LOS ANGELES — Nico Iamaleava’s first season in Westwood has been one to write home about, regardless of the results.
Whether the script trails on about his losing record – UCLA has a 3-7 record before facing Washington on Saturday – or remembers his dual-threat ability that places him in the upper echelon of FBS quarterbacks in 2025, that is up to the author.
Four games into the 2025 season, Iamaleava’s decision to leave Tennessee in April to return home and play at UCLA appeared to be a moment to forget for the former Warren High signal caller, who became more well known for his reported name, image and likeness controversies than leading the Volunteers to last season’s College Football Playoff as a redshirt freshman.
Reality, however, has turned Iamaleava into a serious prospect after a lackluster start that saw UCLA falter against the likes of Utah, UNLV and New Mexico. Under pressure as the Bruins have conceded an average of 2.2 sacks per game, the 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore has accrued more than 1,500 passing yards and has run the ball more than 75 times for more than 4.5 yards per carry.
That makes him one of 14 players in the country to have secured those results. Iamaleava is one of two quarterbacks – Taylen Green of Arkansas being the other – to have done so while being on a team with a losing record.
On the periphery, his numbers aren’t all that eye-catching. Iamaleava has tallied 1,659 passing yards and 12 touchdowns while tossing seven interceptions. On the ground, he’s shown his agility with 474 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He’s responsible for all but four UCLA touchdowns.
“I’ll say this – you know, you see quarterbacks that can run and everything like that, and they’re usually thicker, muscled-up guys?” UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper said recently. “Nico’s the first like tall, skinny dude that I know that will lower the pads on you and is not afraid.”
Skipper continued: “He’s going to always be going forward and getting yards and things like that. He’s got little legs and skinny arms, but has no fear at all.”
Much of Iamaleava’s game has been unlocked after UCLA’s loss to Northwestern, which dropped the Bruins to 0-4 He spent much of the fall and early season – after arriving in Westwood after spring camp – being coached by former UCLA offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri and former UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster.
Across four games with Sunseri calling Xs and Os – before he mutually departed UCLA, leaving play-calling duties to former tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel – Iamaleava threw for 788 passing yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions, while the Bruins averaged just 14.5 points per game.
Across the next two games with Neuheisel coaching him behind center, Iamaleava took down No. 7 Penn State and Michigan State with a spotless five touchdowns and zero interceptions, recording a 163.7 quarterback rating – a reminder of the talent that sparked his run as the No. 1 recruit in the country exiting high school in 2023, according to On3.
Since Neuheisel took over the headset from Sunseri, UCLA has averaged 25.7 points in games in which Iamaleava has played. Disregarding the Bruins’ first four games along with UCLA’s loss at No. 1 Ohio State last week, in which backup quarterback Luke Duncan started as Iamaleava dealt with concussion-like symptoms, the Iamaleava-Neuheisel combination would be tied for 77th in the nation in scoring offense; comfortably middle of the pack.
UCLA, instead, sits in 119th, averaging 19.4 points per game.
“How do you classify QBs – dual threat, right?” redshirt junior tight end Jack Pederson said. “Everyone says dual threat, but yeah, (Iamaleava is) a great competitor, great leader, great teammate. Again, I couldn’t say enough great things about him.”
That dual-threat stamp is what truly differentiates Iamaleava at UCLA compared to Iamaleava at Tennessee. His numbers are similar, as he completed 63.8% of his passes a year ago, compared to 63.7% for the Bruins in 2025. Yes, Iamaleava’s interception numbers have spiked, from a 1.5% interception percentage to a 2.7% mark, but his rushing numbers have nearly doubled.
Iamaleava averages 4.9 yards per attempt for 474 total yards in 2025, while last year at Tennessee – in four more games so far – he tallied 358 rushing yards on 3.3 yards per carry. That’s a difference between 27.5 rushing yards per game last season and 52.7 rushing yards per game as a Bruin.
The hits, however, have caught up with the Bruin behind center in recent weeks. After sitting out against Ohio State, he has practiced this week ahead of the Washington game Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.
Pedersen joked that Neuheisel has probably “gotten on him” for Iamaleava’s avoidance of sliding, instead weathering hits for extra yards after contact. But that’s what Iamaleava has proved he is through his first – and potentially only – year in Westwood.
“I kid with him all the time, ‘Hey, every now and then, you might want to slide a little bit,’” Skipper said. “But you know, when you have a natural runner like he is, you kind of just let them go do their thing.”
College Football Playoff berths aren’t on the table – UCLA is more than squarely out of the picture – but Iamaleava is always ready to go the extra yard.
His NFL draft grade, on the other hand, is a question still awaiting to be answered as the season’s end looms and football pundits examine Iamaleava’s decision between college and the pros alongside UCLA’s up-and-down year that the Bruins’ quarterback has almost single-handedly kept afloat.