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.

What exactly went down between Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee is unknown, but the new UCLA quarterback is adamant that the alleged NIL standoff did not result lead to his transfer portal decision. The former five-star signed what was believed to be the first multi-million NIL deal for a high-school prospect when coming out of Downey,

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,

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.

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.

Coach Lincoln Riley leads the Trojans into a season of high expectations, while transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava is set to make his debut with the Bruins.