How to pronounce five-star Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava's last name

Nico Iamaleava needed just an eight-second video to clear up any confusion. How is the last name of Tennessee football’s five-star freshman quarterback pronounced? According to Iamaleava himself, it’s “ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va.”

Tennessee football’s Twitter account on Wednesday published the video of Iamaleava providing the pronunciation after the Vols held another bowl practice. Iamaleava was officially announced as a signee on Wednesday, on National Signing Day, but signed paperwork with Tennessee last week to begin bowl practices.

Iamaleava, the 6-foot-5.5, 195-pound prospect out of Long Beach, Calif., was one of two five-star signings Tennessee made early Wednesday, alongside Charlotte, N.C., defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs.

Setting the record straight:

ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va @nico_iamaleava8 pic.twitter.com/UbmaY14TiL

— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) December 21, 2022

Iamaleava is ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2023 class according to the On3 ratings. He’s the No. 2 quarterback in the class, trailing only Arch Manning, and is the No. 1 player in the state of California.

Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting class, which entered Wednesday ranked 11th nationally and No. 5 in the SEC, has been headlined by Iamaleava since March, when he announced his commitment to the Vols over Miami, Alabama and Georgia. HIs long list of scholarship offers also included Ohio State, USC, LSU, Florida, Texas A&M, Auburn, Florida State, UCLA and Oregon among many, many others.

Nico Iamaleava has the second-highest estimated NIL value according to the On3 NIL Valuation, at $1.1 million. 

He made his Tennessee debut late last week, joining the Vols for their first bowl practice as on-field preparations begin for the December 30 Capital One Orange Bowl against No. 7 Clemson.

On3 Database – Nico Iamaleava 

Personal Life: Nicholaus Iamaleava received scholarship offers in volleyball long before he picked up his first offer in football. Iamaleava is ranked by some volleyball analysts as the top high school volleyball prospect in the country. He played varsity volleyball as a freshman at Long Beach Poly – one of the top high school teams in the country. Iamaleava transferred from Poly to Downey (Calif.) Warren before the start of his junior season. His older brother, Matt, was a high school All-American in volleyball at Poly and is now at Long Beach State. His sister, Nicaylah, is playing volleyball at Cypress College. Overall, Iamaleava has seven siblings, and all are standouts at one level or another. His parents are Nic and Marleinna Iamaleava. His mother was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer at the end of 2020 and the community rallied to raise thousands of dollars to support her fight against the disease. Iamaleava plans on majoring in business. He lists his hobbies as playing video games and training his dogs.

High School 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.