UCLA Head Coach Speaks On Nico Iamaleava Commitment, Departure of Joey Aguilar

UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster speaks on Nico Iamaleava leaving Tennessee.

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

UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster speaks on Nico Iamaleava leaving Tennessee.

It was announced last week that it was very likely that Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava was going to transfer to UCLA, but nothing had been made official. On Sunday, Iamaleava's move to the West Coast was made official.

On top of that, UCLA quarterback Joey Aguilar is now set to transfer to Tennessee after entering the portal. The first trade in college football ever.

Now that the dust has somewhat settled, UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster spoke to the media about Iamaleava's commitment to the Bruins. One of the questions he was asked was what he felt Iamaleava was looking for in the portal with reports coming out that the decision was centered around money.

"A play that wanted to come home and be closer to his family," Foster said. "I think the family played a big role and being able to come back to California, I think played a big role too."

Foster also spoke on the transition of events of Iamaleava committing and Aguilar then entering the portal.

"When I was in the NFL, they drafted a running back every year," Foster said. "This is a competition sport and we had the opportunity to bring in the No. 1 player in the portal so that was something that we had to do. So we are looking forward to all of the players that want to be here and want to be Bruins and we will keep growing and keep going."

Foster was then asked what his conversations with Aguilar were like leading into his decision to leave the program.

"As soon as we knew what it was, we promised him that we would communicate what was going on and he said he was going to go back and talk to his family. And that was his decision."

Foster also made it known that Aguilar was given the option to stay and compete with Iamaleava for the starting job. He also noted that the program did not need Aguilar's NIL money in order to land the former Tennessee quarterback.

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