UCLA's Nico Iamaleava is One of Football's Top Impact Transfers

Nico Iamaleava has been one of the most talked about names in college football since his fallout with Tennessee led him to a stunning transfer to UCLA.

While the conversations around the former 5-star recruit have been on both sides of good and bad, it is undeniable that his impact on a Bruins team coming off a 5-7 inaugural season in the Big Ten will be instant and major.

PFF made a list of the top-10 college football impact transfers to know, revisiting the biggest moves of the portal season and how these players impacted their former teams and will impact their new ones.

It didn't take long for Iamaleava's name to show up on the list. In fact, he was mentioned right after former Georgia-turned Miami quarterback Carson Beck.

Here's what Max Chadwick had to say about Iamaleava's transfer:

"Iamaleava opened his redshirt freshman campaign at Tennessee with five sub-70.0 PFF passing grades in his first six games. He got much better in the second half of the season, posting 75.0-plus marks in four of the final seven contests while leading the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff.

"The former five-star recruit’s 81.7 PFF passing grade on the season was still a top-20 mark in college football. Iamaleava’s 2.5% turnover-worthy play rate ranked in the top 30 even though he placed sixth among Power Four quarterbacks in average depth of target (11.1 yards)."

Iamaleava led the Volunteers to a 10-3 record last season, throwing 19 touchdowns and five interceptions for 2,616 total yards. Many have questioned his ability to adapt to a brand new Bruins offense in time to truly make a difference, but who's to say he's not dynamic enough to just be the Big Ten's best player under center.

Foster is changing Westwood. Between cultivating a new culture aimed at prioritizing the players and their relationships and putting together a powerful recruiting run for the class of 2026, the Bruins are beginning to become a location of interest for many.

UCLA finished it's first season in the conference with a 5-7 record, but finished the season stronger than it started. With a full offseason of consistency with Foster and Iamaleava, their second season is much anticipated around the college football world.