By Priyam Hazarika
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava spent his first two years in college with the Tennessee Volunteers. Unfortunately, Josh Heupel and his team decided to move on from him after his demands for a new and restructured NIL deal that pays him more. In the end, Iamaleava joined the UCLA Bruins for the upcoming season.Ahead of his UCLA debut, Nico Iamaleava reacted to his and his teammate’s rankings in EA Sports College Football 26. The sequel to EA CFB 25 is set to launch on July 10 on the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S.On his Instagram story, Iamaleava shared a post by the UCLA Bruins that talked about some of their players’ ratings in EA CFB 26. The quarterback had an 88 overall rating while RB Jaivian Thomas had an 87 overall. Iamaleava was shocked by CB Rodrick Pleasant, who was given a 99 overall speed rating in the game.”99 SPD is crazy work,” Iamaleava wrote in the caption of the post.Iamaleava’s Instagram storyRodrick Pleasant has three years of eligibility remaining. He had a 78 overall rating in EA College Football 25. The redshirt sophomore was a part of the Oregon Ducks last season and also an athlete for the University’s track & field team. Thus, this might be the reason why he has 99 overall speed in EA College Football 26.Iamaleava is one of the top 20 quarterbacks in the game. Other signal callers with an 88 overall rating are Kaidon Salter, Diego Pavia, Rocco Becht, Jake Retzlaff, and Sawyer Robertson. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik is the highest-rated signal caller with 92 overall in CFB 26.Tennessee insider calls out Nico Iamaleava over decision to leave the programLast week, Tennessee insider John from the ‘Sports Talk J Podcast’ shared his thoughts on Nico Iamaleava’s exit from the Vols. On the ‘Crain and Company’ show, he called out the quarterback for making an ’emotional’ decision regarding his collegiate future.”Nico made an emotional decision. Things went completely off the rails. Then Nico made a decision of a 19 20 year old, based on emotions,” John said. (Timestamp-3:01)After Nico Iamaleava’s exit, the Vols acquired ex-Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar. He was initially expected to join the UCLA Bruins. However, after they got Iamaleava, Aguilar ended up transferring to Tennessee. It will be interesting to see if he can help Josh Heupel’s team to success this upcoming season.