Sports

5-Star QB Bails On UCLA Visit After Seeing Madden Iamaleava Swindle Arkansas Out Of NIL Funds

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QB Madden Iamaleava drops back to throw

© JOE LUMAYA/SPECIAL TO THE STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK


Madden Iamaleava became the second family member to bail on an SEC school and bolt for Los Angeles this offseason. The signal caller is headed to UCLA after initially signing with Arkansas.

That move has had great impact on both programs. It sparked a series of domino effects that could alter the futures at each university.

Iamaleava originally committed to play for the Bruins as a high school passer. He then flipped late in the process to the Razorbacks, providing offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino with a four-star talent under center.

Spring practice reviews were all positive from Arkansas’s camp. The staff was then blindsided with the transfer decision.

That portal entry was directly linked to older brother, Nico, who spent the last two seasons at Tennessee. The elder Iamaleava fled Knoxville amid an NIL dispute and eventually landed at UCLA, where he took a pay cut.

Madden Iamaleava followed suit. Shortly after Nico’s move was made official, rumors of his younger brother’s imminent transfer to Los Angeles surfaced. Now, the Bruins are set to have the duo lead the offense for the foreseeable future.

Nico Iamaleava is entering his junior year. He’ll play at least one year as the starter – maybe two. Madden Iamaleava is a true freshman. Ideally, he’d redshirt this year and take over when his brother heads to the NFL. That could mean four-to-five years with an Iamaleava under center.

Nico’s transfer directly impacted the current QB room. Projected starter Joey Aguilar left the program, ironically landing at Tennessee in the first college football “trade.” Madden’s subsequent portal entry is now impacting the future.

5-star QB Brady Smigiel will NOT visit UCLA.

The high schooler was set to tour campus on Tuesday of this week. That is no longer the case.

Smigiel is a California native considered to be the fifth-best passer in the 2026 recruiting class. The Bruins have been high on his list alongside Michigan, South Carolina, and Washington.

Adam Gorney of Rivals suggests the addition of Madden Iamaleava played a role.

Iamaleava’s transfer is already making waves on the UCLA side. It’s also led to a major change at Arkansas.

Madden Iamaleava swindled the Razorbacks.

Athletic director Hunter Yurachek posted a message to social media detailing a new outlook on NIL dealings. He informed Arkansas’s collective of his support to “enforce their rights under any agreement violated by our student-athletes moving forward.”

He did not mention Iamaleava by name. Still, most assumed the statement was a direct response to the transfer decision. The message reads in a way that suggests Iamaleava committed, signed an NIL deal, took agreed upon payments, and bolted before ever playing a down.

As college football becomes professionalized, schools will continue taking measures to avoid getting burned. With little restriction in the transfer portal, we’re seeing issues like this arise more frequently.

A player can commit to a program in December, collect NIL cash, hit the portal in April, then sign an even larger deal with another school with no repercussion. In many cases, it seems the original university has no way of recouping cash already spent.

The concerns have led many in the media to call for federally regulated employment contracts that tie players to universities. Until then, schools will continue to add “buyout” clauses in their NIL agreements. Arkansas appears to be headed in that direction after being swindled by Madden Iamaleava.