Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is expected to transfer to UCLA, a source briefed on the process said.
Iamaleava officially entered the transfer portal Wednesday with a “do not contact” label. He left Tennessee last week after attempts to rework his contract with a Tennessee name, image and likeness (NIL) collective went public.
He initially committed to Tennessee in March 2022, shortly after signing an NIL deal with Spyre Sports, Tennessee’s collective, that paid him more than $8 million over four years. Entering the final year of that contract, Iamaleava’s representatives were seeking a raise to around $4 million ahead of the 2025 season, a person briefed on the matter said.
The Iamaleavas also sought assurances that Tennessee would improve its offensive line and receiving corps this offseason.
Tennessee was unwilling to meet the financial demands dating back to the 30-day winter portal window in December. On Friday, a day before Tennessee’s spring game, Iamaleava was absent from practice.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Saturday he elected to move on without Iamaleava when he hadn’t received any correspondence from Iamaleava or his representatives by the end of practice.
“No one is bigger than the Power T,” Heupel said. “Including me.”
Iamaleava quarterbacked Tennessee to a 10-3 record and a College Football Playoff appearance last season. He threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns with five interceptions in 2024, his second season in Knoxville. Just six of those touchdown passes came in six games against SEC teams that qualified for bowls.
His decision to transfer came at an unusual time. The majority of players who enter the transfer portal during the 10-day spring window that opened Wednesday do so after seeing a narrow path to playing time in the fall. Iamaleava, who was the established starter at Tennessee, will almost certainly head to UCLA with the intention of starting.
Heupel said Tennessee, which has just two scholarship quarterbacks remaining on the roster, will be taking an additional quarterback out of the transfer portal this offseason. Graduate transfers can enter the portal at any time and non-graduates in the portal can commit at any time, but they must enter the portal by the time the window closes on April 25.
Iamaleava was one of the best prospects to enter the portal in the spring window, but the Volunteers’ open spot and ability to pay near the top of the market could entice some quarterbacks who had no intention of entering the portal a week ago to do so.
Meanwhile, Iamaleava, a native of Long Beach, Calif., is now expected to head closer to home as a key building block for second-year coach Deshaun Foster, who took over at UCLA last offseason after coach Chip Kelly left to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator.
The Bruins went 5-7 but closed with four wins in their final six games. The Bruins added Appalachian State transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar this offseason to an offense that ranked 95th in yards per play.
Foster hired first-time play caller Tino Sunseri as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in January. He replaced former Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Football Team offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who Foster fired at the end of his first season in Westwood. Sunseri worked as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Indiana last year, helping Kurtis Rourke lead the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff.
(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
