Nico Speaks Out On Tennessee Fans… Always Had ‘Going Home’ In His Head

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By Cody McClure

"Going back home was always in the back of my head,” Nico Iamaleava said yesterday at Big Ten media days.

That’s great to hear.

He never truly cared to be here and quite obviously was here for no other reason than money.

It has been a while since we had a good Nico headline.

That’s because nowadays we’re talking about the “Joey Aguilar Situation.” Shoutout Josh Heupel.

"My driving factor to come back home was my family, and I hope every Tennessee fan understands that," Iamaleava said at Big Ten media days. "It was just a lot of drama, but man, I'm excited to be at UCLA."

He went on to reference “false reports” about him at UT in regard to his need for more NIL money.

No, no, no, it wasn’t about money. He wanted to be closer to family!

"I think just the outside world, in general, thinks that it was something that it wasn't," Iamaleava told ESPN. "Going back home was always in the back of my head. Just being back closer to my family; [it] took a toll on getting my family to Tennessee. It was just a lot of traveling."

A lot of traveling. Tennessee was just too far away from Long Beach.

I guess that’s why Nico was considering MIAMI and NORTH CAROLINA after the Tennessee saga.

MIAMI AND NORTH CAROLINA — Two places that are much closer to the family in California.

"I don't speak on money matters," Iamaleava added. "I'm just here for ball and school."