DeShaun Foster explains what he told QB Joey Aguilar when UCLA decided to add former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava as a transfer
UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster spoke to the media on Tuesday for the first time since the Bruins landed former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava as a transfer addition. The topic of Iamaleava, unsurprisingly, dominated the media session, with most questions from reporters centering around the former Tennessee quarterback. At one point, Foster was asked […]
UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster spoke to the media on Tuesday for the first time since the Bruins landed former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava as a transfer addition.
The topic of Iamaleava, unsurprisingly, dominated the media session, with most questions from reporters centering around the former Tennessee quarterback.
At one point, Foster was asked about the various narratives surrounding Iamaleava's departure from Tennessee (one narrative is that it was about wanting more NIL money, while another narrative is that the breakup with the Vols was because of UT's offense).
"A player that wanted to come home and be closer to his family," said Foster when asked what he thinks Iamaleava was looking for. "I think the family played a big role. And being able to come back to California, I think that played a big role, too."
"The hardest part about it was the time frame," added Foster. "Once he got in the portal, then it started. It was just him getting to the portal and then now we can talk about if he wants to be a Bruin or not. It's just a hard thing, in this portal thing, some things are kind of done before hand, but this wasn't one of those."
The addition of Nico Iamaleava pushed Joey Aguilar out the door at UCLA
Shortly after Iamaleava committed to UCLA, Bruins quarterback Joey Aguilar, who joined the program earlier this offseason after transferring from Appalachian State, entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Aguilar, who was reportedly having a good spring for the Bruins, was expected to serve as UCLA's starting quarterback in 2025.
In a bizarre twist, Aguilar is now reportedly heading to Tennessee to join Josh Heupel's program, essentially replacing Iamaleava on UT's roster.
Foster was asked on Tuesday about his conversation with Aguilar after the program decided take Iamaleava as a transfer.
"When I was in the NFL, they drafted a running back every year," said Foster. "This is a competition sport. And we had an opportunity to bring in the No. 1 player in the portal. So that was something that we had to do. We're just looking forward to all the players that want to be here and want to be Bruins and just moving on."
"As soon as we knew what it was (with Nico), I was able to communicate with him (Aguilar) with what was going on," continued Foster. "He said he was going to go back and talk with his family and he made his decision….If he wanted to stay and compete that was fine."
Aguilar is expected to compete with redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre for the starting job at Tennessee this fall.
ESPN insider pushes back on narrative about the Tennessee Vols’ offense and the NFL
So much for that narrative
