The spring transfer portal just got a lot more interesting with the expected addition of Tennessee star quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The large majority of teams around the country would view Iamaleava as a big upgrade at the position but what are his most likely landing spots?
By rule, a player cannot transfer from one SEC school to another SEC school during the spring transfer window so take a look at the five potential landing spots for Iamaleava, the top ranked transfer this cycle.
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NORTH CAROLINA
Bill Belichick is hard at work in Chapel Hill but the greatest NFL coach of all-time seems to be less than thrilled at his options at quarterback. The Tar Heels have yet to make a splash in the transfer portal and are rumored to have a large NIL warchest.
Pursuing Iamaleava would theoretically check all the boxes for North Carolina.
NOTRE DAME
The Fighting Irish and Iamaleava have been linked in the past and Notre Dame has the NIL resources to make this happen but will they be interested now? Marcus Freeman and company have a deep quarterback room with Steve Angeli, CJ Carr, Kenny Minchey and Blake Hebert already battling for the starting job.
Would Notre Dame want to rock the boat with a big move like adding Iamaleava?
TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders have been the headline-makers of this transfer cycle and seem to have endlessly deep pockets. They have a returning starter in Behren Morton but he probably won't keep Texas Tech from pursuing a potential upgrade at the position.
Joey McGuire's squad has already undergone massive roster changes this offseason and adding Iamaleava is a potentially game-changing move.
UCLA
The Bruins are trying to make waves in the Big Ten and adding Iamaleava would go a long way. He is from Southern California and his brother, Madden Iamaleava, was committed to UCLA at one point during his recruiting process.
UCLA has the donors to check the "NIL resources" box as well.
USC
Iamaleava is from Southern California, USC's head coach is noted quarterback guru Lincoln Riley and the Trojans have not named a starting quarterback for the upcoming season. On top of all that, USC has the resources to satisfy Iamaleava's NIL price.
If both sides are interested, this seems like a no-brainer as one of the most likely landing spots for the uber-talented signal caller.
