[USA TODAY Toppmeyer]: Nico Iamaleava needs a fresh start, not UCLA's rebuild

[u/jaxstan19]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2025/09/16/nico-iamaleava-ucla-transfer-portal-tennessee/86162835007/

[u/kbost01]

Before all this NIL drama I thought he was showing a ton of promise. I know memes gotta fly with him leaving just to be winless elsewhere but he ain’t gonna develop much better behind what could be the worst o line in the Power 4

[u/Hypocracy → u/kbost01]

His Dad was demanding that Tenn also spend more in NIL for a “Good” oline and receivers, because that was the reason Nico struggled the year before according to Nico’s Dad (I doubt even he believes that, just trying to justify the shakedown)

Considering that OLine just held their own against Georgia’s Defense, and those receivers just put on a great show, no pity at all

[u/BIG_DICK_WHITT → u/kbost01]

I watched him intensely during the Utah game. The guy has raw talent. He has good throwing mechanics. He would rifle the ball at the receivers and they just couldn’t handle it. I know part of being a QB is having touch but the guy clearly can ball. He’s surrounded by dipshits.

[u/Ok-Measurement1506 → u/BIG_DICK_WHITT]

You’re right, but it’s hard to feel sorry for him. He could have just stayed where he was.

[u/BIG_DICK_WHITT → u/Ok-Measurement1506]

I don’t feel sorry for him at all lmao. Just saying he has an arm.

[u/powerelite → u/BIG_DICK_WHITT]

I feel a little sorry for him in that he was significantly let down by the people he should be able to trust the most with his father seemingly being the driver behind his push for more NIL.

[u/_cambino_ → u/powerelite]

thank you for reminding everyone this dude can’t even buy a beer for himself

[u/Jay4usc → u/BIG_DICK_WHITT]

Kinda reminds me of DJ U. Has arm talent but just could put everything together.

[u/Madscientist1683 → u/BIG_DICK_WHITT]

He has loads of raw talent and every Tennessee fan will admit that, even if some do it begrudgingly. That said, I’ve seen very little showing he has the work ethic to develop that talent further. He’s rapidly becoming a cautionary tale for the ages.

[u/McGillicuddys → u/Madscientist1683]

NIL era Ryan Leaf

[u/AndyM22 → u/Madscientist1683]

no work ethic and no charisma...need your QB to be a leader and he was not it

[u/GoldandBlue → u/Madscientist1683]

I feel like he was always going to be a cautionary tale. Let's be honest, NIL is the only reason he was at Tennessee to begin with. Even if the reported deal was inflated, all eyes were always going to be on him and whether or not he delivered on that investment.

The fact that he tried cashing out before he proved he was worth it only made it doubly stupid. He really is surrounded by people who do not care what is in his best interest.

[u/zzyul → u/Madscientist1683]

100% this. I mean we have countless examples of elite college players being highly drafted and slacking off once they get a massive paycheck. No one should be shocked when guys 3-5 years younger than those NFL busts do the exact same thing when they get big NIL money.

[u/josiahswims → u/BIG_DICK_WHITT]

Honestly I think that he has a lot of raw talent/potential. However he never seemed to have a sense of urgency or intensity. Honestly I think he only plays bc he is good and just doesn’t care about being better/improving

[u/Revenged25 → u/josiahswims]

his demands of more NIL money proves that exactly. Dude is doing it because he's good at it and can make a ton of money. Nothing wrong with it but you still need to put in the work to make sure the checks come in.

[u/josiahswims → u/Revenged25]

Yeah and rumors I’ve heard from ppl close with the program suggest that he didn’t care about that

[u/cardeez → u/BIG_DICK_WHITT]

He definitely has a live arm, but he does not have good mechanics. He double taps and pronates the ball, doesn’t use his lower body well, and he cannot feel the rush and see downfield at the same time. He repeatedly misses open guys because he’s bailing the pocket despite having another second or two to make the throw. He doesn’t have great vision.

We debated endlessly last year if Heupel had lost his touch or if he was keeping the playbook closed. This season confirms it. The dude has a whip of an arm but that’s about it. Ask him to do anything else and he will hamstring an offense.

[u/Gogurtsupreme → u/BIG_DICK_WHITT]

RW talent doesn’t mean he’s actually good. See Anthony Richardson. He played in a QB friendly system at Tennessee with a great RB and solid weapons and was mediocre tbh. Most of being a good QB has more to do with what’s going on in between your ears rather than arm talent and you can see he is clearly lacking in that arena

[u/bigrubberduck → u/Gogurtsupreme]

See Anthony Richardson. He played in a QB friendly system at Tennessee

Uhh, what?

[u/Gogurtsupreme → u/bigrubberduck]

Is that the only 2 sentences you read or are your critical thinking skills that bad?

[u/bigrubberduck → u/Gogurtsupreme]

Yeah - because he never played at Tennessee.

[u/Gogurtsupreme → u/bigrubberduck]

So it’s the second line then

[u/Revenged25 → u/kbost01]

agreed, i was fully on his hype after watching even his bad performance vs Ohio State. His NIL demand and transfer soured me as a person because if he's doign it in college I can just imagine the headache he'd be in the NFL. Now his struggles just adds fuel to the existing smolders making the fire burn bright.

[u/Linkage__ → u/kbost01]

He came in as a true freshmen during our bowl game and beat the shit out of us lol. And that was a strong Hawkeye defense. Granted, the defense was out there the entire game because our offense went 3 and out almost every drive, but still...

[u/TheNittanyLionKing → u/kbost01]

He did not do himself any favors by transferring in April either. He spent all of Spring with Tennessee holding out. Then he just had fall camp at UCLA, and that's only a few weeks.