UCLA's Nico Iamaleava Makes Decision on Future amid Knee Injury, 2027 NFL Draft Rumors

Nico Iamaleava is coming back to school.

The UCLA quarterback's agent, Rudy Caamano, told Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports the plan is for Iamaleava to return to the Bruins for the 2027 campaign. Zenitz noted the quarterback was "emerging as a possibility to go in the first three rounds of next year's NFL draft" before he suffered a torn ACL.

Iamaleava has had something of a roller coaster college football career.

He arrived at Tennessee as a highly regarded 5-star prospect and the No. 2 quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings, but didn't see significant game action as a freshman.

Yet he led the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff during the 2024 campaign and seemed to have a bright future with the SEC school despite a first-round loss to Ohio State.

However, he decided to leave Tennessee following a highly publicized NIL dispute and ended up with UCLA in 2025.

He was inconsistent in his first season with the Bruins with 13 touchdown passes to seven interceptions as the team went 3-9 and missed a bowl game entirely.

While there may not have been high expectations coming into the 2026 campaign following last year's disappointment, the Bruins jumped out to a 5-0 start with Iamaleava under center. One of those wins came against Oregon, although that was the game in which the quarterback was injured.

UCLA has since defeated Wisconsin and Michigan and remains in the middle of the CFP race with an undefeated record.

The injury surely would have undercut Iamaleava's outlook if he decided to enter the 2027 NFL draft, so this decision means he will have another opportunity to improve his status while playing notable Big Ten games.