How Joey Aguilar Situation Will Impact Bruins

The UCLA Bruins have had a very eventful off-season when it comes to their football program, recruiting cycle, and the transfer portal. While that is something the majority of the teams across the nation can relate, the Bruins are on a whole other level.

The Bruins have one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to scouting players and pulling them in through the portal. One of the players that they pulled in during the portal season in December is Joey Aguilar.

Aguilar spent multiple seasons with Appalachian State before entering his name into the transfer portal. He was set to join the Bruins after announcing his transfer decision, and he would later re-enter the portal.

As mentioned, he was supposed to be the starter, but would later hit the portal again due to Tennessee Volunteers QB Nico Iamaleava entering his name into the portal in a surprising fashion.

This news came as he was allegedly looking for more money and a raise after his second year in the system and the first year he spent in Knoxville as a starter. He went to the College Football Playoffs with the Vols, but would fall short in a landslide. victory courtesy of Ohio State, who would later win the National Championship.

The shocking development would then follow, as Aguilar would enter the portal and join the Tennessee Volunteers in what would be deemed as a "Trade" by fans of the sport. While the Bruins got a great player in Iamaleava, what fans may not realize is the red flags that this could have raised for the recruiting scene.

The Bruins brought Aguilar in to be "their guy," and that was the expectation he had when he joined the program. While things can move fast at the college level, they moved on before they could even see him play a legitimate game, as he never was seen in a Bruins jersey.

This wasn't a bad move, because Iamaleava is easily one of the better players in the nation at the position, but what about the recruits who have seen this thing unfold, as a guy who was almost guaranteed to be a starter got replaced before even getting a shot? One can't help but see this as a possible red flag.

It was reported that a big reason of Oscar Rios' commitment to the Arizona Wildcats was due to the addition of both the Iamaleava brothers in the off-season.