How Does Expected Addition of Iamaleava Impact Bruins' QB Aguilar?

The UCLA Bruins are expected to land the top player in the transfer portal in former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a massive move for the freshman star who held out from the Volunteer program, asking for a larger NIL contract, something that did not pan out.

With Iamaleava set to join the Bruins, questions began to arise about the expected future of current Bruins starting quarterback and former Appalachian State senior quarterback Joey Aguilar. How does Iamaleava's addition impact the future of Aguilar in Westwood?

ESPN senior writer Chris Low reported that with Iamaleava making the switch to Westwood, Aguilar's camp has been making calls to other schools looking to "gauge interest". It is somewhat expected for Aguilar to seek another location if he is no longer scheduled to be the starting quarterback.

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.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) April 16, 2025

Assuming that Iamaleava will be the Bruins' starting quarterback in 2025, that leaves Aguilar with a $1- million NIL deal as a backup quarterback, something he certainly was not planning on this season. If he were to decide to transfer, it would be difficult to fault Aguilar for making that tough decision.

That is what the transfer portal world has gotten us to. A guy works his butt off to earn a transfer to one of the marquee schools, and immediately has his starting spot snatched from underneath him just months away from Week 1. You have to feel for Aguilar, who may not be a Bruin in a few weeks.

Aguilar made his transfer commitment to UCLA back in December. He had been taking first-team reps with the Bruins offense for the entirety of spring practice and was being talked about as the No. 1 guy for head coach DeShaun Foster. The depth chart may look much different now.

In his senior season with the Mountaineers, Aguilar tossed for 3,003 yards on 55.9% completion with 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. His numbers motivated Bruin fans to believe he was going to make a sizeable impact in his final year of eligibility.

The Bruins are in a tough spot. They likely did not shell out close to the $4-million package that Iamaleava was requesting from Tennessee, but they would be paying several millions of dollars to a pair of starting quarterbacks. It almost forces Aguilar out of town unless a quarterback battle is had.

From the sheer talent that Iamaleava brings, it can be projected that he will be the Week 1 starter against Utah. With the shenanigans that he has pulled over the past few weeks, Foster would hopefully be open to giving Aguilar a starting shot if he were to stay with UCLA.

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