this Spring. Nico Iamaleava started the Spring Transfer Portal Party when he decided to hold out from the final two days of Tennessee’s Spring Ball in hopes of obtaining a bigger deal. Hats off to Josh Heupel and the Vols. They didn’t blink and let their star quarterback hit the portal. Nico, that grass and the NIL dollars are not always greener on the other side of the fence. The former Tennessee quarterback did not find the supposedly $4 million he was looking for and instead had to settle for an alleged $1.5 million deal with UCLA.
Madden Iamaleava had barely settled in at Arkansas before entering the transfer portal and heading to UCLA to join his brother. He enrolled early at Arkansas in January, just weeks after flipping his commitment from UCLA, where he had been pledged for seven months. He signed with Arkansas on Dec. 4 during the early signing period. He may now be on the hook for approximately $200,000. As a result of his departure, the Arkansas EDGE Collective wants back the money they gave him upon his signing with the Razorbacks. There seems to be a looming legal battle over a buyout clause in his agreement with the collective.
The Iamaleava Effect
On the surface, the Iamaleava brothers’ decision to take their talents outside the SEC seems bad. However, a closer look shows how Tennessee and Arkansas’s reactions could benefit college football. Let’s start with Tennessee. Had the Vols decided to pay the ransom and rework Nico’s contract, that could have started a copycat movement across college football. Holdouts could have become the norm, and teams and collectives could be held hostage before the season or a team’s most important game.
The Transfer Portal has made many fan heads spin. Guys are coming and going from one portal window to another. The Madden decision only highlighted the challenge. What will be interesting is whether or not Arkansas’s collective will be able to recoup the money. The NIL deals are just not free money given to a player. Instead, the players are entering into contracts, and the dollars are usually held to appearances. It’s no longer just a stack of money handed to a player in a McDonald’s or Chick-fil-A Bag. If the collective is to recoup some of the dollars, we may see the number of players hitting the portal start to find some balance, or the players start to see consequences for their actions.
SEC Transfer Portal Tracker: Biggest Turnover
The bottom of the SEC saw the most turnover. Each of the bottom four teams saw 30+ players leave their teams in the Winter and Spring portal. Arkansas highlights the list, thanks to Madden and company. Oklahoma continues to be a revolving door for players and coaches. One has to wonder if Brent Venables will ever find the right combination. Jeff Lebby is still trying to find traction and players in Starkville, and Mark Stoops will try to turn things around in Lexington.
Looking beyond the bottom four, you see that losing 20+ players is normal. Even the two top teams in the SEC, Georgia and Texas, lost almost that number. Here is the rest of the list.
- Ole Miss: 28
- Auburn: 25
- Alabama, Texas A&M, Mizzou: 24
- LSU: 23
- Tennessee and South Carolina: 22
- Florida and Vanderbilt: 19
- Georgia: 18
- Texas: 16
Main Image: Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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