National analyst makes bold prediction for Nico Iamaleava's NFL future after leaving Tennessee for UCLA
Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney believes that former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava still has a bright football future despite his controversial recent departure from Knoxville. Iamaleava, who announced his commitment to UCLA on Sunday, is a former five-star recruit who was rated as one of the top players in the 2023 recruiting class. […]
Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney believes that former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava still has a bright football future despite his controversial recent departure from Knoxville.
Iamaleava, who announced his commitment to UCLA on Sunday, is a former five-star recruit who was rated as one of the top players in the 2023 recruiting class. The California native possesses elite talent and he still has his eyes on reaching the NFL.
Gorney noted this week that he still thinks Iamaleava will eventually be a first-round selection in the NFL draft.
From Rivals.com: One could make a very valid argument that UCLA’s receiving corps is going to be better than at Tennessee this season with Kwazi Gilmer, Mikey Matthews and Titus Mokiao-Atimalala leading the way but Jaedon Wilson and Carter Shaw also making contributions. Notre Dame transfer Rico Flores Jr. should be back earlier in the season coming off an injury.Tennessee’s receiving corps has been decimated by players going to the NFL Draft or transferring and from Iamaleava’s side, that group nor the offensive line showed much improvement through spring ball.Iamaleava is immensely talented. Some point to his pedestrian numbers last season but that was his first year starting in the SEC, was sacked 28 times and wasn’t exactly throwing to Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka.Transferring is not a knock anymore. Joe Burrow, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Caleb Williams and so many other top quarterbacks transferred.A fresh start at home will do Iamaleava good. And he has all the talent in the world to stay as a first-round draft pick.
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It's interesting that Gorney pointed out that Iamaleava's camp doesn't feel like Tennessee's offensive line and wide receivers showed much improvement during spring practice. There are a lot of unknowns with both of those position groups due to the amount of new faces that Tennessee will be relying on in 2025. Of course, there's still four months to go before the 2025 season gets underway, so there's still plenty of time for those position groups to improve.
As for Iamaleava, I'm sure folks in East Tennessee will be watching his career at UCLA closely. If Iamaleava excels for the Bruins, it will lead to plenty questions about what could've been at Tennessee.
