Why Nico Iamaleava is so Important for Bob Chesney's UCLA

New UCLA head football coach Bob Chesney has brought in many new players as he tries to reset the Bruins' culture and re-establish the program as a legitimate competitor. As with any new coach in the current era of college sports, he's relying heavily on the transfer portal, with the third-most incoming transfers in the country.

However, his most important player is one of the few who decided to return from last season's roster: quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

.@UCLAFootball coach Bob Chesney talks about working with Nico Iamaleava, coaching in the Big Ten and more!

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Nico Iamaleava's First Season at UCLA

Iamaleava transferred to UCLA after a breakout season as the starter at Tennessee, helping the Volunteers reach the College Football Playoff. His departure caught most of the country by surprise and earned him a polarizing reputation. Yet, he is a Los Angeles-area native, so the return home couldn't have been entirely unexpected, except for the rapid success he had in his first season as a college starter.

During his time at Tennessee, Iamaleava put up 2,616 yards with 19 touchdown passes and just five interceptions and became an electric dual-threat player despite his tremendous size. Plenty of quarterbacks have struggled at 6-foot-6, and he looked like an outlier. Still, many believed he was a "system quarterback," and his first season at UCLA did little to dispel that notion.

ucla footbal — Nov 8, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) throws against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

He finished with under 2,000 yards and just 13 touchdown passes against seven interceptions. While the turnovers weren't a rampant issue, he did not live up to the immense expectations he set for himself at Tennessee.

Chesney's Plans to Help Iamaleava

Bob Chesney hopes to return Iamaleava to his redshirt-freshman self, and his track record bodes well for that to develop -- even though he's more of a defensive coach. Since making the jump from the FCS to the FBS and G5, James Madison has seen stellar play from its quarterbacks under both Chesney and his predecessor, Curt Cignetti.

Alonza Barnett III, Jordan McCloud, and Todd Centeio all threw for at least 2,500 yards, 20 touchdown passes, and no more than 10 interceptions, while having a similar dual-threat skill set. Cignetti's success even carried over to less-mobile quarterbacks in Kurtis Rourke and Fernando Mendoza at Indiana.

Nico Iamaleava is Chesney's starter at UCLA, even if it's out of necessity because of the lack of experience on the roster. He's had a better start to his career than all those other quarterbacks who played for Chesney and Cignetti, and, as this is Chesney's first Power Five shot without Cignetti, he's going to do whatever he can to help the junior succeed, especially because their fates in LA are now tied.

"We did a lot to protect him at this moment, and not only protect him, but we gave him some weapons on the outside," Chesney said at a recent donor event. "I think we did a really good job of bolstering our offensive line with players that have played in meaningful games across the board. I think that having a few more running backs, having a few different receivers, a couple of tight ends, kind of sets the stage where it doesn't have to be a one-man show.

When you're dropping back and taking a lot of heat, receivers aren't open, and you've got to run, that's a hard life to live. I think we'll be significantly better in that regard."

ucla football — Jan 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head football coach Bob Chesney is introduced during the basketball game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

That approach is apparent in the high school and transfer portal recruiting classes for UCLA. The Bruins added 14 offensive linemen and 13 pass-catchers this offseason, with the hope of putting a team around Iamaleava that would place him in a position to return to his successful form. As an experienced quarterback, he can help ease the transition to the new coaching staff, but if Chesney's plan for him doens't work, the Bruins could be looking at a messy situation behind center.

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