Iamaleava Laying Foundation for UCLA's Future

The Bruins' addition of the hometown star is setting a precedent for the program's future.

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) walks off the field after the win over Kentucky after an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the college football season approaches, the buzz around UCLA and star quarterback Nico Iamaleava is growing louder.

But Iamaleava's impact won't last just one season; he's laying the foundation for plenty of elite recruits to come.

On Monday's airing of College Football Live on ESPN, Sam Acho discussed what Iamaleava's move to the Bruins means for the program in the future.

"It's a perfect move. Not just for Nico, but for UCLA," Acho said. "Nico Iamaleava is from LA. So that's home for him. All of a sudden, you get a premier recruit like Nico, who has the arm talent that can match anyone else in the entire college football landscape. Players start to watch. LA natives start to watch. High school recruits start to watch.

Jul 24, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

"And, no, you may not have a 10-win UCLA team this year because of one player, but you start to build something now. You start to say, 'OK, as a recruit, I can win there. As a LA native, I can go there.' And UCLA starts to become relevant again, unlike they were last season."

Bruins Need Improvement Beyond Iamaleava

Greg McElroy, college football insider for ESPN and host of the Always College Football show, still thinks UCLA needs to improve beyond just adding Iamaleava:

"If you look at last year, first six games? Not good at all. Last six games? There was a lot of growth on, really, kind of, both sides of the ball. You pick off three wins against bowl teams in Rutgers, Nebraska, and Iowa. You narrowly (lose) against USC. There’s a lot of things to kind of like about what could be heading for UCLA.

"New offensive coordinator in Tino Sunseri. I absolutely love this hire. I love that they went out and got Nico Iamaleava. Nico Iamaleava obviously did an amazing job at times last year for Tennessee, but there are also a lot of things that he missed. He’s got to take a big step this year because the supporting cast is one that I’m not super familiar with – a lot of new faces, a lot of new pieces. And then, defensively, lose some of their best players from a year ago.

"The schedule is also a beast – Penn State, at Ohio State, at USC, Utah in the non-conference, Nebraska, Washington, at Indiana. The schedule is really, really difficult,” said McElroy. “And don’t lose sight of the game aton September 6th. That could be a much tougher game than people probably want to point to right now.”

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