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The Utah Utes-UCLA Bruins matchup is one of the more anticipated games nationally in Week 1, especially in the late window.
The intrigue lies in the debut of two transfer quarterbacks with their new teams — Utah’s Devon Dampier and UCLA Nico Iamaleava.
Iamaleava’s transfer saga was well-publicized and became one of the biggest topics of the college football offseason.
After helping Tennessee to a 10-2 regular season record and a College Football Playoff appearance in his second season in Knoxville, the Volunteers assumed that he’d be their starter in the 2025 season.
In the NIL era, things can change fast.
According to a report from The Athletic, Iamaleava’s camp and Tennessee couldn’t agree on a revenue-sharing contract, and Iamaleava held out near the end of the Volunteers’ spring practice.
Holdouts are old hat in professional sports, but who could have seen this coming in college athletics a decade ago?
Iamaleava wasn’t the sole reason the Volunteers were in the playoffs, but he had a solid year, finishing the season with 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns (with five interceptions) through the air and 358 yards and three scores on the ground.
Was he worth $4 million per year, though?
A source told The Athletic that Iamaleava was seeking a deal that would be “nearing” the top of the quarterback market at $4 million.
With the decision to hold out of practice and the amount of money he was asking for, Tennessee decided the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze and Iamaleava entered the spring transfer portal. The Volunteers had one of the nation’s best defenses last season and felt that it could win without Iamaleava.
Iamaleava landed at UCLA, which was in need of a quarterback, but his deal isn’t at the top of the quarterback market. On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Iamaleava’s compensation at UCLA is in the…
Source link : https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/08/24/utah-utes-vs-ucla-bruins-football-preview/
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Publish date : 2025-08-25 00:35:00
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