Ryan Day shares glowing remark about UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava

Ryan Day has some familiarity with the UCLA quarterback, see what he had to say about Iamaleava.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day walks the sideline during the NCAA football game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. on Nov. 8, 2025. Ohio State won 34-10. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ohio State now sits at a perfect 9-0 on the season and is ranked No. 1 in the CFP, but they still have some tests to finish the regular season. “The Game” is the obvious one on November 29th, but this Saturday, the Buckeyes host the UCLA Bruins in their first matchup as Big Ten opponents. 

UCLA has had a rough go of it this season, though in the offseason, they brought in highly touted transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee.

Ryan Day has had his experiences with Iamaleava, as he beat Iamaleava’s Volunteers in the first round of the playoff last season. The Buckeyes held Tennessee to just 17 points in a 42-17 routing, limiting Iamaleava to just 104 passing yards, while he did score on the ground twice. 

Day was asked what he thought of the UCLA quarterback:

"He's a tough player," Day said. "He's a competitor, man. I've got a lot of respect for him as a player."

While Iamaleava’s season did not start pretty, as the Bruins lost the first four games of the season and fired their head coach, he had a breakout game vs Penn State. Accounting for 294 yards and five touchdowns to take down the Nittany Lions in an upset of the then 7th-ranked team. 

Riding that win, UCLA won the next two vs Michigan State and Maryland, where Iamaleava passed for four touchdowns. 

The Bruins came back down to earth with a big loss to Indiana by 50 points, then a close loss to Nebraska by a touchdown.

Now Iamaleava will have to face off against a defense he might be familiar with from last year, but even better now. Ohio State leads the country in least amount of points per game allowed (7.2) and least amount of yards per game allowed (211.6). Ohio State is second in least amount of passing yards allowed (128.7), and only one quarterback all year has passed for over 200 yards against OSU. 

Ohio State will have to be ready for Iamaleava’s rushing ability, as he has rushed for over 470 yards on 4.9 yards per carry and four touchdowns this year. Last week vs Nebraska, he impressively rushed for 86 yards on 15 carries.

The matchup will give the lockdown defense for Ohio State another chance to flex its muscles and continue on an undefeated season.

 The Bruins and Buckeyes face off this Saturday in Columbus at 7:30 pm on NBC.