If quarterback Nico Iamaleava handles the rest of the season as well as he did with his half hour of Q&A at Big Ten media days, chances are, UCLA will be good — maybe even very good — in 2025.

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava says "false reports" mischaracterized his motivations for leaving Tennessee, adding that he chose UCLA to play closer to home.

UCLA bringing in Iamaleava, and the situation with transfer wideout Kaedin Robinson — who made public record his $500,000 NIL deal in an effort to successfully sue the NCAA for eligibility this season — signals that the Bruins, who went 3-6 in league play in their first year in the Big Ten, are now in the game.

Our Jamal Madni was in the scrum at Big Ten Media Days speaking with UCLA Bruins starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Take a listen to what he had to say about the upcoming season. Make sure to subscribe to our UCLA LAFB YouTube Channel!

There have been several rumors as to why Nico Iamaleava really left Tennessee. It was the money, it was the lack of an offensive line, but now the truth has really come to light and it brings a whole other side to the NIL era,

And now, more details about his fallout with the Vols has been revealed via college football insider Kirk Herbstreit in his latest appearance on the Try That Small Town Podcast.

Iamaleava reportedly threatened to sit out the playoff game to renegotiate his contract, reportedly reached out to other programs to gauge their interest in him transferring there and apparently had his father telling head coach Josh Heupel to build a better team around him.