Nico Iamaleava left the Tennessee Volunteers in the spring, believing he would have a better opportunity and feel more at home back in Southern California with the UCLA Bruins. Months later, he finds himself in a disastrous situation and could ultimately enter the college football transfer portal again.
The last time Iamaleava went through this process, there seemed to be limited options for him because of how late he entered the transfer portal. While the timing would be better for the former 247 Sports‘ five-star recruit this time around, it’s also fair to say his stock has dropped even further since coming to UCLA.
Importantly, we’re not even remotely considering top Power 4 programs as a viable option for Iamaleava. While his tools are enticing, his on-field performance and the negative reports surrounding him in recent months will push top-flight programs to other quarterbacks. Instead, we’re focused on ‘softer’ landing spots where he would truly have an opportunity to succeed and develop.
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Let’s dive into our top 2026 landing spots for Iamaleava if he enters the transfer portal.
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Becoming the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers starting quarterback in 2026 certainly won’t sound appealing to the Iamaleava family at first. It would mean going from the SEC to the Big Ten to Conference USA, with a significant step down in his NIL deal. However, the long-term goal needs to be rebuilding his stock and helping him develop. That can be accomplished with the Hilltoppers.
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Western Kentucky’s head coach Tyson Helton offers a proven track record with quarterbacks. As the USC Trojans quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator (2016-17), he was instrumental in the development of Sam Darnold. In those two seasons, Darnold posted a 57-22 TD-INT ratio, passing for over 7,200 yards with a 153.7 QB rating. Helton turned that success into a stint at the University of Tennessee, where he helped Jarrett Guarantano post the best TD-INT ratio (12-3) and completion rate (62.2 percent) of his college career.
Since being hired as the Hilltoppers’ head coach in 2019, Helton has a .602 winning percentage and is on the verge of his fifth consecutive season with at least eight wins. He’s also helped quarterbacks like Caden Veltkamp (25-10 TD-INT, 149.5 QB rating), Austin Reed (71-22 TD-INT, 144.3 QB rating), and Bailey Zappe (62-11 TD-INT, 168.9 QB rating) all excel.
Again, playing for the Hilltoppers might not initially sound like an appealing option to Iamaleava. However, Western Kentucky would put him in a position to put up great numbers and, as Zappe (137th overall pick) proved, catch the NFL’s attention.
Louisville Cardinals
One of the themes with our landing spots for Iamalaeava are schools away from the West Coast. Realistically, the likes of the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies and Oregon Ducks can probably find better options. If Iamaleava wants to stay in a Power 4 conference, then the Louisville Cardinals in the ACC could be one potential option.
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Cardinals’ head coach Jeff Brohm’s track record speaks for itself. He’s steadily worked his way from Western Kentucky (.750 winning percentage) to Purdue (17-9 record in final two seasons) and is now thriving at Louisville (.724 winning percentage). Not only would Iamaleava get to play for a consistent winner and a program with reasonable expectations, but he could also benefit from being Brohm’s next success story.
From 2021-’22 under Brohm, Aidan O’Connell compiled a 50-24 TD-INT ratio with 7,202 passing yards, a 67.6 percent completion rate and he averaged 7.7 yards per attempt. Brohm then got the best season out of Jack Plummer (64.8% completion rate, 144.4 QB rating and 8.1 ypa) and most recently helped Tyler Shough become the 40th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after his breakthrough season last year.
Iamaleava could take Miller Moss’ place next season, providing Louisville with a high-upside starter who is certainly more physically talented than any of the quarterbacks Brohm has previously worked with. If everything goes right, Iamaleava would get credit for the Cardinals being a ranked team in 2026 and he could turn that into being a top-50 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
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Sam Houston State
Suggesting the Sam Houston State Bearkats as a potential transfer destination for Iamaleava is all about head coach Phil Longo. He landed his first head coaching gig in December 2024 after stints as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss (2017-18), North Carolina (2019-22), and Wisconsin (2023-24).
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Unsurprisingly, after a mass exodus when head coach K.C. Keeler left this offseason for Temple, Longo’s first season is going poorly. While the situation might seem reminiscent of UCLA, the key difference is that Longo is well-regarded as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
From 2017-18, even with Shea Patterson and then Jordan Ta’amu as his starting quarterbacks, the Rebels’ offense averaged over 31 points and 470 total yards per game across those two seasons. As the Tar Heels’ quarterbacks coach, he got stellar production out of Sam Howell (92-23 TD-INT, 164.2 QB rating, and 10,283 passing yards) and Drake Maye (38-7 TD-INT, 66.2% completion rate, 157.9 QB rating).
Longo knows how to maximize his quarterbacks, and Iamaleava would walk into a no-pressure situation that offers plenty of upside. If he helps turn the Bearkats’ offense around, both he and Longo could turn it into even bigger opportunities the following year.
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Indiana Hoosiers
Fernando Mendoza left California to become the centerpiece of Curt Cignetti’s offense. If his early success is sustained, ESPN’s Jordan Reid won’t be the only one ranking Mendoza as one of the five best quarterback prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. This could be Iamaleava’s best long-term path to the NFL.
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After all, Cignetti helped Kurtis Rourke (29-5 TD-INT, 69.4 percent completion rate, and 176.0 QB rating) earn Second-Team All-Big Ten honors in 2024 and get selected in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Rourke’s skill set pales in comparison to Iamaleava’s tools.
Just as importantly for Iamaleava, there would be continuity within the offensive scheme. He’s spending this season coached by offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri, who worked under Cignetti as Indiana’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach last season.
Landing Iamaleava would also give Indiana more time to develop Alberto Mendoza, a three-star recruit from the 2024 class. All parties involved could benefit tremendously from this partnership, with Iamaleava still getting to be the starting quarterback for a Big Ten team and actually having a shot at making the College Football Playoff. Of all our proposed landing spots, Indiana would be the best option.