- UCLA became a land of broken dreams and interceptions for Nico Iamaleava.
- After UCLA fired coach DeShaun Foster, what reason does Nico Iamaleava have to stay?
- Nico Iamaleava burned Tennessee, then fizzled at UCLA. He needs a reboot.
The transfer portal can’t open quickly enough for Nico Iamaleava.
This Iamaleava-UCLA union quickly went bust, for all parties involved. The Bruins are one of two winless Power Four programs. UCLA took action by firing coach DeShaun Foster.
Iamaleava’s chance to pursue annulment will arrive in a few months, in the form of the transfer portal’s sweet release.
The Bruins stink, and Iamaleava’s not helping. He needs a reboot, if he hopes to salvage what’s left of his college career.
Nico Iamaleava needs a fresh start, not UCLA’s rebuild
When they write the story of college football’s transfer era, Iamaleava’s vamoose from Tennessee will be held aloft as the paragon for how to mishandle the situation, in the way the Exxon Valdez disaster became the textbook case of crisis management flubs.
Iamaleava waited until demand for transfer quarterbacks had waned before hitting the market. He got faulty advice. He misjudged his worth. He botched a good situation on a playoff-caliber team and wound up taking a pay cut to sign on with a bad team that plays in front of sparse crowds.
Here’s the beauty of being a quarterback in the transfer era, though: There’s always a team in need of a guy with starting experience, and the restart window arrives every winter.
If Iamaleava felt insufficient loyalty to stay with a Tennessee program that made him a teenage millionaire, then there’s no reason to stay at UCLA after this season and play for a new coach and a program in rebuilding mode.
Only a fool would pay Iamaleava what he once made at Tennessee, but never mind money. That’s secondary to Iamaleava’s immediate need for a landing spot where he can showcase his abilities in hopes of building a résumé worthy of the NFL draft. He needs a coach with whom he’ll flourish and a system wherein he’ll thrive. Because, right now, I see a mediocre quarterback on a bad team.
Transferring again would allow Iamaleava to correct what he got wrong last time.
For starters, get a deal done in the winter, and not the spring. If Iamaleava had taken care of his business last December, rather than dragging out his situation at Tennessee into April, he would’ve had better options than UCLA.
Transfer demand peaks in December, creating financial opportunity for transferring quarterbacks.
Carson Beck negotiated a sweet deal with Miami last December. By the time Iamaleava finally forced a breakup with Tennessee and hit the portal in April, most teams had their quarterback in place.
Iamaleava took a reputational hit by jilting Tennessee just before the spring game. Worse, he left a good squad coached by a proven quarterback developer in favor of a bad team out of its depth in the Big Ten, with an in-over-his-head coach.
College is a time when you begin to learn about who you are, and who you’re not. Iamaleava learned the hard way he’s not someone who can command a $4 million deal in the April, and that allowing his dad a spot in the driver’s seat isn’t such a great business move.
Lesson learned? We’ll see.
Suitors gather in December transfer period
Miami will need a quarterback to replace Beck after this season. Coach Mario Cristobal likes transfers. Leaving Westwood for Coral Gables would harpoon Iamaleava’s narrative that he transferred from Tennessee to UCLA to be close to family, but narratives are subordinate to his need for a program where he’ll improve.
Texas Tech will need a quarterback, too, after Behren Morton departs. Couldn’t you just see the Iamaleavas being a big fan of billionaire booster Cody Campbell’s checkbook?
Deion Sanders is in need of a quarterback at Colorado.
Western Kentucky will have a quarterback vacancy, too. Before you laugh at the thought of Iamaleava’s career swirling the drain in Conference USA, I’d remind you Bailey Zappe became a fourth-round NFL draft pick starring for coach Tyson Helton at Western Kentucky.
Point being, Iamaleava would do well to keep all options on the table, and consider what a particular coach and team can do for his NFL prospects, instead of getting sidetracked by zeroes on an NIL deal.
Or, maybe Iamaleava could lean into his heel turn at Tennessee and position himself as Diego Pavia’s heir at Vanderbilt.
Look, I can’t say for sure which programs would exhibit the most interest in Iamaleava. He damaged his stock these past six months. But, show me a quarterback with Iamaleava’s arm talent, and I’ll show you a coach who believes he’s the guy who can add the necessary polish to elevate a struggling quarterback to his previous five-star billing.
Iamaleava isn’t tethered to UCLA. With every Bruins loss and every Iamaleava interception, December free agency can’t get here fast enough.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.