Elite QB Nico Iamaleava 'Feeling The Love' From Vols, Navigating Recruiting Process

Miami, Fla.-- Warren (Cali.) quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava is a consensus top quarterback in the 2023 class, and he is showing out at this weekend's Battle

Miami, Fla.-- Warren (Cali.) quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava is a consensus top quarterback in the 2023 class, and he is showing out at this weekend's Battle 7v7 tournament in Miami. He cut his impressive list of schools to twelve on Christmas Day, featuring schools like Ole Miss, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio State, and others. He talks about the process and the Vols here.

Iamaleava now holds 24 offers, with recent offers from LSU and Penn State coming in. He is hearing from numerous major Power Five schools, which can make the process tough to navigate. Still, he is actively working through it on a daily basis with his family.

"Lot of things go into it," Iamaleava said of his evaluation of a school. "Obviously, when we are looking at schools, just seeing what school prepares me the most for the big leagues and academics, obviously. I think my dad and I do a good job of talking about situations like that."

Tennessee had a chance to host him for their regular-season finale against Vanderbilt, and that visit is still resonating with the elite signal-caller.

"I took a visit up there this past year, and I loved it," Iamaleava said of the buzz regarding the Vols in his recruitment. "The fans there, the whole city of Knoxville, they are great fans. It was great. I signed my first autographs over there. They had pictures of me out there, and it was a cool experience that me and my little brother got to do. I actually felt bad for the fans over there, I gave them a terrible signature, but I have worked on it and improved my signature. I look forward to signing it for those same fans to give them a better signature."

Elite 2023 QB @nico_iamaleava8 signing autographs after taking in Tennessee’s win over Vanderbilt pic.twitter.com/ED8C7gFhM3

— Matt Ray (@matt_ray_) November 28, 2021

During that visit, Iamaleava had a great chance to bond with the Tennessee staff.

"I think that my relationships with the coaches got even stronger," he said immediately following the trip. "Me and Coach Heupel and Coach Halze had a great relationship before, but it was just great meeting Coach Heupel. I had never really met him. The game, overall, how it went, the offense is really dynamic. They just need a couple of more pieces, and I think I would fit right into that and leading that team to big wins. Coach Heupel pitched to me that he thinks I am a game-changer. I could come in and rebuild this back to the greatness that it was once at. Coach Heupel pitched to me that I have a chance to come in and compete with anyone and start as a freshman. Coach Halzle, we really didn't talk too much about football. He was asking me about my flight and if everything was treating me well. I really felt the love from Coach Halzle."

Tennessee is staying in constant contact with Iamaleava and even making the trip to California as the recruiting calendar permits to just check in on him through his high school coaches.

"Coach Halzle came to my school, and Coach Heupel is supposed to be down there next week, so I definitely feel the love from them," the rising senior said.

The 6'5", 195lbs passer is hearing from plenty of others as well.

"I definitely feel the love from Georgia and Coach Monken," he said. "I hear from him often. Bama, for sure. Oregon is in the picture. I met coach Lanning when he was at Georgia, and he is a great guy. He still remembers me from that time, so we got on the phone, and I definitely have a great relationship with Coach Lanning. Coach Dillingham was the one that offered me when he was at Florida State, so we have always had a cool relationship. We are just continuing to build our relationships every day."

Oregon saw Lanning take over at the helm after Mario Cristobal left for Miami, and Dillingham left Florida State to join Lanning's inaugural staff. Elsewhere, Monken is rumored to be a top candidate for a return to the NFL, and Alabama's staff turns over year-after-year, but that does not impact Iamaleava's process.

"It doesn't really affect me in any way," he said of the coaching carousel. "I feel like I do a good job of building a relationship with the coaches, so I don't think the coaching movement really affects my decision."

Preparation for the next level is of the utmost importance in the process for the elite prospect, but he will focus on finding a comfortable fit as well.

"Just being comfortable around whoever, whether I leave the state or not, just being comfortable around the coaches and players," Iamaleavea said of the other important aspect that will go into his decision. "I think I have a good outlook on what it looks like down here in the South and the east coast, so that is really it. Go to school for those three years, get your academics right, and hopefully leave early."

Sports Illustrated's John Garcia Jr. contributed to this report.