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Nico Iamaleava expected to transfer to UCLA, CFB insider reports

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

Nico Iamaleava looks to be going home to California.

According to The Athletic‘s Bruce Feldman and David Ubben, Iamaleava is expected to transfer to UCLA. After 2 seasons at Tennessee, Iamaleava entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal on Wednesday, the opening of the spring window for undergraduate entry, with a “do not contact” tag. FOX Sports 1 host Colin Cowherd posted earlier Wednesday that he had been told Iamaleava was transferring to UCLA.

It’s a homecoming for Iamaleava. He played high school football at Warren in Downey, California. As a Class of 2023 prospect, Iamaleava was rated 5-stars, the No. 2 quarterback and No. 3 prospect overall on the 247Sports Composite.

Iamaleava’s high recruiting ranking landed him an NIL deal for $8 million over 3 years with a Tennessee collective. Entering Year 3 of that deal, Iamaleava sought to negotiate a new contract with Tennessee for 2025. The failed negotiations and Iamaleava’s absence from practice ahead of the spring game led the program to formally move on from the QB.

Neither report from Cowherd or The Athletic has revealed how much Iamaleava will be compensated for playing at UCLA. He was set to receive over $2 million from Tennessee as part of the original NIL deal and was reportedly seeking $4 million for the 2025 season. ESPN’s Pete Thamel said Wednesday that Iamaleava is expected to land a “worse deal” with his new program.

Andrew Olson

A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.