PASADENA — Tino Sunseri jogged to the right of Nico Iamaleava, up and down Spieker Field at the Rose Bowl, as the Bruins’ new redshirt sophomore quarterback practiced in his new home confines hours before his UCLA debut.
Barking orders like a drill sergeant, Sunseri — 36, muscles puffing through his black Bruins’ training gear ahead of his first game as UCLA offensive coordinator — took his quarterback aside for a quick chat, a sliver of quiet amid Sunseri’s shouts of direction.
Iamaleava had just overshot Titus Mokiao-Atimalala on an out route, missing his teammate by a few feet to his left. Iamaleava slowly removed his helmet, holding it by its cage at his hip, pushing his chin into his chest. The former Warren High star’s Los Angeles homecoming featured moments of refocus and retread — much like his pregame sulk about a missed pass — over what-could-have-been moments in UCLA’s 43-10 loss to Utah on Saturday night.
“We got punched in the mouth, man,” said Iamaleava, who recorded a forgettable 136 passing yards on 11-of-22 passing, tossing a touchdown and an interception.
He continued: “Coach Tino put me in a lot of great positions to go out there and make plays. And me, personally, I didn’t execute at a high level.”
Tennessee was watching. By morning, fans of his former program, which he led to the College Football Playoff, flooded social media with pre-determined prerogatives on Iamaleava’s performance — slighting his long-discussed transfer saga over name, image and likeness, that ended with the 6-foot-6 signal caller escaping Rocky Top for Westwood.
College football analysts played the comparison game; Joey Aguilar, who transferred from UCLA to Tennessee — departing the Bruins in the spring as Iamaleava arrived — lived up to his billing, tossing 247 passing yards and three touchdowns in the No. 24 Volunteers’ 45-26 victory over Syracuse.
Iamaleava and Aguilar never shared a quarterback’s room — but by happenstance, they will appear in the same television segments, articles and soundbites for years to come.
As recently as April, Sunseri, Indiana’s former co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, was building a scheme that would play to Aguilar’s strengths — potentially more of a pass-based approach to fit the former Appalachian State quarterback’s skill set — and adjusted once UCLA secured Iamaleava’s transfer.
UCLA had all of fall camp to prepare its offense — leaving Westwood for Costa Mesa for two and a half weeks. Head coach DeShaun Foster kept a veil of secrecy over the offense as well, restricting media access to what reporters could watch in preparation for Week 1 action.
“You guys film our practice and put it online,” Foster said Aug. 20. “If I was an opponent for another team, I’d look right at your guys’ stuff and see what’s going on.”
Utah didn’t appear to need a sneak peek to know how to stymie Sunseri’s offense on Saturday. Outside of Iamaleava, who evaded pocket pressure for 47 rushing yards on 13 carries, three Bruins running backs combined for 37 rushing yards on 15 carries (2.4 yards per attempt).
Junior Jaivian “The Jet” Thomas, a transfer from California, did not have his long-awaited takeoff — after leading the Golden Bears in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns last year — and stumbled to 17 rushing yards on seven carries.
Redshirt senior Jalen Berger earned the first reps at running back, starting Saturday’s game, and never gained traction against Utah’s defensive front (which recorded 5.0 tackles for loss), ending the night with eight yards on five carries.
It took Iamaleava until the third quarter to connect with Kwazi Gilmer (three receptions for 31 yards). Mikey Matthews only had two receptions, both in the first drive — a drive that ended on the Utah 38-yard line when Iamaleava missed the Cal transfer in tight coverage for a turnover on downs.
“I think the first drive, second drive and third drive, man, we all had, you know, plenty of opportunities to put it in the end zone,” Iamaleava said. “We went down early (20-0), man, so we got to, we got to pick our defense up and respond well as a unit.”
If there was one time UCLA did respond, Sunseri would look to Utah transfer running back Anthony Woods. Woods caught the Bruins’ only touchdown of the game on a 19-yard pass — a wheel route where the redshirt junior flexed his speed that was on display when he was the star tailback at Idaho in 2023.
But even then, Woods was a highlight in a sea of first-game offensive despair. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry — on three carries — and weaved his way to 33 yards after completion (as a part of his 48 receiving yards for three receptions).
UCLA could have bounced back from a 23-7 halftime deficit, battled for a touchdown when the Bruins received to start the second half, and kept the game at a one-score length. Instead, it was a long wait for the clock to hit zero, holding the ball for just 8:43 across the final four drives — and just a Mateen Bhaghani field goal to show for it.
As Iamaleava said, the Bruins began their season with a punch to the face. It’s now up to Sunseri and Foster if their team will send an uppercut back.
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