When UCLA returns to the field Tuesday for the 10th practice of spring camp, there will be a new order in quarterback repetitions.
Joey Aguilar, who transferred from Appalachian State over the winter after he was granted an extra year of eligibility as a former JUCO product, decided Monday to re-enter the transfer portal, according to Rivals.
Aguilar’s decision comes one day after the Bruins officially signed ex-Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The transfer is expected to be processed later in the day.
The Bruins spent the first nine of 15 spring practices grooming Aguilar, who handled first-team reps, to be the starter after Ethan Garbers exhausted his eligibility last season.
Aguilar arrived in Westwood with 6,760 yards passing and 56 touchdowns over the last two seasons, and he was granted the extra year thanks to the Diego Pavia ruling for athletes who retained eligibility from a previous JUCO stop.
Bruins second-year head coach DeShaun Foster said last Friday, before the team’s most recent practice, that Aguilar was coming along in first-year offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri’s system as the cloud of Iamaleava’s expected transfer loomed.
“We talk to Joey, just like every other quarterback that’s in that room, and discuss what’s going on — or, what’s not going on — and how he’s practicing and everything,” Foster said. “I like where Joey’s at right now and hopefully he can keep progressing as spring goes.”
Earlier in camp, Sunseri applauded Aguilar for his ability “to understand information.”
“I think he’s a guy that can really be pushed,” Sunseri said at the end of the first week. “I’m somebody that, learning from Jimbo Fisher early on in my career, I have to be able to make sure that I’m out on this field being able to press him in all situations so that by the time he gets to be able to play in a game and being able to handle everything around him, their expectations in that stadium aren’t as high as mine are on this practice field.
“So, I think that he’s been able to take all that coaching, he’s learning each and every day.”
When Aguilar decided to transfer to UCLA in late December, he told Bruin Blitz that Sunseri’s success with quarterbacks at James Madison and Indiana played a big factor.
“My biggest key is development and what Tino has done with his QBs over the years really caught my eye,” Aguilar said.
The variables, however, changed for UCLA once Iamaleava unexpectedly became available following a messy split from Tennessee that stemmed from a name, image and likeness contract renegotiation April 10 that Tennessee decided not to entertain.
By last Wednesday, reports surfaced that Iamaleava’s next landing spot would be UCLA. When he was signed Sunday, the first marketing email for season tickets centered around Iamaleava and made it clear who QB1 will be when the season opens Aug. 30 against Utah at the Rose Bowl.
That led to questions about the future of Aguilar and potentially other quarterbacks on the Bruins’ roster.
Players have until Friday to decide if they plan to enter the portal, and UCLA will have two more practices before the deadline.
Last Monday, Foster said backup Luke Duncan had “been trying to trying to come on strong and there’s a real battle for that 1-2 spot.”
While he could not address Iamaleava’s addition at the time because it was not yet official, Foster said last Friday said that transfers brought in can sometimes be those who have a prior relationship with the program.
UCLA recruited both Iamaleava and younger brother Madden, who was committed to the Bruins’ 2025 class until a late flip at the start of the early-signing period last December.
“Mostly, kids that you end up bringing in, you might have a previous relationship with them and might have met them in some situation, or some way being in Southern Cal,” Foster said. “I know most of the kids that we’ve brought in are wired the right way and are the kind of kids that we want.”
