UNLV Rebels Defensive Back Aamaris Brown Is Unimpressed With UCLA Quarterback Nico Iamaleava

The UNLV Rebels will host the UCLA Bruins at Allegiant Stadium in their third game of the season. UNLV is coming off a convincing win over the Sam Houston Bearkats, while UCLA was dismantled by the Utah Utes. This is a huge game for two teams that desperately need to win this game. UCLA simply can't afford a loss to a G5 team from the Mountain West Conference, while the Rebels need this win against a Power 4 team for credibility and to establish themselves as a potential College Football Playoff team.

During the offseason, the Bruins brought in polarizing quarterback Nico Iamaleava. He has become a lightning rod for controversy since transferring from the Tennessee Volunteers to UCLA after an NIL dispute.

There is no doubt that the quarterback has been heavily questioned as both an on-field and off-field competitor. On Monday, UNLV star defensive back Aamaris Brown was asked about playing against Iamaleava, and he did not hold back with his opinion on the embattled quarterback. Rebels head coach Dan Mullen gave a much more diplomatic response when speaking about this week's opposing quarterback.

Needless to say, when you listen to either of them talk about him, they do not appear to have any fear in going up against him or the Bruins as a whole. It sounds like the Rebs are confident and ready to go out and get a big win in Week 2.

UNLV Rebels Defensive Back Aamaris Brown On UCLA Bruins Quarterback Nico Iamaleava

"Honestly, nothing really sticks out to me about him [on tape]," Brown said. "You know in the past there's been talk about 'five-star this, five-star that.' I have been around plenty of five-star and four-star [players], it don't scare me. I have played competition higher than them, including Alabama and all that. ... Going against a guy like Nico, there's no surprise, no excitement or nothing like that."

UNLV Head Coach Dan Mullen On Iamaleava

"Watching the film, you see the talent that he has. The performance in the end, statistically in the end, probably wasn't the game he wanted to play, but you can certainly see his talent on film. ... I think [Nico] is going to come out fired up and ready to put on a show and rebound from his performance. He is an extremely talented player."

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