'I hope every Tennessee fan understands that' – UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava explains why he left the Tennessee Vols
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava spoke to reporters on Thursday for the first time since leaving Knoxville for Los Angeles. Iamaleava, who transferred to UCLA in April, addressed the media at Big 10 Media Days on Thursday The California native explained why he decided to leave Tennessee at the end of spring practice, telling […]
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava spoke to reporters on Thursday for the first time since leaving Knoxville for Los Angeles.
Iamaleava, who transferred to UCLA in April, addressed the media at Big 10 Media Days on Thursday
The California native explained why he decided to leave Tennessee at the end of spring practice, telling reporters that his decision wasn't financially driven.
“My decision to leave was extremely hard,” said Iamaleava. "One of the hardest decisions that I’ve ever had to make. Family was the biggest thing, to me. A lot of things about financial stuff, it was never that. It was me getting back home, closer to my family and playing at the highest level with my family’s support….In our Samoan culture, we’re always together. That was a very important thing for me.”
“That was a big factor for me, coming back home and being closer to my mom,” added Iamaleava in an interview with Dave Revsine on the Big Ten Network. “Just my parents and my family in general. We’re all competing at the highest level at UCLA. Once I got that opportunity, I couldn’t take it for granted.”
"My time to leave Tennessee was around the time that the reports (about NIL negotiations) came out," added Iamaleava when speaking with reporters on the main stage at Big 10 Media Days. "Just false reports that made me not feel comfortable in the position I was in. But in the back of my head, I always wanted to come back home."
"I hope every Tennessee fan understands that," continued Iamaleava. "It was really one of the hardest decisions that I've ever had to make. But I had to do what was best for me and my family. Ultimately, I wanted to come back home and be close to my family."
There's nothing like going home. Regardless of how you feel about Iamaleava, I think that's something that most folks can agree on.
Iamaleava, by the way, also told reporters that he's excited to play in UCLA's offense, which he considers more of a pro-style offense, while also noting that he liked the offense that he was in at Tennessee last season.
