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Tennessee

Nico Iamaleava officially in the portal with a do not contact tag

On3 imageby: Brent Hubbs04/16/25Brent_Hubbs
Nico Iamaleava
Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava has officially entered the transfer portal and he has done so with a do not contact tag. 

That tag fuels speculation that Iamaleava has found a football home which some believe could be UCLA. 

Iamaleava and Tennessee parted ways last Friday when the quarterback elected not to attend practice. Head coach Josh Heupel told his staff Friday afternoon they were moving on. He told his team Saturday morning that they were moving on without their starting quarterback and he told the fans on Saturday after the spring game that everything was going to be ok. 

“As we’re moving forward from today, this program is ready to go win next fall,” Heupel said. “And as a program since we’ve been here, we’ve won with a lot of different QB’s done it historically in my career with a lot of different QBs. Some of those guys have been older, some of them have been younger, but we’ll have a quarterback that’s ready to go win and help us compete for a championship.” 

Nico Iamaleava last season: 2,616, 19 TDs, 5 INT

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Saturday morning that Tennessee was parting ways with Iamaleava, a decision Heupel shared with his players Saturday morning. On3’s Pete Nakos on Saturday morning reported that Iamaleava plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal when the spring portal window opens on Wednesday.

Nakos first reported Thursday that Iamaleava was in contract negotiations for a new NIL deal. It was reported by Volquest’s Austin Price Friday that the redshirt sophomore did not practice with his teammates Friday morning. 

“Iamaleava missed meetings and practice on Friday,” Thamel reported, “which was the driver of this decision.”

It was a widely reported later that the absence took Tennessee coaches and players by surprise. Iamaleava was not in contact with Tennessee on Friday. 

Iamaleava last season threw for 2,616 yards, with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions in 13 games, completing 63.8% of his passes. He had a career-high 314 yards passing in the season-opening win over Chattanooga and a season-high four passing touchdowns in the win over Vanderbilt on November 30. 

Iamaleava was a five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, ranked No. 1 overall in the On3 ratings. He was the No. 1 quarterback in the class in the On3 ratings and was the No. 1 overall player in the state of California, out of Warren High School in Long Beach.

He enrolled at Tennessee in 2022 and backed up Joe Milton III during the 2023 season. Iamaleava appeared in five games as a freshman, passing for 314 yards and two touchdowns, completing 62.2% of his passes.

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