Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava officially committed to UCLA football on Sunday afternoon. The commitment comes eight days after he officially parted ways with the Vols and four days after multiple outlets reported that Iamaleava would wind up at UCLA.
“To the amazing people in Knoxville, thank you for embracing and uplifting me throughout my time there,” Iamaleava said in an Instagram post. “I’ll be forever thankful for the support you showed me every step of the way and I’ll always cherish the relationships I built there and the memories I created with my brothers. I believe with all my heart I gave my all as a Volunteer. I’m truly grateful for the time I had at UT.”
“This decision was incredibly difficult, and truthfully, not something I expected to make this soon. But I trust God’s timing and believe He’s leading me where I need to be. … A new chapter has begun and I am committed to UCLA.”
The former five-star recruit and NIL lightning rod spent two seasons with Tennessee and one as the Vols’ starting quarterback. Iamaleava completed 64% of his passes for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions during the 2024 season.
It was an up-and-down redshirt freshman season for Iamaleava. The talented quarterback started the season fast but struggled the first half of SEC play. A strong second half in Tennessee’s comeback win against Alabama spearheaded a solid back half of the season for the signal caller.
Led by a stout defense and strong running game, Tennessee went 10-3 (6-2 SEC) in Iamaleava’s lone season as starting quarterback. The Vols made the 12-team College Football Playoff before losing in the first round at Ohio State.
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After flirting with the transfer portal following the season, things went sideways with Tennessee and Iamaleava’s camp last week. The two sides were reportedly negotiating a new NIL deal when Iamaleava no-showed Tennessee’s Friday spring practice.
When Tennessee couldn’t get in contact with Iamaleava the rest of the day, the writing was on the wall that the two sides would not continue on together. That became official on Saturday morning before the Vols’ Orange & White game.
Most reports indicated that the desire to make more money was the key reason Iamaleava’s camp was looking for other options. The Iamaleava camp has claimed that it was Tennessee’s offensive system, which they ran when he committed to the Vols in March 2022, that led him to leaving.
Iamaleava was linked to a number of teams in recent days but most, including North Carolina and Tulane, publicly denounced interest in the talented quarterback.
The Long Beach, California native now returns home to play for UCLA. The Bruins struggled in DeShaun Foster’s first season as head coach, posting a 5-7 (3-6 Big 10) record. Most notably, UCLA’s offense was dreadful. They averaged 18.7 points in Big 10 play and scored over 20 points just twice.
With Iamaleava off to the west coast, Tennessee is looking for a quarterback of its own in the transfer portal to bolster a quarterback room that includes Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre.
