Nico Iamaleava sought to downplay the significance of NIL money in his transfer to UCLA at Big Ten media day Thursday.
The former Tennessee QB said he had always wanted to play closer to his home in California and didn’t feel comfortable after “false reports” had emerged at Tennessee this spring.
“Just false reports that made me not feel comfortable in the position that I was in,” Iamaleava said. “But in the back of my head I always wanted to come back home. And be closer to my mom, closer to my dad. And you know, just have my family, their support at our games. In our Samoan culture we’re always together, and I think that’s the main thing for me, the driving factor for me to come back home.”
In an immediate follow-up about the “false reports” Iamaleava referenced, he said they weren’t about an alleged NIL dispute with the school.
“Just false stuff about whether it was a financial thing or not,” Iamaleava said. “My driving factor to come back home was my family, and I hope every Tennessee fan understands that. That it was really one of the hardest decisions that I’ve had to make. But I had to do what was best for me and my family, and ultimately I wanted to come back home and be closer to my family.”
Iamaleava sat out portions of Tennessee’s spring practices amid reports he was looking to redo his name, image and likeness deal with the school. His father disputed the idea Iamaleava was looking for more money, and the QB entered the transfer portal April 12.
As Iamaleava entered the portal, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said after his team’s spring game “there’s no one that’s bigger than the Power T. And that includes me.”
Iamaleava’s appearance at media day Thursday led to his first public comments about his transfer to UCLA. The former five-star recruit chose the Bruins after his younger brother de-committed from Arkansas to go to UCLA.
Iamaleava’s transfer then led to UCLA QB Joey Aguilar’s departure for Knoxville. The former Appalachian State QB transferred to UCLA earlier in the offseason with the goal of being the Bruins’ starting QB in 2025. Once Iamaleava arrived, Aguilar left for Tennessee as the Vols were suddenly in need of a starting quarterback.
In his lone season as Tennessee’s starter, Iamaleava was 213-of-334 passing for 2,616 yards and 19 TDs with just five interceptions. Eleven of those 19 TD passes came in Tennessee’s four non-conference games. He had eight TD passes and three interceptions over eight SEC games and the College Football Playoff. In UT’s loss to Ohio State in the first round of the playoff, he was 14-of-31 for 104 yards.
