Welcome to Marcello’s Mailbag, where college football is always at the top of the pile. This is a safe space to ask questions without fear or ridicule. No question is dumb, though there might be dumb answers. Luckily, I’m willing to be the jester, but more often than not, you’ll receive the information you need to understand the world’s most magical sport. Got a question? Email me.
Something unprecedented seems to pop up every week in college football. We’ve become numb to it at this point, downgrading uniqueness to just another brick in the wall.
As schools pursue legal action against players for breaking name, image and likeness (NIL) contracts, the sport is enduring another watershed moment. This one feels more significant than other recent developments in this NIL and revenue-sharing era. Win or lose, Arkansas is poised to set a precedent for how schools approach player contracts moving forward.
As CBS Sports first reported, Arkansas Edge — the program’s NIL collective — is pursuing buyout money from quarterback Madden Iamaleava and wide receiver Dazmin James. Both players have refused to pay their buyouts. Sources say their representatives remain confident they don’t owe Arkansas any money, even though the one-year contracts they signed in January indicate otherwise.
The legality of NIL contracts has long been debated. Collectives only recently began including buyout language. Still, schools and collectives have been hesitant to enforce such clauses when players leave for other programs — partly because of legal uncertainty and partly to avoid the PR disaster of suing a teenager. Arkansas was already pursuing money from James and added Iamaleava to its case when he chose to follow his older brother, Nico, to UCLA after Nico’s controversial departure from Tennessee earlier this month. Iamaleava owes Arkansas’ NIL collective roughly $200,000, sources told CBS Sports.
As tiring as it can be to report on other people’s money, there’s no denying how important this case is for college athletics. Every administrator and coach I spoke with is closely watching how this story unfolds. If Arkansas Edge takes Iamaleava and James to court, it could get messy. No one wants their dirty laundry aired in public — and courtrooms offer no hiding.
Prominent sports attorney Tom Mars, who rarely loses cases, is representing Arkansas. Dazmin James is represented by Darren Heitner, a longtime NIL advocate. Iamaleava is reportedly working with his agent in discussions with Arkansas Edge.
Will the sides settle? Will it go to court? Whatever the outcome, it will set a standard for how schools enforce thousands of player contracts. That may not affect the Xs and Os on Saturdays, but it will absolutely shape the future of player movement — or “free agency” — in college football. Will players become more reluctant to transfer because of buyout clauses? Or will a judge rule these contracts unenforceable?
Stay tuned.
Arkansas NIL collective calls on prominent lawyer to enforce Madden Iamaleava buyout clause amid transfer
Brandon Marcello
Now, on to this week’s Mailbag, which thankfully focuses more on football than courtroom drama.
Do you think Judge Wilkins will lower the boom, if the P4 conferences keep stalling on the roster limit issue?
– Jaybee780, Bluesky
I believe that Judge Claudia Wilkens will decline to approve the settlement if the NCAA and power conferences are unwilling compromise on some form of grandfathering in current players into the new roster limits.Based on conversations I’ve had with administrators across the country, I believe they are actively working on a resolution they think will appease the judge. They have until May 7 to present a plan.
The NCAA and power conferences can not afford for this case to go to trial. The agreed-upon settlement ($2.8 billion in back pay) could balloon to $20 billion if the NCAA loses in court, according to legal experts. That would derail the NCAA as an organization. They’ll follow Wilkens’ directive.
Who’s the best team that returns its starting QB?
— Chris Howell, Bluesky
You gotta go with Clemson’s Cade Klubnik. He improved last season, easing some of the skeptics, and led the Tigers to an ACC title and an impressive showing against Texas on the road in the College Football Playoff. Plus, Clemson returns the most experience and production in the country. It’s easy to believe his connection with receivers (Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco, T.J. Moore) and trust in the offensive line will improve (again) in his third season as the full-time starter.
Clemson is my “dark horse” pick to win the national title. Klubnik is a big reason why. I sat down with him at Clemson last week. Listening to him discuss what he did after losing to Texas in the CFP last season was an eye-opener. With a thousand-yard stare, he opened up about the pain he felt when he returned home to Austin, Texas as the city buzzed about the Longhorns chasing a national title in the CFP semifinals.
“I was pissed. I’m an ultra competitor. I hate to lose more than anything,” Klubnik told me.
How did Klubnik bust out of that funk?
“Just going back to work. Wanting it more on a random Tuesday in February than anybody else, when nobody’s looking.”
Yeah, give me Clemson.
Texas, Clemson among eight college football teams entering upcoming season boasting most 2026 NFL Draft talent
Chip Patterson
What will be the first team where a player makes more than the coach?
— alpenglow75, Bluesky
We might have already hit that hallmark. Duke quarterback Darian Mensah is being paid a reported $8 million over two years, which appears to match head coach Manny Diaz’s salary, according to CBS Sports’ John Talty and Chris Hummer. Duke is a private university, so Diaz’s contract is not readily available, although it is believed he averages $4 million per year.
You’ll never see a player out-earn their head coach at a blue-blood program. It’s possible you could see a five-star, generational talent earn more than the coach at a program like Mississippi State, Purdue, Duke or a first-year coach at a booster-rich school like Texas Tech or Indiana.
That means a talent like Carson Beck (reportedly a little more than $4 million) choosing a mid-tier program – or a player like Mensah at Duke.
Highest-paid player in college football history? Transfer QB Darian Mensah’s Duke deal is sign of times
John Talty
Will South Carolina do better or worse than last season?
— BK, Bluesky
South Carolina will be an incredibly entertaining team this season. How can you not love quarterback LaNorris Sellers and his ability to lift the Gamecocks to challenge programs like Alabama and LSU while also beating rival Clemson on the road?
My concern is the lack of returning production, which ranks No. 71 nationally, according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly. The Gamecocks must replace three starting offensive linemen and running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders. The defense also loses quite a bit of experience — especially in the middle — but pass rusher Dylan Stewart returns after one of the nation’s best freshman seasons. The Gamecocks countered the departures with 247Sports’ No. 15 transfer class, which includes seven linemen and 1,100-yard running back Rahsul Faison from Utah State.
South Carolina is worthy of a top-10 or top-15 ranking heading into next season, but that schedule is brutal. Trips to Missouri, Ole Miss and Texas A&M are tricky, and hosting pissed-off teams like Oklahoma and Alabama after disappointing 2024 seasons is daunting. FanDuel wisely listed the win total at 7.5. Winning 10 games seems improbable, and matching last season’s nine wins might require a victory in the bowl game.
I’ll go with the under.
2025 SEC win totals, odds, picks: Predictions for every team as Alabama, Georgia, Texas lead pack
Brandon Marcello
Does the Big 12 have a better collection of QBs this year than the SEC or Big 10?
– The Bearcat Bunch, X
On paper, the Big 12 has the best collection of quarterbacks in the country, but the SEC (not the Big Ten) has an argument, too, heading into next season.
I’m a big believer that Kansas State’s Avery Johnson is a potential superstar, but I wonder if he has enough talent around him to blossom into a top-10 quarterback. Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson should put up big numbers in that offense. Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt might lose running back Cam Skattebo, but that means the quarterback could be the feature for Kenny Dillingham’s offense. Heck, TCU’s Josh Hoover was a hot commodity in transfer circles and he didn’t enter the portal. He threw for nearly 4,000 yards last season and would have been a great addition for a high-flying offense like Tennessee.
The top of the SEC, however, is unmatched. Texas’ Arch Manning and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier are interchangeable in the preseason rankings. If healthy, Florida’s DJ Lagway has the potential to creep into the Heisman conversation against a demanding schedule. Plus, Diego Pavia is back at Vanderbilt after successfully challenging the NCAA after grinding out nearly 3,100 yards and beating then-No. 1 Alabama last season.
From top to bottom, the Big 12 barely ekes out the SEC on paper.
The Big Ten’s roster is full of incredible potential, with new starters like Nico Iamaleava (UCLA), Bryce Underwood (Michigan), Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) and Dante Moore (Oregon). Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those quarterbacks outperforms returning starters Drew Allar and Dylan Raiola at Penn State and Nebraska, respectively. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Big Ten laps the field and is the conference of quarterbacks when November hits the calendar, but with so many first-year starters, I’m hesitant to give the league the benefit of the doubt. The ceiling is much higher for the Big Ten’s signal callers than any other league this season.
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