Coaches across college football have begun to speak on the Nico Iamaleava situation. While Josh Heupel is attempting to keep a cool head after losing his starting quarterback, Mario Cristobal is not fully taking the same approach.

Of course, this is not currently happening at Miami at the moment. Players might search for reupped NIL deals all the time but Iamaleava skipping practice as a holdout is something new inside the sport. And when speaking on the subject, Cristobal made it clear the Hurricanes will not be a part of any kind of holdout.

“We’re not going to do that at Miami,” Cristobal said. “And I say that without any hesitation. If anyone is thinking that — They can be the best player in the world. If they wanna play holdout, they might as well play get out. Don’t want to do that, don’t want Miami to become that. Too many guys have sweat, bled, and have laid on the line on that field to ever become that kind of program.”

Tennessee deciding to let Iamaleava walk set a precedent for the rest of college football. He will be wearing a different jersey for the 2025 season, with On3’s Pete Nakos dropping intel on who will be in the mix for the former five-star quarterback.

Seeing Iamaleava leave via the NCAA transfer portal does not appear surprising to Cristobal. What he would be cautious of is a school ponying up to the demands of players who are willing to hold out for money. Once the process works for one person, everybody will be attempting the same thing.

“I think you stay real and true to the program,” Cristobal said. “Make the decisions that are best for the program… Everybody is in the portal and the portal is always open. It’s always open and everybody’s in it. It’s all about what you’re willing to accept and draw the line in your program. Once you allow that to happen and agree to it, prepare for a line of 80 guys to do the same thing.”

Miami held its spring game on Saturday, wrapping up this portion of the college football calendar. Wednesday marks the opening of the transfer portal, where the Hurricanes will likely be looking to add to their 2025 roster. Four months from now, Aug. 31 will be the Hurricanes’ season opener, having a massive game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.