Nico Iamaleava Situation Draws Comparison to Former Texas Longhorns WR

A former Texas Longhorns wide receiver may have laid the groundwork for a recent college football controversy.

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Isaiah Bond runs on to the field prior to the game against the Oklahoma Sooners. | Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

The situation surrounding former Tennessee and current UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava has dominated college football headlines for the better part of a month, and for good reason.

Iamaleava, who helped lead Tennessee to its first College Football Playoff appearance last season, missed time during the Volunteers' spring practices as he reportedly sought a reworked NIL deal. The Volunteers did not want to play ball, as head coach Josh Heupel announced the team would be moving on from Iamaleava at quarterback before he even entered the transfer portal.

He officially transferred to UCLA about a week later, but took significantly less money to do so.

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava throws during against the Ohio State Buckeyes. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iamaleava isn't the first player to have this kind of fallout with his team, and he definitely won't be the last. ESPN's Greg McIlroy even compared Iamaleava's situation to former Texas Longhorns wide receiver Isaiah Bond, whose decision to transfer away from Alabama may have brought him more short-term money, but probably cost him in the long run. He specifically noted how Bond became a hero in Tuscaloosa after his game-winning touchdown in the Iron Bowl in 2023, but threw it away when he transferred to Texas.

“That catch has been immortalized by Alabama fans and in many by art,” McElroy said. “People are drawing paintings of it. People are profiting off of that. You know who’s not profiting off of that? Isaiah Bond. Because Isaiah Bond after the fact went from an Alabama legend, where he’d never have to pay for another drink in Tuscaloosa the rest of his life, and probably would have had many opportunities to potentially make money because of having participated in that play. Instead, he leaves to go to Texas the following year and now Alabama wants nothing to do with him. That’s how much money was potentially left on the table.

“Yeah, you can’t measure it. You can’t put a price tag on it right now, but yes, maybe $1 million was lost by Isaiah Bond or $1 million was lost by Nico Iamaleava or gained — in Isaiah Bond’s case, he made more at Texas than he would have at Alabama, but because he left Alabama he now no longer has earning potential in Tuscaloosa.”

Iamaleava may not have had a moment as influential as Bond's Iron Bowl catch, but still, a College Football Playoff appearance is nothing to sneeze at. He might've had a chance to strengthen his legacy at Tennessee if he had stayed, but now we'll never know.

Meanwhile, Bond had 34 receptions for 540 yards and five touchdowns in his lone season at Texas. He was expected to be a relatively early NFL Draft pick, but ended up going undrafted after turning himself into police due to an outstanding warrant for sexual assault. He still has not signed with a team almost two weeks after the draft.