This offseason, Nico Iamaleava had one of the most public departures in the transfer portal history leaving Tennessee. After a reported disagreement about his NIL value, Iamaleava left Tennessee and Josh Heupel's explosive offense in favor of the UCLA Bruins moving back to California. It isn't revisionist history to say that in the moment almost everyone knew that Iamaleava and his family made a massive mistake.
While there have been countless reports about the NIL disagreement, Iamaleava's camp has maintained that they thought UCLA and moving away from Josh Heupel's offense was better for his development. The first three games of the 2025 College Football season have proven that if they truly believed that, it's an even worse decision.
Three weeks into Nico Iamaleava's time at UCLA and the Bruins are 0-3 and look like they may go the entire season without winning a game. Things have gotten so bad for the Bruins that they fired Head Coach DeShaun Foster as the administration has already moved on. When Iamaleava picked UCLA everyone acknowledged that it was a massive gamble and it now looks like a serious career setback.
What does DeShaun Foster's firing mean for Nico Iamaleava?
The coach that brought Nico Iamaleava to UCLA is now gone and you have to wonder what is going to end up happening to the former 5-star recruit. This season is already lost while the future is now more up in the air than it ever has been. The firing of Foster could mean several different outcomes for Nico Iamaleava.
Nico Iamaleava lets the season play out
Given that Nico Iamaleava redshirted as a true freshman, he really receives no benefit from sitting out the rest of the season even if he plans to transfer. This season, Iamaleava has passed for just 608 yards and 3 touchdowns with 3 interceptions and it's clear that he needs more reps so sitting out the rest of the season wouldn't make any sense.
Even if it's too early, Iamaleava leaves school for the Draft
After the season, if UCLA continues to struggle, in a sense it could make sense for Iamaleava to enter the NFL Draft anyway. If there's still a chance after this season that Iamaleava is picked, getting onto a NFL roster and developing as a backup could have it's upsides especially given what options may be available at the College level.
Once again, Nico Iamaleava transfers
Given that UCLA may undergo a ton of turnover, Nico Iamaleava could look at the roster around him and the new coaching staff and determine that UCLA may not be best for his development. It wouldn't be the most surprising to see Nico Iamaleava move to a Group of 5 school where he can play for a team better fit to compete in their conference which will atleast allow him a fighting chance for most of the season.
Nico Iamaleava stays through the rebuild
The option that will have to play itself out is that Nico Iamaleava could stick it out opting to stay with UCLA even if this roster gets blown up. Iamaleava may be the most talented quarterback the new head coach could land and if he's an offensive minded head coach it could end up being best for his development. If the Bruins finally go all in on football like every other Big Ten program, he could be in a much better situation.
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