Nico Iamaleava is reportedly heading to UCLA; Revisiting why his brother, Madden, flipped from UCLA to Arkansas on signing day
Various reports indicated on Wednesday afternoon that former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava is planning to transfer to UCLA. Nothing is official quite yet, but it certainly appears that Nico will be returning to his native SoCal to play college football. There are some folks who wondered if UCLA would be a viable option for […]
Various reports indicated on Wednesday afternoon that former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava is planning to transfer to UCLA.
Nothing is official quite yet, but it certainly appears that Nico will be returning to his native SoCal to play college football.
There are some folks who wondered if UCLA would be a viable option for Nico due to the fact that his brother, Madden, flipped from the Bruins to the Arkansas Razorbacks on the first day of the early signing period this past December.
Madden's decision to flip from UCLA to Arkansas came as a surprise (he had been committed to UCLA for nearly seven months).
Madden's dad, Nic, explained the decision to 247Sports last December. And he indicated that the family loved Bruins head coach Deshaun Foster. The decision was made, however, due to rumors that offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy could be leaving (Bieniemy was dismissed the next day).
"We did hear those rumors, that he could be leaving," said Nic. "We liked EB a lot, he was one of the reasons Madden committed there. That uncertainty was tough because Madden of course wanted to know who his OC would be."
"At Arkansas, we have a ton of respect for Bobby Petrino and what he has done," added Nic. "He has done some amazing things developing quarterbacks and calling an offense. He's one of the best there is so when they reached out to Madden, we had to listen."
"It was tough, UCLA is home and I was excited to see Madden play at the Rose Bowl. We still love DeShaun and that staff and they were great with us. Arkansas is an exciting opportunity though."
Tino Sunseri, a former Tennessee quality control assistant, was hired as UCLA's new offensive coordinator. He was previously the co-offensive coordinator at Indiana in 2024.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit offers strong comments about the character of former Tennessee Vols QB Nico Iamaleava
Herbstreit didn’t hold back
