On3’s Chad Simmons predicted this week that the Tennessee Vols will face recruiting challenges in Southern California in the future because of the way the Nico Iamaleava situation unfolded earlier this spring.

Iamaleava left Tennessee for UCLA shortly after a report from On3 surfaced that suggested the former five-star recruit was in active NIL negotiations with the Volunteers.

Simmons thinks the way Tennessee controlled the narrative around Iamaleava’s transfer could hurt the program’s reputation in Southern California.

Will the Vols have issues recruiting in California in the future?

“Pick whichever side of the story you want to believe but Tennessee might have a difficult time recruiting the state of California following the handling of Nico Iamaleava over these last many months,” wrote Simmons.

“Either way, whichever side you want to believe, the Vols could have challenges recruiting California now,” added Simmons. “While the area is massive, the high school football community is close-knit, talks to each other and there are tons of connections between high school coaches and 7on7 coaches as well. People talk. People steer kids certain places. The prediction here is that Tennessee will have a tough time in Southern California.”

We’ll see if Tennessee has any issues in the future. I’d be surprised, though, if the Vols face any real pushback in Southern California.

For starters, Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle is from Southern California (he went to high school at Oaks Christian High School, which is just outside of Los Angeles). Secondly, it’s worth pointing out that UCLA pretty much cast quarterback Joey Aguilar aside after landing Iamaleava as a transfer.

Aguilar, who transferred to Tennessee in the wake of Iamaleava’s addition to UCLA’s roster, is from Northern California. He may not be a SoCal guy, but he’s still a Cali kid — and the Vols welcomed him with open arms.

I don’t know how much that will mean on the recruiting trail in Southern California, but I would bet that coaches in the area have taken notice of how Tennessee has embraced Aguilar.

Maybe Simmons will end up being correct. But for now, I don’t see this being an issue for the Volunteers.

Tennessee Volunteers News

Nico Iamaleava’s camp reportedly had the same concerns about UCLA that they had about Tennessee

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt ruffled some feathers recently when he suggested that quarterback Nico Iamaleava left Knoxville in April due to concerns about the Tennessee Vols’ offense. Iamaleava transferred from Tennessee to UCLA near the end of spring. “Here’s why I would defend Nico a little bit is because he never really […]

Zach Ragan