Five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava leaves Long Beach Poly, transfers back to Warren

Five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava is returning to Warren (Downey, Calif.) for his senior year to finish his high school career after briefly being enrolled at Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.). The news was first reported by 247Sports' National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins.

The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Tennessee commit is the third-rated recruit overall on 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2023.

Iamaleava spent his sophomore and junior year at Warren after a freshman campaign at Long Beach Poly. As a junior, he threw for 2,244 yards and had 33 touchdowns against one interception in nine games. He led the Bears to an 8-1 record. The only loss came in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs against Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) when Iamaleava suffered an injury early in the second quarter and was never cleared to return from concussion protocol.

His younger brother, Madden Iamaleava, also transferred back to Warren and will get an opportunity to play one more year with his older brother. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound sophomore quarterback has already received FBS offers from Arkansas State, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, San Diego State and Tennessee.

Darius Cowens transferred to Warren in January from Pacifica (Garden Grove) and was expected to take over under center but will most likely play in the secondary with Iamaleava returning. Cowens is a three-star recruit and has landed offers from Arizona State and Colorado State.

Darius Curry will take over as the starting quarterback for Long Beach Poly and has looked good in 7-on-7 this summer for the Jackrabbits. The three-star junior QB has landed 10 FBS offers that includes Georgia, LSU and Michigan.

Warren opens its 2022 season in Hawaii on Aug. 12 against Kamehameha Kapalama (Honolulu).