Greg McElroy calls out Nico Iamaleava over offered explanation of transfer to UCLA

Greg McElroy called out Nico Iamaleava over the explanation as to why he left Tennessee and ended up at UCLA. From his camp, Iamaleava cited the Tennessee offense as not the best fit going into the 2025 season.

McElroy cited uncertainty with the UCLA offense compared to the Vols. If Iamaleava can elevate what’s around him, then perhaps it’s a moot point.

But to this point, Iamaleava goes to a situation where you really question why he chose this school and offense. We guess that’s why they have an offseason to adjust.

“Because if you’re going to cite the reasons and how uncomfortable it is playing for Tennessee and going into the season not knowing what is going to be surrounded by, then how do you end up at UCLA,” McElroy said on Always College Football. “Like you can’t connect those two dots. You can’t sit there and say, ‘Oh, this is a football decision,’ and then go to a place that was 95th out of 134 in yards per play, that was 126th in scoring, that ran for just over three yards a carry and then allowed 34 sacks, which was 107th in college football. Now I’ll say this new coaching staff, Eric Bienemi, the OC from last year. He is now gone.

“In comes Tino Sunseri … I think he’s going to be a great coach. I love his personality, I love that he played the position, I love the style of offense that he’s going to be inserting there at UCLA. But at the same time, you cannot possibly tell me that the UCLA situation is less cloudy than the situation that you had at Tennessee. That’s absurd.” 

Tennessee and Iamaleava mutually parted ways on April 12, after they failed to agree on a restructured NIL deal for Iamaleava. The redshirt sophomore QB reportedly was seeking a $4 million a year NIL deal, a significant upgrade from his alleged pre-existing $2.2 million deal.

Iamaleava’s commitment is a massive addition for UCLA. As a redshirt freshman last season, Iamaleava was Tennessee’s full-time starter. He finished the year with 2,616 passing yards and 19 touchdowns while throwing five interceptions. He also recorded 358 yards and three scores in the ground game.

UCLA reportedly informed its quarterback room of Iamaleava’s commitment Sunday. The value of Iamaleava’s NIL deal with UCLA hasn’t been reported yet. The former five-star prospect boasts an On3 NIL Valuation of $2.1 million, which ranks No. 23 in the On3 NIL 100.