To amplify things, Iamaleava joins a revamped UCLA culture under DeShaun Foster ahead of their second season in the Big Ten Conference. Foster finished his debut coaching season with a 5-7 record but has since changed the trajectory of the program in his first full offseason, conjuring up UCLA's best recruiting class in over a decade.

UCLA head coach Deshaun Foster doesn't quite understand some of the drama surrounding quarterback Nico Iamaleava's departure from the Tennessee Vols earlier this spring. Specifically, Foster doesn't understand why folks are making noise about the NIL aspect of Iamaleava's departure from Tennessee.

Nico Iamaleava has had an interesting offseason so far. The quarterback transferred from Tennessee to UCLA and is now gearing up for his first season with the Bruins.

Iamaleava sat out portions of Tennessee’s spring practices amid reports that he was looking to redo his name, image and likeness deal with the school. His father disputed the idea that Iamaleava was looking for more money and the QB entered the transfer portal on April 12.

What exactly went down between Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee is unknown, but the new UCLA quarterback is adamant that the alleged NIL standoff did not result lead to his transfer portal decision. The former five-star signed what was believed to be the first multi-million NIL deal for a high-school prospect when coming out of Downey,