The Ohio State football team is in a quarterback battle right now with Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz. It's a battle that seems to be neck-and-neck, according to what Ryan Day has said. No decision will likely be made until the start of Fall practice.
Ohio State feels really good about the options they have at quarterback they feel that either of them is good enough to lead this team as they try to defend a national championship. Both have shown enough talent that the Buckeye coaching staff feels comfortable naming either player a starter.
Nico Iamaleava is a talented quarterback who played for Tennessee last year. I say last year because the Vols have decided to move on from him after he tried to extract more NIL money from the Vols. Many have speculated that the Buckeyes should go after him in the transfer portal.
Why the Ohio State football team should not pursue Nico Iamaleava
Even though Iamaleava is very talented, this is one player the Buckeyes should not pursue in the transfer portal. He clearly became enough of a distraction from this move that the Vols did not want to have him on their team. He clearly isn't good enough to warrant whatever price he is trying to get.
In his final game with the Vols, he was just 14-31 for 104 yards against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Is that a stat line good enough to warrant a raise in NIL money? Definitely not. Ohio State already has two more talented quarterbacks on their current roster anyway.
Iamaleava is not worth the headache to pursue in the portal. Ryan Day has built a strong culture within the team that is focused on winning. Everyone is getting their fair share of NIL money, too. They feel both Sayin and Tavien St. Clair have more talent than Iamaleava.
It will be interesting to see where Iamaleava ends up landing. He clearly has some talent, but he needs to focus on getting better instead of having more money in his bank account. If he isn't careful, he could turn into a cautionary tale of the NIL era.