The Nico Iamaleava story has been the biggest in college football this weekend, as the chaotic saga has indicated the direction the sport is heading.
Tennessee parted ways with Iamaleava this weekend as the two parties were unable to settle on a financial agreement. Per ESPN, the quarterback had wanted around $4 million.
Now, Iamaleava is in the transfer portal and is currently the best talent available.
According to 247Sports, UCLA is one of the early favorites to land him.
CBS Sports’ Cameron Salerno made the case as to “why it makes sense”:
“UCLA’s basketball program made a splash in landing former New Mexico star Donovan Dent last month. The price tag to land one one of college basketball’s most coveted transfers was around $3 million, sources told CBS Sports’ Isaac Trotter.
“Could the football program be next to make a big move? The early buzz suggests UCLA will be one of the frontrunners to land the former five-star quarterback.
“Out of all the programs listed, the Bruins have the most glaring hole under center. They brought in App State quarterback Joey Aguilar this past offseason, and he projects as the starter heading into the fall. Snagging Iamaleava out of the transfer portal would be a building block for DeShaun Foster heading into Year 2 of his tenure.”
Iamaleava led the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff last season. He threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns on 213 completions. He also ran for 358 yards and three touchdowns.
The former Volunteer threw just five interceptions in 13 games.
As Salerno mentioned, the Bruins currently have their QB1 in Aguilar, but obviously, the difference in talent would serve as a massive upgrade if the Bruins were to land Iamaleava.
Landing Aguilar was the best UCLA could do as far as finding a replacement for Ethan Garbers this winter, and frankly, the move seemed to be a band-aid. Iamaleava, of course, would be much more than that.
There’s a potential issue, however, regarding whether or not UCLA is willing to pay what Iamaleava believes he is worth or if it can even afford him if it wanted to, as 247Sports mentions in the aforementioned report. After all, there’s a reason it didn’t work out with Tennessee.
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