Nico Iamaleava made it official with his transfer to UCLA, and he may be what UCLA needs to make the leap to the College Football Playoffs for the 2025 season.
Iamaleava was a redshirt freshman quarterback at Tennessee last season who, previous to last year, had played in only four regular season games before his breakout performance against Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
This past season, he played very well, helping the Volunteers defeat NC State, Oklahoma, Alabama, or Florida, Vanderbilt, and more. He threw for 2,616 yards and completed 64% of his passes last season. He also threw for 19 touchdowns and rushed for three.
Before last season, Tennessee finished the regular season 8-4 before lamaleava stepped in as the starter to lead Tennessee to an impressive 35-0 victory over Iowa.
How much of an impact can he have for UCLA in 2025? He is the number one-ranked spring transfer portal for ESPN, 247 Sports, and Rivals. On paper, he should have a significant positive impact on the Bruins. In reality, at the very least, he gives UCLA a realistic chance of making the CFP in 2025.
Before iamaleava transferred to UCLA, some publications had the Bruins ranked very low, like Athlon Sports having them ranked 68 and College Football News having them ranked 53 for the 2025 season.
However, having a very talented and proven quarterback that encompasses a top 20 transfer class according to 247 Sports, a top 10 class according to On3, and a top 5 class according to Rivals makes UCLA, at minimum, a team that could contend for a spot in the CFP in 2025.
As mentioned earlier, if Indiana can make the jump they did from 2023, when they won only three games, to winning 11 games in 2024 and making an appearance in the college football playoffs due mainly in part to an impressive transfer incoming class, why not UCLA?