Nico Iamaleava’s departure from the Vols made one of the hottest storylines during the transfer portal. For sure, it was a shocker, but cracks had been emerging all along since December, and it all had to do with NIL—a $4 million NIL demand on the table, which obviously was not entertained. And don’t be surprised if you see the Vols standing tall, even after his exit—for The Big Orange boasts a proud identity. “No one is bigger than the Power T.”
After Josh Heupel called his bluff, Nico Iamaleava moved to the UCLA Bruins. A different team, a different conference. From the world of Heupel, Nico is under the wings of DeShaun Foster. Naturally, when you go from being QB1 of one team to another, there are going to be fresh learnings. Along with some unlearnings. In their preview of the Bruins’ 2025 season, PFF’s Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman talked about what UCLA’s offense could look like for Iamaleava.
In his first year at the Bruins, Foster finished with a 5-7 record, missing bowl eligibility. But the second year could be different. All thanks to Nico. And they do have a point. At Vols, the 6-5.5, 190-pound QB helped the program register 10 regular-season wins and a playoff berth. He threw 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions, not to forget his 90.5 passing grade. If you are a UCLA fan, there’s a lot to be hopeful about.
“He’s got a top-five arm in the country, might be number one, honestly. Him, Sellers, Lagway. There are some guys with some cannons. But you talk about trying to create explosive plays. That’s what you’re going to try to do with Nico,” Wasserman says. He added, “He’s got something close to probably an 80-yard range in pass.”
However, the transfer also meant that his development at Tennessee was halted. He was finally figuring out the offense, especially when it comes to making deep slants, improving his intermediate range, and finding the receivers in routes. Josh Heupel ran an RPO-heavy offense. Per PFF, 58% of Iamaleava’s dropbacks last year came in play action.
“They’re [UCLA] not going to run that sort of… It’s going to be a little more of a traditional offense, more of a pro-style offense at UCLA. Can he make the adjustment to make a lot of throws underneath, especially that he wasn’t asked to make at Tennessee? It’s a completely different world when you’re talking about going from Josh Hypel’s offense to something more traditional,” Wasserman says.
But there is also a flip side to this situation. Master an RPO-heavy offense, and you’re great for your program. Master a pro-style offense. The NFL teams are looking at you. He’s immensely talented and could be one of the top quarterbacks in the draft if he shows some really good signs in a pro-style scheme. That was one thing at Tennessee, where it was like not really playing a pro-style offense with the Volunteers. Now at UCLA, maybe his NFL valuation is aided by that fact,” Chadwick says.
But Wasserman and Chadwick are not the only ones. The Athletic’s Antonio Morales, in a conversation with Sam Khan Jr., put forth their candid take on the Nico situation as well. They were having a discussion on the Big 10’s top three QBs. “Iamaleava was the starting quarterback for a playoff team last season at Tennessee, but he will be surrounded by a worse supporting cast this season at UCLA,” Morales said. “Even if he does improve, he’ll still have a tough road ahead. And it’ll be easy to question his decision-making after all the NIL holdout drama surrounding his departure from Knoxville.”
But, at the same time, Tennessee is not the only one that lost a player to the Bruins. In the wake of Iamaleava’s exit, UCLA’s QB Joey Aguilar entered the Vols’ nest. “He’s (Aguilar) a smart kid that’s going to work at it,” as the Vols HC put it. And now he is amid a QB1 battle with Jake Merklinger and George McEntegart to land the coveted spot.
David Pollack roots for Nico Iamaleava
Even after his messy fallout with the Vols, Heupel wished him the best, but feelings were hurt. “If anybody is sweeping us under the rug and thinks we’re going to be mediocre just because we lost Nico, that’s cool. Let ’em think that way,” defensive lineman Bryson Eason put it bluntly in an interview with ESPN. “There’s more than one person on the field, you know what I’m saying?” And a couple of analysts have been blunt regarding Iamaleava’s speculated shortcomings at UCLA. But, there’s one analyst who is absolutely rooting for the new transfer QB.
“I’m cheering for the kid, I really am,” analyst David Pollack said June 23 on his podcast. “Because I don’t feel like this was his fault. I feel like… he kind of got used in this situation, and he kind of got the bad end of this; I feel bad for the kid that he has to go start over, because it’s not easy.” To give you more context. Pollack is referring to the messy NIL fallout he had with Tennessee. As per reports, Iamaleava’s father and other representatives had demanded an increase in his NIL deal. From $2.4 million to $4 million. However, Nico’s representatives completely denied it.
Despite Pollack backing him up, he still calls out the uncertainty that looms large above Iamaleava’s hopes at Los Angeles. “Do you expect to see the same type of numbers he had at Tennessee? Because here’s the thing: His team is not getting better. That’s what’s unfortunate,” Pollack added.
Meanwhile, Foster says that Nico is adapting well. “Being that this is a new system for him, I just like the way he’s approaching each practice. You can just tell that he’s getting more vocal, he’s getting more comfortable.” It would be interesting to note how well Nico Iamaleava fares in the upcoming season. Will the Bruins’ offense compromise his capacity? Let’s see how it turns out.
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