LOS ANGELES — The first look at the UCLA football team during its preseason training camp began with the optimism that Coach Bob Chesney said himself is the same positive reaction “every coach in America” has after day one.
“You’re excited to be back out here playing the game we love to play with the guys we love doing it with,” Chesney said. “We were focused not only on fundamentals but a little bit of scheme, a little bit of situation, and procedural discipline is something that we are constantly talking about. How much do I love being coached and accept that coaching to make myself get better?”
UCLA has roughly a month to go before its Sept. 5 season opener against Cal in Berkeley.
UCLA will hold practice for the next two days at its Wasserman Football Center in Westwood before hosting a practice at Great Park in Irvine on Tuesday (Aug. 11).
“I want to try and get away from here for a minute,” Chesney said. “Just feel for what it feels like to be on the road. It has a little bit of a bowl game vibe to it, and it’s important to practice that. At the same time, I want to use it as our way to come together.”
Chesney believes practicing in Irvine, switching environments and putting his team in game situations is one of the ways his team’s grit will be tested before heading north for the season opener.
“Pay no attention to adversity that hasn’t been tested in fire,” Chesney said. “What we have to do is put them in situations where they’ve been tested in fire and know how they are going to react when the moment is on the line. That’s the most important thing we can do and that’s what the purpose of this camp is about.”
Chesney sees plenty of upside in projected starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The redshirt junior passed for 1,928 yards and 13 touchdowns with seven interceptions last season, when the Bruins dealt with former coach DeShaun Foster being fired following an 0-3 start.
Iamaleava led UCLA to an upset of then-No. 7 Penn State under interim coach Tim Skipper before Chesney was hired last December after compiling a 21-6 record in two seasons at James Madison.
Chesney will look to utilize Iamaleava’s athleticism to fuel the spread option offense instituted by offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy, who was hired after working in tandem with Chesney at James Madison. The scheme works to Iamaleava’s dual-threat strengths, after he led UCLA with 505 rushing yards and four touchdown runs last season.
Chesney commended Iamaleava’s preparation and understanding of the offense on Thursday.
“Nico’s just a lot more comfortable,” Chesney said. “He’s a lot more comfortable in his leadership, a lot more comfortable in his mastery of the playbook. He’s continued to grow day in and day out.”
Chesney didn’t note any standouts from the first day, but he said there was more continuity now that the NCAA eliminated the spring transfer portal that had led to more roster turnover between spring practices and fall training camp.
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“Going from spring and this is the added benefit of not having that spring portal is you’re not replacing guys and counting on a bunch of guys to learn it all,” Chesney said. “We were able to do some things decently well at a high level because of the fact that we stuck together.”