Nico Iamaleava’s transfer to UCLA is happening.
Hours after he officially entered the transfer portal on Wednesday, Iamaleava was reportedly expected to transfer to the Bruins. And he made that official on Sunday with a social media announcement.
Iamaleava parted ways with Tennessee ahead of the team’s spring game on April 12 over an alleged compensation dispute with the school’s collective. Though Iamaleava’s father has disputed that an increase in NIL money was at the center of the conflict, the quarterback didn’t show up to team activities Friday and was no longer a member of the team when the spring game was played.
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After the spring game, coach Josh Heupel said, “There’s no one that’s bigger than the Power T. And that includes me.”
Iamaleava spent one season as Tennessee’s starter and threw 19 touchdown passes as the Volunteers made the College Football Playoff. But Tennessee’s offense sputtered at times during the second half of the season. Eleven of the Iamaleava’s TD passes came in three games at the start of the season. The focal point of the team’s offense became all-SEC running back Dylan Sampson as the Vols were eliminated from the postseason by eventual national champion Ohio State.
Overall, Iamaleava was 213-of-334 passing for 2,616 yards with five interceptions over 13 games in 2024.
It’s unclear if Iamaleava received the money he was allegedly looking for from UCLA and its collectives as college athletes are increasingly looking for more money ahead of the impending House settlement that will allow athletic departments to directly compensate players. According to multiple reports in recent days, it was seen as highly unlikely Iamaleava would be able to receive the figure he was reportedly asking Tennessee for from his new school.
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The Southern California native was a five-star recruit in the class of 2023 and the No. 2 player in the country. His brother, Madden, had originally committed to UCLA during the most recent recruiting window, but flipped his commitment and signed with Arkansas. Madden signed with the Razorbacks in December and is a four-star recruit.
Nico Iamaleava’s options were limited to teams outside of the SEC after he left the UT program because of conference rules. The SEC prohibits players from transferring to one of the other 15 teams in the conference in the spring window. If a player wants to go to a conference rival, he has to transfer in the December window immediately after the season.
At UCLA, Iamaleava immediately becomes the favorite to be the team’s starting quarterback ahead of Appalachian State transfer Joey Aguilar and returning starter Ethan Garbers. The Bruins went 5-7 in the school’s first season in the Big Ten in 2024 as the offense struggled mightily. UCLA averaged just 18.4 points per game and ranked 126th out of 134 teams in points per game. UCLA failed to score more than 17 points in a single game before scoring 35 against Rutgers on Oct. 19. That was the only time all season the Bruins scored more than 27.
