Nico Iamaleava drops 5-word reaction as teammate receives huge boost in EA College Football 26

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava spent his first two years in college with the Tennessee Volunteers. Josh Heupel and his team moved on from him in April after his demands for a new and restructured NIL deal that pays him more. Iamaleava joined the UCLA Bruins for the upcoming season the same month.

Ahead of his UCLA debut, Iamaleava reacted to his and his teammate's EA Sports College Football 26 ratings. 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 captioned the post.

Rodrick 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. That might be the reason behind his 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 program

Last 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.

About the author

Priyam is a College Sports content executive at Sportskeeda with a master's in Advertising and Marketing Management and over two years of experience as a writer. When it comes to reporting, Priyam believes doing a technical deep dive is one of his biggest strengths and he loves to dissect plays on the field and factor out the strengths/weaknesses of players.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Priyam sees Nick Saban as the greatest coach of all time. He is also rooting for Alabama quarterback Jalen Milore after following his progress over the years. The Michigan Wolverines football team is another of his favorite programs and it will be interesting to see how both these teams perform in new coaching eras.

When he’s not reporting, Priyam is usually at the gym or indulging in music. He has been a guitarist and a drummer for the past 17 years and finds his time of peace when playing music.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash