UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava trashed by college football analyst over 'absurd' transfer portal decision

Nico Iamaleava's UCLA Bruins journey is already off to a rough start, even if he hasn't played a snap yet.

Over the last several days, several college football pundits have taken a stance one way or another on Iamaleava, but the response has been mostly negative toward the quarterback.

College football analyst David Pollack offered another layer of criticism during a recent edition of "See Ball Get Ball."

"UCLA, as far as Nico is concerned, how does that help him?" Pollack said. "He's getting a pay cut. He's not getting paid what he was, and it costs three times as much to live where he's going to live. So, it's just mismanagement. It's malpractice. There's nothing good about it for Nico."

Iamaleava appears to disagree with his critics, writing a heartfelt social media post shortly after the official signing.

"My journey at UT has come to an end," Iamaleava wrote this past Sunday. "This decision was incredibly difficult, and truthfully, not something I expected to make this soon. But I trust God’s timing, and I believe He’s leading me where I need to be."

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It's unclear whether the Iamaleava will work out, but it's apparent that the mixed signals regarding whether he made the best decision are a bigger deal than whether he will turn the Bruins into a winner.

With April winding down, there are still plenty of unanswered questions about whether success will come immediately. If it does, it'll be a risky assessment worth taking. If not, it may go down as one of the biggest mistakes in recent college football history.

By the time August rolls around, Iamaleava is going to have a chance to prove himself by backing up his word. Whether he will is the question the community will be eagerly awaiting.