The Bruins are not in the 5-and-7 business.
They’re in the win-now business, win-at-all-costs business, win because even in Los Angeles, there isn’t quite enough room in the city for two great college football teams.
UCLA’s football team – yes, the one that sputtered to a 5-7 record last year – pulled off the coup of the spring by enticing the No. 1 player currently available in the transfer portal, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, to Westwood.
DeShaun Foster, the Bruins’ second-year head coach, looked at the pack of reporters before Tuesday’s practice and offered a smile.
“You want to play big-time ball. You want to have haters. You want all this stuff,” Foster said. “I have a quarterback situation that’s going to pan out for us. This is good buzz for us.”
UCLA’s newest quarterback was not present during the team’s 10th spring practice Tuesday; Foster said he expects Iamaleava to join the team this summer.
The Bruins are changing with the times. The NIL, transfer portal, contracts for amateur athletes … love it or hate it, this is the brand new world of college athletics.
UCLA refuses to sit on the sidelines.
“You’re learning on the run,” Foster said. “It’s like an avalanche. It’s going downhill and picking up steam as it goes.”
This avalanche comes in the frame of a 6-foot-6, 220-pound, 20-year-old dual-threat quarterback with a rocket arm and big-play instincts.
Iamaleava, a Long Beach native who starred at Warren High, led Tennessee to its first College Football Playoff appearance in 2024 by throwing for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for another 364 yards and three scores. He was the first freshman in Tennessee history to win 10 games in one year, and he was the first Volunteer quarterback to rack up 10 wins in a season since Casey Clausen – the former football head coach at Calabasas and Alemany High and current associate head coach at Westlake – notched double-digit victories in 2003.
The transfer’s younger brother, Madden Iamaleava, officially transferred to UCLA on Monday. Madden Iamaleava, who played at Long Beach Poly, was originally a UCLA commit who reneged for Arkansas on signing day. He spent half the spring with the Razorbacks before jumping back into UCLA’s boat earlier this week.
The flurry of quarterback movement could impact future recruits at the position, notably Newbury Park High superstar Brady Smigiel.
Smigiel, only a junior, decommitted from Florida State in December; UCLA is among the new teams he has been considering. His high school teammate and childhood friend Shane Rosenthal, statistically one of the most prolific prep receivers in California history, committed to UCLA in January.
Foster would not elaborate on the younger Iamaleava, but he raved about his big brother.
“Being able to bring in the No. 1 player in the portal is something we couldn’t pass up,” Foster said of Nico Iamaleava. “He’s a good quarterback, a local kid. A lot of kids on the team know him and have played with him. We’re just excited to get him out here. …
“He was a player who wanted to come home and be closer to his family. Family played a big role in him coming back to California. … He wants to be a Bruin. He wants to be here.”
Joey Aguilar was projected to be UCLA’s projected starter before the frenetic game of musical chairs cranked up the volume to Spinal Tap decibels. Aguilar, who starred last fall for Appalachian State and was in a Bruin uniform during the Friday Night Lights event at Drake Stadium last week, is bound for Tennessee in an unofficial swap.
UCLA quarterbacks Robert McDaniel, Colton Gumino, Nick Billoups, Dermaricus Davis and Luke Duncan participated in drills Tuesday. Quarterback Henry Hasselbeck, whose grandfather died last week, was not present during the team’s 10th practice.
“It’s pretty cool that these other guys are going to be able to get some more reps so we can really see who can get out there and potentially compete for a starting position,” Foster said of the quarterbacks.
The word of the day was competition.
“When I was in the NFL, they drafted a running back every year. This is a competition sport,” Foster said. “Every year I was here (at UCLA) as a running back, they recruited more running backs to come here. This is a competition sport for coaches, players, everybody. You just gotta want to get out there and compete.”
The Bruins want to leave 5-7 in the rearview mirror forever, but they are still taking a measured approach.
They know they can’t conquer the NCAA in one day.
“We still got this 10th practice. I’m excited to see my team get out there and practice and get going because we still have to improve,” Foster said. “We have six more practices. These guys are chomping at the bit to continue to improve and get better.”