Nico Iamaleava has been the major story over the last week, as his decision to enter the transfer portal has sent gigantic waves through the college football world.
A messy situation in general, there's a few teams who have been linked to Iamaleava. One of them, of course, is the UNC football program, as one 247Sports expert believes the Tar Heels will ultimately land the star quarterback.
Rather interesting Crystal Ball for Nico Iamaleava this morning
— Shawn Finchum (@ShawnFinchum) April 14, 2025
North Carolina for Nico, Bill Belichick would ether Big Nic into the Sun if he tries any funny business pic.twitter.com/ddrWuZWBzT
On Monday, Brendan Sonnone of Noles 247 placed a Crystal Ball prediction in favor of the Tar Heels. A couple of things to note here:
-The Crystal Ball (from someone who covers mainly Florida State) is interesting and may lack credibility on the surface.
-While that might be in question, it does, at least, makes us keep an eye on the situation as it continues to develop.
North Carolina is looking for its quarterback in year one of the Bill Belichick era. Ryan Browne was brought in as a transfer while highly-regarded freshman Bryce Baker is looking to make an impact right away. While the Tar Heels seem to be very high on both players, would they pass up an opportunity to bring in a star signal-caller if they have the chance to?
There's no secret that Iamaleava is a talented football player. He's coming off a season in which he threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns, leading the Volunteers to their first ever College Football Playoff berth. The situation at Tennessee might scare off some programs, but with Belichick, a proven and successful former NFL head coach, leading the way at North Carolina, the Tar Heels might be one of the few teams who have a staff in place that can control the outside noise in this type of situation.
Any program looking to take in Nico Iamaleava is taking a major risk, as what he pulled at Tennessee should most certainly throw up a major red flag as he looks for his next college stop. While we shouldn't jump to the conclusion that this is a done deal (based on one Crystal Ball prediction), this is definitely a story worth keeping an eye on as North Carolina may be looking to make a major splash once the spring transfer portal window opens.