Nico Iamaleava derailed career by leaving Tennessee, CFB analyst says
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Nico Iamaleava is no doubt confronting some conflicting feelings right now.
He’s closer to home, which he has stated was the primary motivating factor behind his decision to leave Tennessee for UCLA in the spring. But his Bruins are 0-3. UCLA got smashed by New Mexico at home, 35-10, on Friday night in front of a pitiful crowd. The Vols hosted ESPN’s College GameDay some 12 hours later ahead of a top-15 matchup with Georgia.
If the decision to leave Knoxville for Westwood was a football decision, it was the wrong one.
Saturday morning on CBS Sports HQ, Danny Kanell said that mistake “could derail” Iamaleava’s career.
“Not could,” former Alabama running back Damien Harris interjected. “It already has.”
Iamaleava spent 2 seasons with the Vols. He left this past spring after the relationship quickly deteriorated. Plenty of reporting has gone in to what happened behind the scenes that led to the split, some of which Iamaleava’s side has disputed, but the move to UCLA has been an abject disaster regardless of the intentions.
The third-year passer from Long Beach is averaging 6.3 yards per pass attempt — a career-low — and has just 3 touchdowns with 3 picks in his first 3 games. He has been sacked 6 times and has a QBR this season of 50.7. In the loss to New Mexico on Friday night, Iamaleava had a 25.8 QBR.
“I think this should be a warning for every player out there that is considering making a move,” Kanell said. “And I think even more so, it’s a warning to those players: Be careful of the advice you’re getting. I don’t think this was Nico’s fault. I think his dad got heavily involved, he had some representation that was heavily involved, and they thought they could get more money from Tennessee.
“But if you’re going to bluff and act like there are a lot of great opportunities out there, you better make sure you have one, because they were scrambling to find a place for him to go to.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
