‘Tennessee is going to have some regrets’ – Insider dishes on former Vols QB Nico Iamaleava’s performance after transferring to UCLA

There are going to be a lot of eyes on former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava this fall. Iamaleava is expected to draw attention from college football fans all season long after transferring from Tennessee to UCLA near the end of spring practice. The California native helped Tennessee reach the College Football Playoff last season […]

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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There are going to be a lot of eyes on former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava this fall.

Iamaleava is expected to draw attention from college football fans all season long after transferring from Tennessee to UCLA near the end of spring practice.

The California native helped Tennessee reach the College Football Playoff last season before exiting Knoxville in April amid reports that he was negotiating a new NIL deal.

As a result of Iamaleava’s departure, Tennessee landed quarterback Joey Aguilar as a transfer addition (Aguilar was at UCLA after transferring from Appalachian State…once the Bruins added Iamaleava, Aguilar entered the portal, resulting in a de facto quarterback trade between Tennessee and UCLA).

Iamaleava had an up-and-down season with the Vols as a redshirt freshman in 2024, though his elite physical talents flashed numerous times throughout the year.

UCLA is hoping that Iamaleava will take a big step forward in his development in 2025 (Iamaleava is hoping for the same, as he’s already said his goal is to leave for the NFL after one season with the Bruins).

So far, it sounds like the Bruins are getting what they signed up paid for.

CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz detailed on Monday how Iamaleava has looked so far during fall camp at UCLA.

“[He’s] getting absolutely rave reviews,” said Zenitz. “There were a lot of people around the UCLA program that, frankly, didn’t know what to expect from Nico, just coming out of that situation with Tennessee. It was well publicized how everything went down.

“And I’ll just say that he has been beyond terrific, not only from a talent standpoint and what he showed on the field, but just the work he’s put in behind the scenes. They have continued to rave about him, and they just feel like the outlook is so much different for this season there at UCLA compared to what it would have been — no offense to Joey Aguilar — if they had not gotten Nico. They legitimately feel at this point like they’re going to be able to compete in any game that they play.

“They’ve (UCLA’s staff) seen quarterbacks that not only are capable of playing at a high level in college, but they know what it takes to be successful at the next level,” continued Zenitz. “And they see that in Nico. I’ll just say that. And it reached a point that — first of all, this has been coming up for a while, and has continued even recently — but I had somebody mention out there that, just based on what he’s continued to look like, and I’m trying to remember the exact quotes so I can go word for word, but it was along the lines of Tennessee is going to have some regrets when they see what Nico does.”

CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer added that “multiple people in college football” believe that Iamaleava is worth two or three wins compared to what UCLA had last season.

“From a Nico standpoint, say what you will about how that ended at Tennessee, [but] I have talked to multiple people in college football — at UCLA and outside of UCLA — that say Nico is worth two or three wins, at least, compared to what they had last year,” said Hummer. “He is that significant of an upgrade at QB for them…They went five and seven (last season), I think you’re talking about a team that can win eight or nine games just with a quarterback upgrade.”

College football fans will get their first look at Iamaleava in game action for the Bruins on August 30 when UCLA opens the season against Utah.

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