Last spring was chaotic when Nico Iamaleava suddenly left Knoxville. But it actually worked out for Tennessee, as they ended up with Joey Aguilar, who helped steady things when fans thought the Vols were done for.
Tennessee’s offseason moves not enough to crack the top tier in ESPN offseason rankings
Because of that, Nico Iamaleava’s development seems to have gone in the wrong direction. A recent CBS Sports mock draft for 2027 listed six college quarterbacks, but Nico wasn’t one of them. It's too bad that Nico didn't stay in Knoxville, because he was on the right track to land on a list like this.
Nico Iamaleava nowhere near round 1 in recent mock
Making the move to UCLA was just a horrible decision for Nico's future. It's not a surprise he isn't placed in the first round, but had he stayed in Knoxville, would it be different? Heupel has done a nice job getting quarterbacks to the next level, with Joe Milton (who was horrible at Michigan) sticking around the NFL and Hendon Hooker also getting a contract. Not to mention, he's arguably the best play caller in all of college football. Plus, last season at UCLA, they fired Nico's head coach halfway through the season, so he now has to learn another new offense.
It just feels like he made the worst possible decision he could have made, leaving Tennessee. He had everything he could have wanted here, even a big NIL deal, but it still wasn't enough for him. On the flip side, UCLA has no hope of winning the Big Ten this season with Indian, Ohio State, and Oregon. They have no fans to fill up their stadium, and they are in the shadow of USC. Had Nico just said in Knoxville he would have had top-tier weapons, development, and fans, but he took the road less traveled.
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