49ers 17, Titans 20: Grades
California quarterback Nico Iamaleava announced his top 12 on Christmas with Tennessee making the list.
M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S🎄#TEAMMOM💝#TOABOYZ pic.twitter.com/X66TtGHoc1
— 🇼🇸Nicholaus Iamaleava Jr.🇦🇸 (@nico_iamaleava8) December 25, 2021
Iamaleava ranks as the nation’s third best quarterback and 13th best prospect in the 2023 class according to the On3 consensus rankings. The five-star is the No. 2 player in the state of California behind only USC quarterback commit Malachi Nelson.
The Downey native’s top 12 includes five SEC teams and just three western teams. Besides Tennessee, UCLA, Oregon State, Georgia, Ole Miss, Miami, Auburn, Oregon, Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame and BYU made the cut for the sought after quarterback.
Iamaleava unofficially visited Tennessee this fall for the South Alabama game after having to cancel visits earlier in the fall.
Had a great time in Knoxville! What a great experience for me and my brothers!#TOABOYZ pic.twitter.com/6jgomwcfhI
— 🇼🇸Nicholaus Iamaleava Jr.🇦🇸 (@nico_iamaleava8) November 28, 2021
The five-star quarterback has also visited Alabama, Notre Dame, UCLA and Ole Miss. Iamaleava visited both Alabama and UCLA twice, seeing the two campuses this summer and for a game this fall.
The California prospect appears to be Josh Heupel and quarterback coach Joey Halzle’s top target at the position in the 2023 class. The Vols have done a good job to get involved early in Iamaleava’s recruitment, but there are some heavy hitters after the five-star.
Iamaleava rank as the highest rated commit of the Heupel era to date.
