Nico Iamaleava faces backlash from Tennessee fans during College GameDay

Tennessee fans let their feelings be known Saturday morning. During ESPN’s live College GameDay build-up to No. 6 Georgia at No. 15 Tennessee, loud "Nico sucks!" chants drowned out Kirk Herbstreit on the set. The chants are directed toward former Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who transferred to UCLA in April.

On the GameDay set, when Rece Davis tossed it to Pete Thamel, even the on-air crew couldn't ignore it any longer. "Well, in some breaking news I don't think they like Nico Iamaleava a lot here," Thamel said.

Iamaleava's departure followed a tense 48-hour standoff in April over NIL terms. Iamaleava's camp reportedly pushed for roughly a $4 million NIL figure for 2025. Then, after he missed a spring practice, coach Josh Heupel announced the program was moving on and Iamaleava entered the portal and landed at UCLA.

The split came just months after Iamaleava authored a great first season for the Vols — Tennessee’s first appearance in the 12-team College Football Playoff (a 42–17 loss at Ohio State).

At UCLA, the first 3 games have been rough. The Bruins are 0–3 after a 43–10 loss to Utah in the opener, a 30–23 loss at UNLV sealed by a late interception, and a 35–10 home loss to New Mexico on Friday night. Iamaleava went 11-for-22 for 136 yards, a TD and an INT vs. Utah, he threw for 255 yards (29-for-41) with a TD and late pick at UNLV, and he couldn't come close to matchup the production of New Mexico's rushing offense (298 yards).

In Knoxville, the other half of the de facto QB trade has clicked. Joey Aguilar — who spent the spring at UCLA before enrolling at Tennessee in June and being named the Vols’ starter on Aug. 17 — has piloted two comfortable wins. One of them being a 45–26 win over Syracuse and the other a 72–17 win over ETSU. Aguilar threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1, then 288 yards and two scores (all before halftime) in Week 2, giving him 535 yards and five TDs without a pick through two games. Tennessee's 72 points marked the program’s highest output since 1929.

Saturday’s GameDay scene was the most visible point yet of a months-long fan backlash. Add that UCLA lost just the night prior and Tennessee still looks like they have playoff hopes this season — it was definitely going to be rough.