A former Tennessee Vols quarterback was recently named as the under-the-radar quarterback who could make a big-time jump this fall ahead of next spring’s 2027 NFL Draft.

It seems like there’s always one quarterback who wasn’t really on the draft radar before the season who ends up putting himself into the No. 1 overall pick conversation.

We’ve seen it countless times, from Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels at LSU to Cam Ward at Miami to Fernando Mendoza at Indiana.

It seems reasonable to expect that another quarterback will make a similar jump this fall.

Former Tennessee Vols QB Nico Iamaleava labeled as the player who could make the Joe Burrow-like jump

Longtime NFL draft analysts Todd McShay and Steve Muench recently discussed the quarterbacks who could make a big jump this fall and throw themselves into the top of the draft conversation. And Muench pointed out former Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava as his pick.

After spending the first two seasons of his career at Tennessee, Iamaleava is entering his second season at UCLA following an ugly breakup with the Vols.

“Joe Burrow, we saw the rise,” said McShay. “Jayden Daniels, Cam Ward — who’s going to have that kind of rise this year, if you had to pinpoint?”

“I’m going with UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava,” responded Muench. “Think about what’s happened since [Tennessee] got smacked by Ohio State in that playoff game with all the NIL stuff — which I think actually started before that game. All the NIL stuff — is he going to play? Is he not going to play? Tennessee cuts bait. The whole situation didn’t reflect well on him or his team. He goes to a UCLA program that is basically in shambles and is kind of falling apart. The coach (DeShaun Foster) gets fired in the middle of the season.

“What’s the situation now? Well, we are a little more removed from what happened at Tennessee. Bob Chesney comes in from [James Madison]. You get an offensive coordinator in Dean Kennedy, who I think, really importantly, works well with mobile quarterbacks. And I’m not sure that people realize how well Nico moves. He rushed for [505] yards last year. If you watched the Ohio State playoff game, you knew that was one thing that he had in his pocket is how well he moved in that game — he made plays with his feet. [He has a] live arm, a good frame. Talented player. Now, he’s maybe in the best position that he’s been in, at least in the last two years, maybe ever in his career, to really just focus on the game and do what he can to really highlight his ability. I think he’s a prime candidate to just skyrocket up (draft) boards.”

“I totally agree,” added McShay. “And he’s the first name I wrote down.”

Iamaleava got a bad rap for the way things went down at Tennessee — he ultimately just wanted to play, but others caused the situation to devolve the way it did.

Because of the way things went down at Tennessee last spring, there were a lot of folks who thought Iamaleava would bolt from UCLA after one season. But the California native quickly made it known after the 2025 season that he was committed to the Bruins.

The talent has always been evident with Iamaleava. Maybe this fall is when he puts it all together. And if he does, there will be plenty of NFL teams willing to give him a look early in the 2027 NFL Draft.