Joey Aguilar leaves, Madden Iamaleava returns to quarterback line

Joey Aguilar is headed to Tennessee. Madden Iamaleava is circling back to Westwood. And in the span of a day, the trajectory of UCLA football’s quarterback room has been completely rewritten.

ESPN’s Chris Low announced Monday afternoon that Aguilar, the redshirt senior who transferred to UCLA from Appalachian State in late December, plans to transfer to Tennessee – less than four months after taking first-team reps as the Bruins’ starting quarterback.

Just about an hour later, Low reported that Madden Iamaleava – newly-arrived five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s younger brother – informed his now-former Arkansas coaches that he is heading to UCLA to reunite with his brother in Westwood.

The back-to-back moves cap a 26-hour sequence for UCLA and Tennessee, which have effectively swapped quarterbacks. Aguilar’s departure comes a day after the Bruins officially acquired Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee, landing the program’s highest-rated quarterback in the history of 247Sports rankings. The No. 2 overall player in the class of 2023 is expected to take the reins under center for coach DeShaun Foster.

Aguilar’s move to Tennessee offers the Volunteers a seasoned, dual-threat signal-caller who gathered 3,003 yards through the air and 23 touchdowns in 2024, completing passes at a 63.7% completion rate.

While Aguilar quickly established himself as UCLA’s field general through the first nine practices of the team’s spring camp, the arrival of Iamaleava – widely pegged as a future Heisman candidate by ESPN – sealed the quarterback’s competition.

With a year of collegiate eligibility remaining, Aguilar opted to take his experience elsewhere rather than settle for a backup spot behind Nico Iamaleava and redshirt sophomore Luke Duncan.

Meanwhile, Madden Iamaleava, who flipped his commitment from UCLA to Arkansas on signing day Dec. 4, is leaving Fayetteville before ever taking a snap in the cardinal and white.

The incoming freshman led Warren High School to an 11-2 record and the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division 3 semifinals. According to 247Sports’ recruiting analyst Greb Biggins, Madden Iamaleava has long had a strong arm, but he recently made noticeable progress in his pocket poise and ability to extend plays under pressure.

A four-star prospect out of high school, Madden Iamaleava’s move will reunite the Iamaleava brothers after the two last played together in high school in 2022.