Nico Iamaleava’s next team? Hometown programs among favorites

Nico Iamaleava stunned the college football world — and further rocked the Name, Image and Likeness landscape — with his departure from Tennessee over the weekend.Tennessee balked at Iamaleava’s holdout for additional NIL money, and the former five-star recruit immediately became the biggest name on the market for the spring transfer window that opens Wednesday.Whether Iamaleava can land the reported $4 million NIL deal he was seeking from the Volunteers remains to be seen. He cannot transfer and play immediately for an SEC team, which somewhat limits his options.Some schools may also shy away from a player who sought to double his contract after just one season. But after leading the Vols to the College Football Playoff as a redshirt freshman, Iamaleava does figure to have several suitors, with one sportsbook creating odds for his next destination.NICO IAMALEAVA NEXT TEAM ODDS*UCLA (+200)North Carolina (+250)Southern California (+300)Texas Tech (+500)Colorado (+600)Arizona State (+700)Notre Dame (+900)Maryland (+1100)Oregon (+1200)California (+1600)Syracuse (+2000)*Odds provided by SportsBetting.ag for entertainment purposes only.UCLAThe Bruins immediately emerged as a likely destination, although 247Sports reported that the school may lack the funds to land Iamaleava. The Bruins signed former Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar, but Iamaleava would provide a significant upgrade for coach DeShaun Foster.It could also help significantly that Iamaleava is from Downey, Calif., southeast of downtown Los Angeles. At one point, his younger brother Madden, also a quarterback, was committed to UCLA before flipping his choice to Arkansas.

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