MSU Set to Face No. 1 Transfer Next Season

Michigan State's defense will have the task of limiting new UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava next season.

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) walks off the field after the win over Kentucky after an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of Michigan State's games next season just got a whole lot more challenging.

The Spartans will face UCLA next season for the first time since 1974 when the Bruins come to East Lansing for a Week 7 matchup.

Given that both teams finished 5-7 in the first year under their respective new head coach, this was expected to be a rather fair matchup. Now, perhaps not so much.

Nico is officially a Bruin! Welcome to Westwood, @nico_iamaleava8! #DoMore #DRE pic.twitter.com/75gv4nkCUK

— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) April 20, 2025

UCLA announced on Sunday that it has added former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a name you probably know quite well.

Iamaleava, who led the Volunteers to a College Football Playoff appearance last season, held out from spring practice when he and the program hadn't reached an agreement on what his camp was reportedly hoping to be a $4 million deal.

The two parties would part ways, and now, Iamaleava will be playing under center for the Blue and Gold in 2025.

Iamaleava was ranked the No. 1 transfer in the portal, per 247Sports.

UCLA had previously been expected to start former Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar, who had transferred to the program this past winter. Instead, the Bruins will be starting one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. And seeing how things played out for Michigan State's secondary last season, there's reasons to be fearful of what Iamaleava could do at Spartan Stadium on Oct. 11.

The new UCLA quarterback was ranked the No. 3 player in the class of 2023, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. After seeing action in just five games, he would become Tennessee's full-time starter and recorded 2,616 passing yards and 19 passing touchdowns, along with 358 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns last season.

Iamaleava and the Volunteers would be bounced by the eventual national champion, Ohio State, in the first round of the College Football Playoff last year, the first year of the 12-team format.

Michigan State is 3-3 against UCLA all-time. With the Bruins now in the Big Ten, the two programs will obviously be seeing more of one another in the coming years. But with Iamaleava now a factor, their first showdown as conference opponents is already looking pretty good for UCLA.

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