As poet laureate Nick Saban put it a year ago today regarding the NIL era of college football, “If you don’t pay the right guys, you’ll be shit out of luck.”
UCLA looks to be shit out of luck. And Tennessee looks to be shit in luck.
It traces to the adventures of Nico Iamaleava. He wanted more from Tennessee than Tennessee wanted to pay. So Tennessee turned its back on Nico. Who transferred to UCLA. Which opened the door for UCLA quarterback Joey Aguilar to transfer to Tennessee.
Both quarterbacks debuted with their new teams on Saturday. It did not go well for UCLA.
Via Paolo Ugetti of ESPN.com, Iamaleava struggled in a 43-10 blowout loss to Utah. In a UCLA home game at the iconic Rose Bowl.
“We got punched in the mouth,” Iamaleava said after the game.
For the game, he completed 11 of 22 passes for 136 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also led the team in rushing with 47 yards.
“Nico is a competitor,” coach Deshaun Foster said after the game. “He’s not gonna quit. He kept playing hard. We just gotta do a better job protecting him, keeping him upright.”
Meanwhile, Tennessee and Aguilar thumped Syracuse, 45-26. Aguilar completed 16 of 28 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns. His 34 yards rushing were fourth on the team. That only makes things worse for Iamaleava and UCLA.
“We take this as a learning experience,” Iamaleava said. “We’re gonna face many more tough opponents, and we gotta be ready.”
If not ready, willing, and able, UCLA could have the kind of season that could wash Foster out of Pasadena — and that could put Iamaleava back in the portal.