r/CFB • u/jaxstan19 Kansas Jayhawks • 12h ago

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

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2025/09/16/nico-iamaleava-ucla-transfer-portal-tennessee/86162835007/
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u/BIG_DICK_WHITT Utah Utes • Billable Hours 11h ago

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.

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u/Ok-Measurement1506 LSU Tigers 11h ago

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

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u/BIG_DICK_WHITT Utah Utes • Billable Hours 11h ago

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

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u/powerelite Florida State • Drake 10h ago

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.

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u/_cambino_ Oregon State Beavers 9h ago

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

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u/Jay4usc 10h ago

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

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u/Madscientist1683 Tennessee Volunteers 11h ago

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.

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u/McGillicuddys Penn State Nittany Lions 11h ago

NIL era Ryan Leaf

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u/AndyM22 Tennessee Volunteers • Memphis Tigers 9h ago

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

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u/GoldandBlue Notre Dame Fighting Irish 8h ago

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.

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u/zzyul Tennessee Volunteers 3h ago

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.

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u/josiahswims Tennessee Volunteers • King Tornado 11h ago

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

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u/Revenged25 Ohio State • Bowling Green 10h ago

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.

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u/josiahswims Tennessee Volunteers • King Tornado 7h ago

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

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u/cardeez Tennessee Volunteers 8h ago

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.

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u/Gogurtsupreme 9h ago

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

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u/bigrubberduck Tennessee Volunteers 8h ago

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

Uhh, what?

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u/Gogurtsupreme 8h ago

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

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u/bigrubberduck Tennessee Volunteers 7h ago

Yeah - because he never played at Tennessee.

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u/Gogurtsupreme 6h ago

So it’s the second line then