LOS ANGELES — UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava participated in drills Tuesday morning, a potential sign of the Bruins’ redshirt sophomore’s status ahead of the Bruins’ home finale Saturday.
Iamaleava, who missed UCLA’s 48-10 defeat to No. 1 Ohio State over the weekend with concussion-like symptoms, took reps during the individual drills during the 40-minute media-watching period alongside backup quarterback Luke Duncan, who started against the Buckeyes.
UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper said Monday that Iamaleava, along with redshirt senior offensive linemen Garrett DiGiorgio and Reuben Unije, were working in the training room before the team decided on their statuses for Tuesday’s practice. All three Bruins practiced on the intramural fields – where UCLA practiced Tuesday due to preservation of Spaulding Field and player safety after the weekend’s storms caused saturation, per a UCLA football spokesperson – as preparation for Washington (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) got underway.
Skipper said Monday that it was still day-to-day on who would be practicing as the starter and taking first-team reps during the week and that he wasn’t going to make any decisions as to whether Duncan would install more plays into his repertoire until the team’s injury situation was clearer.
“If (Luke) has to go, it’s fine with me,” Skipper said, “we’ll roll with it.”
Redshirt junior tight end Jack Pedersen, on Tuesday, had a first-hand view of Iamaleava’s return to practice.
“Obviously, whatever happened, happened last week (with Iamaleava),” Pedersen said. “And, you know, I think we had a great day of practice out there, out on the IM fields. So it was, it was awesome.”
Saturday was the first game Iamaleava had missed all season as UCLA (3-7, 3-4) dropped its third consecutive game for the first time since the Bruins lost four straight to begin the season, a run that saw the hierarchy of the team’s coaching staff dramatically shift.
Skipper said whether UCLA was playing No. 1 Ohio State or No. 2 Indiana, games against top-ranked foes provided a learning experience to see how the programs setting the standard in the nation approach games week to week.
“You’re always going to learn from those experiences – they’re ranked that way for a reason,” Skipper said. “They’re machines. Just the way they operate, how they don’t have a ton of penalties, how they are always gaining positive yards, never going backward, all these things that you could just learn that all the coaches around the country are preaching.”
There are just two more chances for UCLA to end the season on a positive note, including the looming reality that Saturday could be the Bruins’ last home football game at the Rose Bowl.
For redshirt senior defensive lineman Keanu Williams, it’s a full-circle ending to his collegiate career, which began at Oregon in 2021 before spending his final three seasons in Westwood from 2023 to 2025. As for whether he had any advice for his freshman self?
“Just hang in there,” he said. “It gets better. It starts off hard, but don’t give up; don’t throw in the towel. Just keep your mindset the same. Just keep pushing.”