After a few days in the wilderness, Nico Iamaleava has found a new home. The former Tennessee starting quarterback is expected to sign with UCLA.

The Bruins were a popular guess when speculation started swirling about Iamaleava’s market in the transfer portal. Now that we know UCLA is the destination, let’s unpack some initial thoughts about the fit, what it means for the Bruins and the fallout in Knoxville.

1. Multiple stories over the past few days have referenced concerns expressed by Iamaleava’s camp about Tennessee’s offense, seeking “assurances” that the Volunteers would improve their offensive line and receiver group.

Well, Iamaleava might be in for quite a wake-up call at UCLA. The Bruins offense was a complete disaster last season. UCLA ranked 95th out of 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in yards per play (5.4) and 126th in scoring (18.4 points per game). The Bruins averaged 3.1 yards per rush (128th) and allowed 34 sacks (107th).

Several of the top skill players from that group — notably receivers J.Michael Sturdivant and Logan Loya and running back T.J. Harden — transferred out of the program this offseason.

It was bad enough that neither offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy nor offensive line coach Juan Castillo made it to a second season with the program.

There may be legitimate questions about how Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s offense prepares players for the NFL, but Iamaleava is placing his faith in a first-time play caller (new Bruins offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri spent last season as co-OC and quarterbacks coach at Indiana) and a supporting cast with major questions.

2. UCLA is attempting to remake its offense through the portal, adding receivers Mikey Matthews (Cal and Utah) and Jaedon Wilson (Arkansas) in an effort to bolster their passing attack. And although those two might have some promise, they have only 79 career catches between them. Not exactly proven commodities.

Running back transfer Anthony Woods was a productive player at Idaho, rushing for totals of 2,027 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2022 and ’23. He transferred to Utah last offseason but was plagued by injury and didn’t carry the ball once for the Utes in ’24.

UCLA has also brought in four offensive line transfers this offseason. While the intentions are good, it’s difficult to remake a position through the portal that requires so much chemistry. Many programs have tried. Many have failed.

3. Prior to Iamaleava’s decision, the most significant addition UCLA had made through the portal was Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar, who threw for 6,760 yards, 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions over the past two seasons. He was brought in to stabilize the Bruins’ quarterback situation after starter Ethan Garbers exhausted his eligibility and backup Justyn Martin transferred to Maryland.

Naturally, there will be questions about Aguilar’s future with the program now that Iamaleava has joined the quarterback group. Things could always change, but a source briefed on the player’s thinking insisted Wednesday that Aguilar intends to stay at UCLA and compete for the starting job.

4. UCLA has never been viewed as a football program with a robust war chest of financial resources. So it’ll be very interesting to learn what Iamaleava will receive in terms of NIL.

It’s important to remember, given the timing, that UCLA held the leverage in this situation. There weren’t many competitors for his services.

Iamaleava’s younger brother, Madden, was committed to the Bruins for six months last year but flipped on the first day of the early signing period and signed with Arkansas in a move that came out of nowhere.

If there were any hard feelings about that situation, they weren’t enough of a deterrent to bring Nico into the fold.

5. Is there any legitimacy to the concerns about Tennessee’s offensive line and receivers that Iamaleava’s camp supposedly raised?

Though Pro Football Focus grades are often taken with a grain of salt by college coaches, the Vols ranked ninth in the SEC in both pass blocking and run blocking grades last season. They allowed 113 pressures, which was 53rd-most in the FBS. UCLA allowed 181 pressures, most in the country last year, according to PFF.

The Vols added two offensive linemen in the portal in the winter window: Arizona transfer Wendell Moe and Notre Dame transfer Sam Pendleton. Both played in 13 games last season; Moe started 12 (mostly at left guard) for the Wildcats, while Pendleton started seven at left guard for the Fighting Irish.

One Power 4 general manager, when asked for his thoughts on the Tennessee offensive line, said he thought it was “fine” last season and speculated that Iamaleava was being advised to blame his departure on football reasons, rather than the failed contract renegotiations.

A former SEC scouting director called the Tennessee O-line “problematic” but that the receivers “certainly were not” to blame.

Both personnel staffers, who were granted anonymity in order to candidly discuss other rosters, found it misguided for blame to be assigned to Iamaleava’s supporting cast.

6. The Vols’ search for a quarterback is fully underway, and there’s at least one indication of the caliber of quarterback they’re shooting for.

Tennessee reached out to the representatives of TCU starting quarterback Josh Hoover, a source briefed on the discussions confirmed to The Athletic. Hoover, a rising junior, is one of the top returning passers in the country. He ranked in the top 20 in the FBS last season in passing yards, yards per attempt, completion percentage and touchdown passes.

Hoover rebuffed those overtures and is locked in with the Horned Frogs for 2025, the source said.

Heupel made clear that Tennessee would be shopping for a quarterback in the portal because they only have two scholarship players at the position: redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre. The fact that Tennessee’s search included Hoover suggests that the Vols will try to pluck an established, experienced quarterback from elsewhere if they can.

7. If Tennessee’s quarterback search isn’t fruitful, how viable can the offense be?

The veer-and-shoot style offense that Heupel runs, which was popularized at college football’s highest level by the mid-2010s Baylor teams, works best with quarterbacks who possess a big arm for downfield throws and some athleticism. Because of the wide splits the receivers line up in and the space that creates for running lanes, it’s a user-friendly scheme for the quarterback.

Iamaleava, while talented, was far from elite last year, totaling eight touchdown passes and five interceptions in eight games against bowl teams. Running back Dylan Sampson (1,491 rushing yards, 22 touchdowns) and the third-best scoring defense in the SEC (16.1 points allowed per game) played key roles in powering Tennessee’s run to the College Football Playoff.

Sampson is off to the NFL Draft, which means Tennessee is looking at an entirely new offensive backfield. The Vols brought in Duke transfer Star Thomas, who led the Blue Devils with 871 yards and seven touchdowns last year, and have an assortment of returnees and incoming freshmen led by Tennessee’s second-leading rusher of 2024, DeSean Bishop (455 yards).

Merklinger, a four-star recruit who was the 11th-ranked quarterback in the 2024 class per 247Sports Composite ratings, has only nine career pass attempts and was the third-string quarterback last year. MacIntyre, also a four-star prospect, was the No. 13 QB in the 2025 class. Both were top-200 recruits.

Nobody was expecting those two to be put in the position of having to compete for the starting quarterback job this year, but that’s where the Vols are and why Heupel is seeking out some experience.

If they don’t land a quality starter in the portal, Heupel and offensive coordinator Joey Halzle will have to be creative and lean on the Vols’ supporting cast to carry the load while the young quarterbacks develop.

(Photos of Nico Iamaleava and Kwazi Gilmer: Jason Mowry, Steph Chambers / Getty Images)