For anyone who has followed the Nico Iamaleava saga since things started to go sour last week between the five-star quarterback and Tennessee, it’s been impossible to avoid a strong opinion in support of or against the situation.

It ranges from labeling Iamaleava and his family greedy to some backlash (but not a lot) in the direction of Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel to the forever ongoing sky-is-falling argument about name, image and likeness money impacting college athletics. Many are pointing at a reported drop in pricetag and how Iamaleava overplayed his hand (for the record, the speculated figures would still be a nice amount of money for anyone still in college).

It’s like trying to avoid a gambling company advertisement during a break in your favorite podcast — impossible to do.

Now, after Wednesday’s reports that the former Downey (Calif.) Warren standout is heading back to Southern California to play for UCLA, the spotlight turns squarely to head coach DeShaun Foster and how he plans to avoid something similar happening in Westwood.

Here’s an idea: Maybe let it play out? Are there questions, absolutely — and some valid ones — but many people can’t help but already have it all figured out as far as how this will shake out for the Bruins. The beauty is that nobody knows, and it could go a number of different directions. Call it a gamble, but those have the potential to pay off, too.

The timing couldn’t be anymore buzzworthy, either, as the program is now just a day away from hosting hundreds of recruits among the many who will flock to Drake Stadium for the Friday Night Lights spring practice that already had a circus-like atmosphere last year. Throw in the Nico Mania chatter, and the frenzy should be palpable walking around campus in the lead up to the event.

Binoculars will be out — this reporter already brings his to every practice — and it will be a game of “Where’s Nico Iamaleava Waldo?” among the sea of recruits throughout the evening, trying to spot whether he’s in attendance as the Bruins take the field for practice No. 9. of spring camp.

Oh, yeah, there’s an actual practice happening in the middle of it all.

Foster is scheduled to address the media roughly an hour before practice at 6:05 p.m. in the team auditorium at the Wasserman Football Center. On average, five media outlets — the only ones who regularly cover the team on the ground, in person, day to day — show up for a typical UCLA football press conference. That doesn’t include TV stations that mostly pick and choose when to show, and on most days do not. Anywhere from five to eight individual reporters are regularly in attendance.

I’ll go out on a limb and say things will be a bit more stuffy, with many more bodies and cameras crowding around the lectern when it comes time for Foster to make his opening statement. The first question will almost surely be about newly presumed QB1, whether directly or indirectly.

We’ll see if any attempts go anywhere with Foster, who was actually first pressed about Iamaleava earlier this week by former UCLA men’s basketball player Matt Barnes — the co-host of the popular “All The Smoke” podcast that is scheduled to be on-site Friday as the official pre-show host at 6 p.m.

Here’s what Barnes pitched to Foster, who only chuckled and did not otherwise comment on the matter (beginning at the 38:10 mark):

“There’s a kid out there, Nico — I don’t want to butcher his last name — but he goes to Tennessee,” started Barnes. “I heard he left Tennessee, I know he’s from SoCal. I know you may not be able to talk about recruits and names, but every time I’ve seen anybody post on Nico, I’ve been putting UCLA football.

“Bruh, you might as well come on home, man. Aye, bring your brother with you, bring Pops, bring the whole family, man. Westwood is a beautiful place, man, with a lot of perks, and we’ll take care of you.”

And the subplot of Iamaleava’s younger brother, Madden, is what makes the yet-to-be-announced move all the more juicy.

Madden Iamaleava, of course, famously flipped his commitment of more than six months on the first day of the early-signing period. Their father, Nic, told Greg Biggins of 247 Sports at the time that the flip to Arkansas — sight unseen — occurred because the family was uncertain whether then-offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy would still be at UCLA for a second season.

Just a day later, Yahoo Sports senior college football reporter Ross Dellenger reported that the Bruins were indeed moving on from Bieniemy. Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney then had a source confirm that the change at offensive coordinator was at the heart of Madden Iamaleava’s decision.

That very same day, ESPN reported that Foster already had a deal in place to name then-Indiana co-coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri the next play-caller at UCLA.

Only now yesterday, as steam began to pick up for Nico Iamaleava’s return to the West Coast, On3 Sports college sports business and transfer portal reporter Pete Nakos used the term “blindsided” in a social media post when describing UCLA’s side of the Madden Iamaleava flip. After all, it was Nakos who originally broke the news last Thursday of Nico Iamaleava’s active NIL contract negotiations with Tennessee — which was vehemently denied on social media by Nic Iamaleava — and followed by the holdout at practice a day later that got the situation to this point.

Fair or not, some of the general public watching it all unfold in real time is painting a picture of LaVar Ball 2.0. (For what it’s worth, Lonzo Ball seemed to do just fine at UCLA through that all.)

All caught up? Good.

So, factoring in all of that, theories have since been flying and sides have been taken before anything has been officially announced by UCLA. At the center of all the questions and reservations is why would the Bruins, with Appalachian State transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar in the middle of a competition to be the presumed starter in 2025, want to do the dance all over again with Iamaleava’s family?

But if anyone has been paying attention to Foster’s well-known thoughts whenever asked about the transfer portal and NIL in college athletics, he’s been consistent in saying that athletes, like coaches, should have the freedom to change schools and should be paid for their talent.

Most recently, when I specifically asked last Thursday about transfer portal needs and specific positions UCLA expects to target, Foster chose to keep the plans in-house.

“No, ’cause then you’re going to force my guys into the portal,” Foster told me.

Foster would only say that the program would have to “re-assess” any portal needs once players start entering the portal.

But he also noted that during his NFL playing career, not a year went by that another running back was drafted by his employer throughout his seven years in the league. Foster said competition is a healthy thing for his players to embrace.

“I think that the depth and competition makes everybody play better and you need competition,” Foster continued. “One thing that I learned is, you know when I was in the NFL they drafted a running back every year I was there. So, it didn’t matter if we had a good year, went to the Super Bowl, played — they still drafted a running back, so it was always going to be competition.”

With seven quarterbacks in spring camp and the transfer portal now open for business for athletes to enter until next Friday, it’s hard to imagine a situation where everyone stays put in Westwood.

If anyone understands the “nature of the business,” as he put it last December on signing day about reloading a roster year after year, it would be Foster. Part of that business is how to handle relationships, and it looks like UCLA is more than comfortable enough to put any feelings aside — whichever speculation you choose to believe — and do business once more to get Nico Iamaleava to return home and continue his collegiate career in a Bruins uniform.

And hey, who’s to say little brother doesn’t keep a close eye on how things play out. It is the era of perpetual player movement, right?

If there’s one thing Foster can’t be mad about is how UCLA is suddenly a program that people will be talking about for months going into the 2025 college football season.

The Bruins actually went through something similar on a far less national scale, though not entirely an apples to apples situation, right around this exact time last year. It was then when defensive tackle Jay Toia briefly left during spring camp, entered the portal and visited Texas.

Foster never flinched, never showed animosity for Toia “seeing what’s out there.” Toia would eventually return before the end of camp from what he called a “four-day vacation,” and UCLA went on to produce a formidable defense once more in 2024. It was never a season-long headline — it didn’t even last a week in the news cycle.

The situation now, of course, is different in a major way. Iamaleava, unlike Toia, is not a returning teammate who everyone in the locker room already knows. There will surely be questions for Foster about whether the temperature of his players needs to be monitored throughout the year.

But it’s the type of move that has the potential to pay off in a major way. Foster’s introductory press conference last February should be a reminder of his ultimate vision for the alma mater he proudly represents.

“We’re gonna get this Rose Bowl back to how it needs to be,” an emotional Foster said. “This isn’t a part-time school. We win banners in every sport. We can do it. I just got to get football back.

“It’s gonna take the fans coming out, the donor support. I need the ex-players to come back. I need everybody.”

Added UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond during his opening statement that day: “He’s seen what UCLA looks like when the Rose Bowl is roaring.”

Only time will tell how much of a hot ticket the Bruins become for a program that has struggled in that department in recent years.

More importantly, the Bruins will have to prove that improvements are coming along the offensive line and it can keep Iamaleava upright. Sunseri, someone who gained a reputation the last four seasons between James Madison and Indiana for quarterback efficiency, will have his biggest talent since his days as a graduate assistant at Alabama with Mac Jones — only this time, he has all the responsibility. A balance in the run game still has to be established, too, after abysmal production in 2024.

The pressure to navigate it all without incident is on the first moment Iamaleava steps on the practice field, but it’s better than being an afterthought if you’re UCLA.