Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has landed at UCLA.

Iamaleava, who made a highly publicized exit from the Vols after a reported push for more NIL money that included skipping practice before entering the transfer portal, committed to the Bruins on Wednesday, according to numerous reports.

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A former five-star recruit and one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2023 class, Iamaleava is a Southern California native, having played his high school football at Long Beach Polytechnic School and then Warren High School his senior year.

He signed with Tennessee in 2023, inking a landmark deal that was reportedly near $8 million. Iamaleava red-shirted his freshman season, appearing in four games, including one start in the Vols' 35-0 win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.

Iamaleava started all 13 games in Tennessee's run to the College Football Playoff in 2024 and entered spring practices as the unquestioned starter.

Days before the Vols ended spring camp with their annual Orange and White Game, reports surfaced that Iamaleava's camp was negotiating a new NIL contract with Tennessee.

Iamaleava's father, Nic, publicly discredited the report, but Iamaleava no-showed at the Vols' final practice last Friday. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel confirmed that Iamaleava was no longer part of the team after the spring game on Saturday.

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Iamaleava entered the transfer portal with a "do not contact" tag on Wednesday, the first day of the spring portal window.

"I’m not going to get into the details of everything and the timing of that," Heupel told reporters. "That’s just in fairness to both parties. But at the end of the day, he’s moving on. We’re moving on, too, and we’ll be ready to roll when we get to next fall."

The Vols are left with two scholarship quarterbacks in redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman newcomer George MacIntyre, both former four-star recruits in the 2024 and 2025 class, respectively.

Heupel confirmed that Tennessee will pursue a quarterback in the transfer portal. The spring window runs through April 25.

UCLA is heading into its second season under head coach DeShaun Foster after the Bruins finished 5-7 in their inaugural season in the Big Ten.

It is unclear how much UCLA is paying for Iamaleava. He had a number of reported suitors before entering the portal, including North Carolina and Tulane.

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