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UCLA QB Shake-Up Continues After Nico Iamaleava’s Reported Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Apr 16, 2025 6:27 PM ET

The college football spring transfer portal window has reportedly seen its first major domino drop. On Wednesday afternoon, reports surfaced that former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava decided to go to UCLA.

Colin Cowherd had the scoop and revealed it isn't about the money, either.

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman also revealed Iamaleava's expected decision to join the Bruins.

It's a stunning turn of events, and it's worth noting that Madden Iamaleava, Nico's brother, flipped from UCLA to Arkansas in December in another surprising turn.

As it stands, a deal with Iamaleava is not done yet, and the two sides are reportedly ironing out the specifics of a new deal.

Iamaleava's hopes were to get a $4 million payday in the market, although ESPN's Pete Thamel hit him with a harsh reality check on that front right before the UCLA reports surfaced.

Now, questions swirl about the Bruins' QB room with Iamaleava expected to come to Westwood, and ESPN's Chris Low gave an update on that situation.

"If Iamaleava’s deal with UCLA gets done, it won’t be close to the $4 million his camp was asking for from Tennessee. Talks ramping up. Reps for current UCLA QB Joey Aguilar, who transferred from App. State in offseason, have been making calls to other schools to gauge interest," Low wrote on X.

Aguilar, who was at App State for the past two seasons, transferred to UCLA in December and was expected to be the QB1 in Deshaun Foster's second season as head coach.

But, with Iamaleava in the mix, that would mean Aguilar transitions to QB2, so opening up his options makes sense.

Aguilar threw for 6,760 passing yards, 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions from 2023-24 with App State, so he should be another sought-after signal-caller if Iamaleava's NIL deal gets finalized with the Bruins.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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