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Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is expected to transfer to the UCLA football program to continue his college career, although that is not official yet.
Money was one of the main reasons cited for Iamaleava's departure from Tennessee, and it was reported that he wanted at least $4 million from Tennessee, according to Chris Low of ESPN. The UCLA football program's offer is not ‘remotely close' to that figure, according to Low.
Iamaleava was earning $2.4 million at Tennessee under the contract that he signed when he was still in high school. He would have gotten in the $10 million range if he had stayed at Tennessee for four years, according to Low.
Coming out of high school, Iamaleava was a highly-touted five-star recruit, and there was a lot of excitement for him at the Tennessee football program. He helped get the Vols to the College Football Playoff this past season, throwing 19 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, but he struggled during SEC play and against Ohio State in the playoff.
UCLA football is still adding a very talented quarterback if this move goes through, but there are clear areas of improvement needed for Iamaleava as he continues his college career. It will be interesting to see how Iamaleave potentially fits into the Bruins' offensive system in comparison to how he fared in Josh Heupel's system. UCLA is also in the Big Ten, and the roster is viewed as a work in progress, so Iamaleava could end up playing with a talent disadvantage in many games this upcoming season if he joins UCLA.
Iamaleava is from Long Beach, California and was recruited by UCLA out of high school, but ultimately chose Tennessee. His brother, Madden, was originally committed to play for the Bruins, but flipped to Arkansas late. It will be worth monitoring for Iamaleava's official move.
