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Josh Heupel on Nico Iamaleava exiting Tennessee
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel shares feelings on Nico Iamaleava’s exit from the Vols and ‘do not contact’ tag.
Sports Pulse
Nico Iamaleava has a new home.
The former Tennessee quarterback is headed to UCLA, returning to his home state after a tumultuous end to his two seasons with the Volunteers, he announced via a post on Instagram.
The Bruins later posted of Iamaleava’s transfer, making the move official:
The move to UCLA comes after Iamaleava fell out of favor with Tennessee last week. He reportedly wanted to renegotiate his NIL contract with the Volunteers, seeking more money than his previous deal and also had concerns about the Volunteers offense. Iamaleava missed the team’s Friday practice before its Saturday spring game, and Tennessee decided to cut ties with the quarterback.
Iamaleava’s deal with the Volunteers was reportedly worth more than $2 million per year, and ESPN reported his representatives wanted his NIL pay increased to $4 million per year.
The spring transfer portal window officially opened Wednesday and Iamaleava entered it with a “do not contact” designation, typically signaling the player either already knows where they are going or will be communicating with a select number of schools.
Iamaleava, a native of Long Beach, California, joins a UCLA team that was on the hunt for a quarterback after last season’s starter, Ethan Garbers, ran out of eligibility. The team added former Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar in December to assume the starting duties.
The move is an important signing for second-year UCLA coach DeShaun Foster, who is coming off a 5-7 campaign and a 3-6 record in its first season in the Big Ten. The team ranked 126th out 133 FBS teams in scoring offense (18.4) and 118th in total offense (328.8). Ironically, Foster had a commitment…
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2025/04/20/nico-iamaleava-ucla-tennessee-transfer-portal/83126103007/
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Publish date : 2025-04-20 21:23:00
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