Tennessee football transfer QB Nico Iamaleava sends eye-opening message with UCLA commitment

Zain Bando

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Tennessee football transfer QB Nico Iamaleava sends eye-opening message with UCLA commitment image

© Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now-former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has put his saga to rest officially, confirming reports from ESPN's Pete Thamel that Iamaleava has officially made his transition official from the Volunteers to the Big Ten's UCLA Bruins.

Iamaleava took to his Instagram to provide a statement, putting a bow on a rather wild week where his career was potentially going nowhere fast.

 

"First and foremost, I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for His grace, for continuing to bless my family, and for allowing me to live out my passion each and every day," Iamaleava wrote.

Despite a shaky exit from both sides, Iamaleava emphasized his need to remain classy, sharing his gratitude to compete in the SEC for a program like the Volunteers.

"To the amazing people in Knoxville, thank you for embracing and uplifting me throughout my time there. I’ll be forever thankful for the support you showed me every step of the way and I’ll always cherish the relationships I built there and the memories I created with my brothers. I believe with all my heart that I gave my all as a Volunteer. I’m truly grateful for the time I had at UT."

But, for Iamaleava, a change of scenery wasn't just needed. It was a must-do, he wrote.

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"My journey at UT has come to an end. This decision was incredibly difficult, and truthfully, not something I expected to make this soon. But I trust God’s timing, and I believe He’s leading me where I need to be."

In a rather fitting conclusion, Iamaleava made his intentions clear: he is Westwood bound.

"Even though, this chapter is ending, a new chapter has begun and I am committed to UCLA."

With college football's biggest off-season story finally reaching its resolution, the countdown has officially begun to see if the Iamaleava-UCLA pairing ends up paying off after all.

For now, only time will tell.

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Zain Bando

Zain Bando is a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. Over the years, Bando has written about various beats surrounding Illinois, Northwestern, and Kansas State Athletics but sticks to the Big Ten as his primary expertise. Outside of collegiate reporting, Bando covers MMA and boxing for MMA Knockout On Sports Illustrated and hosts/co-hosts two podcasts as part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network – Bando's Breakdowns and The MMA Outsiders, which air weekly on YouTube and are distributed on all podcast platforms Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoons. Bando is a Chicago Suburban native and a member of the FWAA and USBWA, continuing to hone his professional skills as a sports journalist and media personality. Since June 2019, Bando's byline has been seen across many mediums, including MSN, Yardbarker, Deadspin, FanSided, BJPenn.com, Bridge Media Network (Sports News Highlights), Mike Farrell Sports, Reuters, and more. When Bando is not writing, he binges on old UFC fights, spends time with family and friends, memorizes every Super Bowl, and manifests all the places he still has to travel to (even while bringing his laptop).