Former Tennessee starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava has committed to UCLA football, he announced Sunday afternoon via Instagram. 

The former five-star quarterback officially entered the transfer portal Wednesday morning – the first day of the spring transfer window – with a “do not contact” tag, signaling he either had a destination in mind or was letting his agent handle the process. 

For the past four days, rumors swirled about Iamaleava potentially transferring to UCLA, but it wasn’t until Sunday afternoon that the quarterback took to Instagram to officially reveal his decision. 

Iamaleava’s entry into the portal came as little surprise after his split from Tennessee last week, due to a deteriorating relationship with the program. 

Name, image and likeness played a major factor in his departure – per On3’s Pete Nakos. Iamaleava and his camp pushed for a $4 million NIL deal from Tennessee, skipping practices and team meetings during negotiations without alerting anybody on the team, according to coach Josh Heupel. 

This forced Heupel to remove Iamaleava from the Volunteers’ future plans Saturday, telling reporters after Tennessee’s spring game that “no one is bigger than the Power T, and that includes me.” 

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Iamaleava will be “seeking much more” through the portal. There is no official confirmation on how much UCLA is paying him. 

The No. 2 overall player in the class of 2023 becomes the highest-rated quarterback to ever commit to UCLA in the history of 247Sports rankings, instantly reshaping the Bruins’ quarterback room and the outlook for coach DeShaun Foster’s second season in Westwood.

Iamaleava is coming off a season in which he started all 13 of Tennessee’s games, throwing for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns – alongside just five interceptions – and spearheading his team to its first College Football Playoff appearance. He also added 358 rushing yards and three more scores on the ground.

Cooper Petagna, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports, said Iamaleava has “elite physical tools and one of the highest ceilings in college football.” With a long, athletic build and a strong arm, Petagna said Iamaleava fits the mold of today’s ideal quarterback and has the raw talent to work his way into first-round draft conversations.

After signal-caller Ethan Garbers graduated from Westwood last season and second-string quarterback Justyn Martin hit the transfer portal, the Bruins were in search of a new man under center. 

Three-star quarterback Joey Aguilar committed to UCLA from Appalachian State on Dec. 28, and he has since been touted as Foster’s starting field general, training as such through spring practice, which is now about halfway complete. 

But with Iamaleava in town, the Bruins will have to rework their systems around the former Volunteer and likely push Aguilar to an understudy role. 

Iamaleava’s ties with the Bruins appeared uncertain after his brother, Madden Iamaleava, flipped his commitment from UCLA to Arkansas on the first day of the early signing period this past December – ending a nearly seven-month pledge to play in Westwood.

Nic Iamaleava, Nico and Madden’s father, said the family loved Foster but made the decision after rumors spread that then-offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy could be departing Westwood – and he was dismissed the following day. 

Regardless, Nico Iamaleava – a Downey, California, local – is returning home amid UCLA’s spring camp. A fluid transition into the Bruins’ systems could give Foster a marquee talent with the potential to command national attention.