Ryan Clark quickly pointed the finger in the NCAA’s direction regarding Nico Iamaleava’s ouster from Knoxville.
He didn’t want to blame the player, much to Kirk Herbstreit’s disapproval, or Tennessee, for that matter. Clark, whose son, Jordan, will likely be selected in next week’s NFL Draft, blames the NCAA and Mario Cristobal.
“And now you got people like Mario Cristobal, who by the way, is [partly to blame for] this, because he gave Carson Beck, who ain’t the best quarterback in the country, $4 million to go to Miami,” the ex-NFL defensive back said on Tuesday’s Get Up. “There’s no reason for him to hold out, because he’s getting overpaid…”
Ryan Clark says Mario Cristobal is partially to blame for the Nico Iamaleava situation. pic.twitter.com/osTCigEfe9
— Grant (@NMDgrant) April 15, 2025
Let’s say that didn’t sit well with Mike Ryan of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.
Ryan’s status as a Hurricanes booster and part-time insider has made for consistent fodder on the Le Batard Show. And CanesInSight, an outlet he joined as a contributor and co-owner, also has ties to the Canes Connection NIL collective.
That’s a lot of titles to say he’s in the know.
And he wanted Clark to know how wrong he was.
“Ryan Clark said something to the effect on television today when talking about Nico, ‘Mario Cristobal is partly at fault because he gave $4 million to Carson Beck, and he’s not the best quarterback in the country,'” the Le Batard Show producer relayed. “No. 1, Ryan Clark, you don’t know the number. You’re off base. No. 2, if you’re directly comparing Carson Beck to Nico, Carson Beck is quite almost literally twice the quarterback statistically than Nico.
“Nico was tied for 36th in the nation in QBR last season; Carson Beck was eighth. Carson Beck won the SEC as QB1. He’s an accomplished quarterback that’s made a lot of money for himself in that conference, and now over at Miami. You don’t need to invoke Mario Cristobal, especially when you’re out of your depth.”
Ryan, of course, does know the number. But he’s not sharing.
Why? Well, allow him to explain.
“It doesn’t hurt Miami for Ryan Clark to go on television and just say things like, ‘Miami paid Carson Beck $4 million.’ That doesn’t hurt Miami at all,” Ryan says. “You know why? Because, just like the previous season, the quarterbacks that entered that portal are going to talk to Miami. Because the national perception is: Miami pays the quarterbacks. And if you’re in the game of trying to acquire talent, you don’t mind that perception out there, because it gets you in the room where things happen with these quarterbacks. So, why would I reveal the number?”
Because ‘Stugotz’ asked, that’s why.
On a more serious note, Ryan made it clear he wasn’t going to let Beck’s name get dragged by Clark without stepping in. Not on live television. Not without a rebuttal.
“He’s just flatly much better, in terms of his resume, than Nico’s,” Ryan said. “You don’t have to invoke Carson Beck when talking about Nico. They’re totally different things.”
“College football media, in general, people just speak on facts on NIL deals when the whole thing about NIL and the thing that people often lament is, ‘We haven’t seen the deals. We haven’t seen the deals.’ So, just because you saw an IG tile that says Carson Beck made $4 million doesn’t give you the right to open your trap on national TV and sound like a freaking idiot,” Ryan adds.
“You can stand with Ryan Clark on the wrong side of the number and on the wrong side of the stats. And also you can stand over there minding your goddamn business, because Carson Beck has nothing to do with Nico. It’s just stupid. We have nothing to do with this. Mind your own freaking business, guys. We have nothing to do with this.”
Let’s blame Duke and move along, shall we?
Well, not before Mike Ryan put a bow on it, reminding everyone, mainly Ryan Clark, that if you’re going to throw Miami into a mess it had nothing to do with, you’d better come correct, or get corrected.
“He’s just flatly wrong,” Ryan states. “He’s flatly wrong on a bunch of fronts, and he’s out there speaking on facts like he’s got the information. Just because you saw the IG tile doesn’t mean you got the number, pal.”
“Mike has more information than Ryan Clark here,” said Dan Le Batard. “Mike Ryan knows what the facts are here. And Ryan Clark, if Mike Ryan says so, has his facts wrong because Mike Ryan is now a credible reporter inside of the business of this sport, and his information is solid. And we will put our sources up against all of ESPN’s sources, because he knows more here than anybody does.”