Unexpected variables called for unexpected changes to UCLA’s stable of quarterbacks, head coach DeShaun Foster said before Tuesday morning’s practice.

And the official signing over the weekend of Tennessee transfer Nico Iamaleava called for a revision to the Bruins’ media availability schedule.

In his first press conference since Sunday’s news, Foster said the program “couldn’t pass up” the opportunity to add the top available player in the transfer portal.

“A good quarterback, a local kid. A lot of the kids on the team know him, they’ve played with him. So, you know, we’re just excited to get him out here once he finishes at Tennessee, and get out here and be on our team,” said Foster, who was originally scheduled to address the media Thursday.

The casualty of doing business was the loss of Appalachian State transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar, who coincidentally landed with Tennessee.

Aguilar originally committed to the Bruins in late December, but Iamaleava did not leave the Volunteers until a report from On3 Sports about a dispute in his name, image and likeness contract on April 10.

UCLA was then initially linked to Iamaleava last Wednesday, first by radio host Colin Cowherd and then soon after in a report by The Athletic.

Foster said Aguilar was offered the opportunity to stay and compete for the starting job.

“As soon as we knew what it was, I was able to communicate with (Aguilar) on what was going on and he said he’s gonna go back and talk to his family, and he made his decision,” Foster said.

“If he wanted to stay and compete that was fine.”

Foster added that Iamaleava is still finishing out the semester at Tennessee and will arrive in Westwood in time for summer workouts prior to fall camp.

The chatter surrounding Iamaleava’s exit from Knoxville, depending on which report one chooses to believe, centered around either NIL money and family influence or the offensive scheme.

Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel told local reporters at the program’s spring game April 12 that “there’s nobody bigger than the ‘Power T.’”

Foster, though, said the program’s prior relationship with Iamaleava during his recruitment, as well as younger brother Madden’s, factored into the vetting process.

Madden Iamaleava — who left Arkansas for the transfer portal Monday and soon committed to join the Bruins — was originally committed to UCLA’s 2025 signing class before a last-minute flip on the first day of the early-signing period last December.

Foster was unable to comment on Madden Iamaleava, per NCAA rules, because, unlike Nico, there has not been an official announcement of a signing.

Foster, though, said that the relationship with the family did not require mending any fences. Instead, he saw a Long Beach native who was interested in returning home to Southern California.

The most difficult part of the process, Foster said, was simply the timeframe.

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

“Polynesian kid so, you know, respectful kid just coming from that culture. A competitor, somebody that wants to play football and wants to compete. So, we’re just excited to get him here. A lot of these kids that we have on this team played with him at some level or knows him, so there’s a lot of familiarity.”

Foster offered little on the specifics about Iamaleava’s NIL situation, other than saying “he accepted our contract and he wants to be a Bruin.“

“He could’ve got — well, I’m not even going to speak on it, but I don’t think the money played a role, in somebody staying or going,” Foster said.

The portal will remain open until Friday. Contrary to a previous erroneous report, freshman early-enrollee quarterback Robert McDaniel was at practice Tuesday and has not publicly announced any transfer plans.

The social media post from Bruin Report Online regarding McDaniel’s status has since been deleted.

Aside from Aguilar’s departure, the lone quarterback not in attendance was Henry Hasselbeck. The rising redshirt freshman is currently with his family to mourn the loss of his grandfather, Don, who died last Monday.

On multiple occasions, Foster noted that college football is “a competition sport” as the program continues to navigate the portal and the potential of future additions and lost transfers.

“We had an opportunity to bring in the No. 1 player in the portal so that was something that we had to do,” Foster said. “We’re just looking forward to all the players that want to be here and want to be Bruins and just moving on and keep going.”

Foster also said he was secure enough with the Bruins’ culture to the point he did not see a need to gauge his players’ thoughts before signing Iamaleava.

“I think I have a pretty good feel of what the culture is down there with them,” Foster said. “So, I didn’t think I needed to really check in with them and see, but I mean, I would just go off what you guys saw on social media from our players.”

In the end, regardless of the numerous reports about what ultimately drove Iamaleava out of Tennessee, the Bruins were comfortable in their own fact-finding search, Foster said.

“You just have to go with your gut and with the people that you trust, you know?” Foster said. “You can’t go through — and, no offense to you guys — but you can’t just read everything on social media and come to a conclusion from that, you know? You have to do a little more homework, so I think we did a good job in vetting and figuring out what we wanted to do and we were able to execute, and now we’re here.”