Nico Iamaleava isn’t the only Tennessee player leaving for the transfer portal

With the transfer portal open until April 25, there was some expected movement for the Tennessee football team when things opened up on Wednesday. Of course, all eyes were on Nico Iamaleava, as the former 5-star signee entered the portal with a do not contact tag.

However, he’s not the only one who has decided that he’s going to continue his college career elsewhere. Tennessee safety John Slaughter, who appeared in 23 games over the past two seasons, has also decided to enter the portal. Slaughter posted on his social media to confirm the news first reported by Hayes Fawcett:

is isn’t a major blow for Josh Heupel and Tim Banks, but it’s going to sting a bit from a depth standpoint. Last season for the Tennessee defense, Slaughter appeared in 10 games, finishing with five total tackles and one interception.

He arrived in Knoxville as a member of the 2023 class, choosing UT over Maryland, Kentucky, Ole Miss and many others. Slaughter was ranked three stars and the No. 56 safety in the country for his class. Now that he’s in the portal, it shouldn’t take too long to see where he’ll end up next.

As for Iamaleava, reports broke on Wednesday night that he will end up signing with UCLA, though the Bruins are yet to announce anything. There’s some speculation that the two sides are still trying to finalize the NIL package for the star quarterback.

Iamaleava and Slaughter were both part of the historic Tennessee side from 2024, with UT reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time. Iamaleava was set to make between $2 million and $2.5 million this season, but he reportedly wanted a raise to $ 4 million, which was something the Vols weren’t going to meet.