Nico Iamaleava will have option to enter transfer portal during season after UCLA coach’s firing
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UCLA officially announced the firing of head coach Deshaun Foster on Sunday morning, and while in the past that would have prompted most people to begin speculating who the next man in charge could be, the modern era of college football brings with it something that makes this move all the more intriguing.
Due to the NCAA’s policy that an athlete can enter the transfer portal within a 30-day period after a coach is fired, every single UCLA football player now has the option to enter the portal.
And of course, that includes quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who is already more than familiar with the act of transferring after he departed Tennessee back in the spring.
It remains to be seen how many Bruin players enter the portal, with Iamaleava likely being the biggest name that could come from the program. Some teams that discovered they have quarterback concerns through 3 weeks of action could contact the UCLA signal-caller to be a mid-season fix, although there is also much to be said about the difficulties of pulling something like that off.
Luckily for the Bruins, they have a bye week to figure a lot of things out before they travel to face Northwestern on Sept. 27.
Foster’s firing occurred following a 35-10 loss to New Mexico on Friday night that dropped the team to a disappointing 0-3 in his second season in charge.
Current sports editor with the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. 2024 graduate from Mizzou and college athletics enthusiast.
