DeShaun Foster provides perspective on why Nico Iamaleava transferred to UCLA

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava has found himself in one of the offseason’s biggest NIL stories, leaving the Tennessee Volunteers over a dispute. After entering the Transfer Portal and getting recruited by several marquee programs, he landed with the UCLA Bruins.

NIL opportunities seemed to matter for Iamaleava. However, for UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster, there are more reasons than that for him to come to the Bruins, like being closer to home.

“The player that wanted to come home and be closer to his family,” DeShaun Foster said. “So, I think the family played a big role in being able to come back to California. I think that played a big role too.”

Coming out of high school in the Class of 2023 as a five-star recruit, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He played his high school football at Warren in Long Beach, making Southern California his home, but instead in a highly publicized high school recruitment, he landed at Tennessee with a massive NIL deal. There, he’d develop as a freshman before becoming the starter as a sophomore and leading the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff in 2024.

Iamaleava and Tennessee’s relationship broke down when there were reports that he was looking for a pay increase off of his previous NIL deal valued between $2.2 to $2.5 million annually. Just a couple days later, the two sides moved on from one another.

Despite that, Foster sees those reasons beyond NIL for Iamaleava to come to UCLA. Being closer to home and family is certainly one of those reasons. Highlighting that is Madden Iamaleava, who was previously with Arkansas, making the decision to transfer and landed at UCLA too.

Nico Iamaleava threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns last season. That was with just five interceptions. He also rushed for 358 yards and three more scores.

DeShaun Foster on adding Nico Iamaleava: ‘Something we couldn’t pass up’

For many teams, it can be difficult to add a quarterback in the Spring. However, for DeShaun Foster, the opportunity to add Nico Iamaleava was one he couldn’t pass up.

“Being able to bring in the No. 1 player in the portal is just something that we couldn’t pass up,” Foster said. “A good quarterback. A local kid. A lot of the kids on the team know him, have played with him. So we’re just excited to get him out here once he finishes at Tennessee. Get out here and be around our team.”