5-star QB Nico Iamaleava set to visit Tennessee again

A little more than a month after visiting Tennessee, five-star Long Beach (Calif.) Poly quarterback Nico Iamaleava will return to Rocky Top in April, according to On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons.

Whether the visit will be an official or unofficial is still to be determined, but Iamaleava will be back at Tennessee on April 8. He previously visited the Volunteers on March 4, and following that visit, the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) swung in Tennessee’s favor.

Tennessee made a massive impact on Nico Iamaleava

While in Knoxville, Iamaleava was the center of attention with “We want Nico” chants at a men’s basketball game. Furthermore, he was welcomed to town with the famous rock on campus emblazoned with “We want Nico” on it.

The Tennessee faithful did everything they could to impress Iamaleava during his three-day visit to Knoxville, Simmons said last week. It was noticed by Iamaleava.

“I thought the hospitality was great — that Southern hospitality definitely is real,” Iamaleava told Simmons. “The people down south in Knoxville were great people all around.”

Iamaleava said the chants at the basketball game made a huge impact on his family, especially his mother.

“She got teary-eyed with the Nico chants and stuff,” Iamaleava said. “She had a great time every night.”

On this trip, Iamaleava is expected to be joined by five-star wide receiver Carnell Tate, who has long been one of Tennessee’s top targets in the 2023 class.

Tennessee will have numerous top targets on campus, including Tate, who been in communication and hung out some this past weekend with Iamaleava at the Pylon 7v7 event in Los Angeles.

As it stands now, Tennessee holds an 83.4 percent chance of landing Iamaleava, according to the RPM. Oregon trails far behind in second at 6.2 percent with Alabama (4.3%) in third.

Iamaleava is the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the nation’s No. 3 quarterback and the No. 2 prospect in California this cycle.

Scouting Summary

“High-upside signal caller who may have the best physical tools among quarterbacks in the 2023 cycle. Has one of the stronger arms in the cycle, generating considerable velocity on his throws in camp settings. Tall with a slender build with room to fill out. Boasts a quick, clean throwing motion despite his longer arms. A bouncy, fluid mover who doubles as a top volleyball player. Still developing in terms of some technical aspects of the game. Plays in a high school offense that is heavily skewed towards quick passes and screens. Can continue to improve his accuracy on downfield passes. Has done a very good job taking care of the football with just two interceptions in his first two varsity seasons.” — On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power