Nico Iamaleava makes it crystal clear how he feels about his decision to go from Tennessee to UCLA
One offseason later, and the picture certainly looks a lot different for both the Tennessee program and Iamaleava.
The 2025 offseason was one of the strangest periods for the Tennessee Vols football program in quite some time. On the eve of the spring game, starting redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava disappeared off the radar and was subsequently dismissed from the program by coach Josh Heupel.
Iamaleava ended up transferring to UCLA, and in a strange twist of fate, quarterback Joey Aguilar, who had just transferred to the Bruins from Appalachian State, came over to Tennessee in what amounted to a trade of starting quarterback candidates.
One year later, the results spoke for themselves. Tennessee just saw one of the better quarterback performances in recent memory out of Aguilar. The Vols’ deep passing attack, largely stagnant in 2023-24, jumped to life, with Aguilar averaging an SEC-best 274.2 passing yards per game.
Meanwhile, Iamaleava and the Bruins are looking to pick up the pieces after a 3-9 season. There were some memorable moments and flashes by Iamaleava, such as in the Bruins’ 42-37 win over Penn State, but it was a largely disastrous year in Westwood.
Iamaleava, who decided to stay with UCLA this past offseason, was asked at Big Ten Media Days if he regretted his decision to leave Tennessee. He said he didn’t.
Nico Iamaleava says he is ‘blessed’ to be where he is and there’s ‘nothing I would change’
“There’s nothing I would change,” Iamaleava said. “I’m blessed to be in the position I am now. Everything happens for a reason, so it was a great learning year for me.”
At this point, the situations are what they are. Iamaleava has made his bed and is certainly laying in it, while Tennessee is looking at a bright future with either George McIntyre or Faizon Brandon set to lead the team at quarterback for years to come.
It’s impossible not to note the irony of Tennessee being in what appears to be a far better situation than what they likely would have been if Iamaleava had stayed in Knoxville. Aguilar reminded everyone that Heupel’s offense works when you get the right quarterback under center, and the young quarterbacks waiting in the wings only add to the program’s long-term outlook.
We’ll see how Iamaleava does at UCLA over the next year or two, and that will certainly mold any discussions about his potential that could have been realized in Knoxville. But it’s hard to deny that the future looks bright for Tennessee’s offense with the signal callers they’ve had since his departure.