UCLA's Transfer Portal Recruiting Backfires in Week One

The season has finally kicked off, as the UCLA Bruins had the chance to show their first glimpses of all of the new toys that they added to their team, especially on the offensive side. The Bruins have been able to add many different players in the transfer portal, which has shown signs of improvement; however, in their game against Utah, that didn't show as heavily as they had hoped.

UCLA was throttled in its opener against the Utah Utes, as the Utes walked away with what would become a big win for them in the season opener.

The game took place at UCLA's home stadium, which was very key to any successful recruiting tactics that they had, and the home-field advantage seemed to be real at first, as everyone was in attendance to see who they believed could be the biggest addition that they had made.

That player is Nico Iamaleava.

Iamaleava joined the UCLA Bruins in the spring portal following a transfer announcement that was made right before the Tennessee Volunteer spring game, which shocked everyone and made headlines as there was many reports indicating that they were attempting to make things work, but officially couldn't make things work as by the hour, it seemed that it was getting worse for the volunteers when it came to keeping him. He was the starting quarterback last season, which was huge for them; however, losing him didn't stop them from going to making an addition.

UCLA's Transfer Portal Recruiting Backfires in Week One

Aug 30, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joey Aguilar (6) celebrates with the old leather helmet after a victory against the Syracuse Orange at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The addition that they made was a quarterback, who transferred away from the UCLA Bruins in the original transfer portal edition for them, Joey Aguilar, who made headlines in his very first game as he performed better than the Bruins quarterback did which had many questioning whether or not this situation backfired instead of doing well for the Bruins as they may have over recruited in the situation, despite at me and very early on as Aguilar seemed to be the more comfortable prospect as well as the more accurate prospect as it showed time and time again that he was uncomfortable under pressure, which is something that we seen at Tennessee last season.

Aug 30, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster following the loss against the Utah Utes at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Bruins and the volunteers have a long season ahead of them as they continue to show hope for carrying out a successful season in the end, however this will be something that will be monitored heavily as the two quarterbacks remain to try and impress the fans of their respective program when at this point, it seems as only Aguilar has been able to do so.

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