Earlier this week, former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava had three viable options — North Carolina, Tulane, and UCLA. With the first two peeling away, one option was left.

And that’s reportedly where he’s going.

The news comes from radio/TV host Colin Cowherd, who tweeted this: “I am told — moments ago — Nico Iamaleava is going to UCLA. Family still claims it’s NOT about the [money]. It’s about the [Volunteers] offense. I was not told what the Bruins are paying.”

The contention that it was about the offense and not the money meshes with quotes an unnamed source supplied to Amanda Christovich of FrontOfficeSports.com. The unidentified family friend of Iamaleava called the notion that Iamaleava wanted more money from Tennessee “bullshit,” and insisted that the player wasn’t given bad advice. The source also claimed that Iamaleava’s father, Nic, wanted assurances about adding offensive linemen and receivers.

If any of that is true, someone did a poor job of controlling the message. With Iamaleava’s people making no effective effort to win the P.R. battle, the message became that he wanted more money — and that Tennessee called his bluff.

Iamaleava’s version has emerged five days later. In today’s media climate, that’s like five months.

We’ll wait for official confirmation of Cowherd’s claim. There’s no reason to doubt it, given that Iamaleava entered the transfer portal on Wednesday with a “do not contact” tag. It meant he knew where he was going, and he’s apparently going to L.A.