Nico Iamaleava’s rumored reason for leaving the Tennessee Vols immediately came back to haunt him at UCLA
There are several theories — depending on who you ask — about why quarterback Nico Iamaleava left the Tennessee Vols for the UCLA Bruins in April. The two most popular theories revolve NIL money and the Volunteers’ offensive line. We know that Iamaleava’s camp had some concerns about Tennessee’s offensive line after the Vols finished […]
There are several theories — depending on who you ask — about why quarterback Nico Iamaleava left the Tennessee Vols for the UCLA Bruins in April.
The two most popular theories revolve NIL money and the Volunteers’ offensive line.
We know that Iamaleava’s camp had some concerns about Tennessee’s offensive line after the Vols finished No. 10 in the SEC last season in sacks allowed.
Whether the offensive line concerns were the main reason Iamaleava left Rocky Top is something only the Iamaleava camp knows for sure. But it’s clear that it was a concern — which makes what happened in Week 1 of the 2025 college football season quite ironic.
Iamaleava was sacked four times in UCLA’s blowout loss to Utah. And he was pressured on 60 percent of his drop backs (that number, which was the highest by any FBS defense, doesn’t include plays where Utah was blitzing).
Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar, meanwhile, was sacked zero times by Syracuse’s defense in Tennessee’s 45-26 win against the Orange.
“The O-linemen were working and was dominating up front,” said Aguilar on Tuesday during an appearance on The Finebaum Show. “They kept me clean pretty much the whole game. I only got hit when I had to run myself. So I give them props for that — for keeping me clean and keeping the run game going.”
If the offensive line at Tennessee was Iamaleava’s biggest concern, then I’m not sure what he’s going to think of the situation at UCLA. It’s clear there’s less talent around Iamaleava at UCLA, and the offensive scheme doesn’t seem nearly as dynamic as Tennessee’s. Utah is a good defensive team, so it probably won’t be that bad for UCLA’s offensive line every week, but the sacks are clearly still going to be a concern for Iamaleava with his new program.
It’s still probably a little too early to fully judge the Aguilar/Iamaleava “trade” between Tennessee and UCLA, but it’s very obvious that round one went in favor of the Vols.
Tennessee Volunteers News
‘He Had Some So-So Games at Tennessee’ – Steve Spurrier Weighs In on Joey Aguilar and Nico Iamaleava After Week 1
There were a lot of eyes on the quarterback situations for the Tennessee Vols and the UCLA Bruins this past weekend. That’s because of the de facto quarterback trade that went down between the two programs during the offseason. Nico Iamaleava transferred from Tennessee to UCLA in April. That move opened the door for Joey […]
