How UCLA Rushing Attack Benefits Nico Iamaleava

The Bruins will rely on Nico Iamaleava for a myriad of things this year, from leading the team on and off the field and in the locker room to keeping himself healthy down the stretch of the season.

The biggest thing that will ensure Iamaleava can do what he needs to do is consistency, which has been one of his biggest focuses this offseason and will be a major thing to keep an eye on during fall training camp.

This makes sense, as last season the team could have been much better if he had played to the best of his ability every week instead of being volatile. Even if he still ends up struggling with inconsistency, the team will still be on track to do much better this season.

If Iamaleava's Inconsistency Persists...

The Bruins have been shifting a major part of their offensive identity to the rushing game, which is an incredibly smart move with Iamaleava playing at quarterback in mind, because UCLA can simply switch their game plan to running the ball more should Iamaleava struggle.

Some teams do not have the option to do this because their offensive lines may not be strong enough to give rushers good enough space to run, or because they do not have great rushers who can handle the high volume of reps and the toll it takes on their minds and bodies.

However, UCLA has been focusing really hard on building its offensive line, especially its rushing room, by bringing in Wayne Knight from James Madison University, along with coach Bob Chesney.

Knight is already supposed to be receiving a ton of carries, and Iamaleava will need to help ease the load no matter what, even if he does have a bad day every now and then, but with the safety net of Knight and the improved offensive line behind him, Iamaleava should be able to do much better than last year.

Iamaleava Benefits No Matter What

All of this assumes that Iamaleava still struggles with consistency even though he has been working specifically on being the same player from week to week on and off the field, which could happen, but will be much less probable than it was last season.

Therefore, if Iamaleava is able to be consistent, the team will improve vastly and play like they did when they shocked Penn State last year, and even if Iamaleava doesn't, he will have something to fall back on while getting back into the game.

Add us as a preferred source on Google