Nico Iamaleava became one of college football’s most polarizing quarterback transfers in 2025 after his fallout with the Tennessee Volunteers following failed NIL renegotiations, resulting in his departure to the UCLA Bruins.
He was reportedly earning $7 million in NIL at Tennessee. So what led the Vols to splurge this much on the quarterback in the first place? One could argue that it was his performance in the 2023 Polynesian Bowl.
Playing as a senior for Long Beach Polytechnic High School in front of a sold-out crowd in Honolulu in January 2023, Iamaleava tossed a touchdown and passed for 186 yards to get named MVP of the Polynesian Bowl. That year, he rushed for six touchdowns while throwing for 1,726 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was also named the Polynesian Football Player of the Year.
“It was a great experience for me,” Iamaleava said in Jan. 2023. “Just being able to experience bowl practices and practice with the team and get live reps with them was a big thing for me. I had a blast with the team; just getting to know the guys on the team and in my ’23 class was amazing.”
Iamaleava further shared his experience from the Bowl game and weighed in on the pre-game practices that helped him out. He added:
“The biggest adjustment for me was the speed of the game. I knew going into it that football was going to be football, but everybody’s big out there, everybody can move. I had a blast going against the 1’s defense; I was the scout team quarterback, so it was cool to get those reps against the 1’s defense and show my skill set. I had fun out there.”
Nico Iamaleava Joined Josh Heupel’s Tennessee After Poylnesian Bowl MVP Performance
Months later, Nico Iamaleava followed up on his commitment and enrolled at the University of Tennessee to play college football.
Talking about joining Josh Heupel’s quarterback-friendly offense, Iamaleava said:
“I’d say once you get some of the verbiage down, it’ll start to click. I’m still trying to get the verbiage down, but it’s been my first three weeks there and seeing how things operate with Coach Heup and Coach Joey. We don’t have Coach Golesh now, but happy for him. Seeing the QB room operates and guys like that; it was a great experience to learn.”
He played backup to Joe Milton in 2023 before being named the Citrus Bowl MVP next January for throwing for 151 yards and recording four total touchdowns (one passing and three rushing) in Tennessee’s 35-0 win over Iowa.
In 2024, Iamaleava was named a full-time starter, and he led the Vols to a 10–3 record and the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff appearance. He was supposed to continue getting the spotlight in the SEC in 2025 as well, but things took a turn for the worse, and he ended up being on the Bruins roster instead.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
