This post was updated Aug. 28 at 7:28 p.m.

As UCLA football gears up for its second year under coach DeShaun Foster and second season in the Big Ten, Daily Bruin Sports will preview the personnel of each of the Bruins’ position groups and predict their 2025 outlook prior to the season’s official start. Sports editor Connor Dullinger continues the series with a dive into the squad’s quarterbacks.

Personnel

A quarterback is like the engine of a car.

They supply the life force to a team – their efficiency and power determine how fast and far the squad moves.

A quarterback’s playmakers are the wheels that keep the car moving, and the offensive linemen are the brake and steering wheel that guide the signal caller in the right direction, protecting them from potential collisions.

But just like a car, no matter the strength of your brakes or the performance of your tires, a team cannot operate without its engine. And for the last two seasons, the Bruins’ engines have lacked diesel, causing the squad to continually sputter and struggle to find a rhythm.

But after a trip to the body shop, UCLA football may have found its V8 engine in the transfer portal.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava became the highest-ranked quarterback in program history when he announced his commitment to UCLA in late April. The former five-star recruit sports pro-level traits that UCLA has not seen since the likes of Josh Rosen.

With a 6-foot-6 frame, Iamaleava blends an agile lower half that can take the edge on scrambles and QB runs with a tall and powerful upper body that lets him see over the offensive line and down the field, cannoning the ball downfield to prevent defenses from stacking the box.

Despite all of these intangibles, Iamaleava’s 2,616 passing yards ranked eighth in the SEC, and his 19 passing touchdowns were seventh. Additionally, he boasted just 201.2 yards per game – significantly lower than former Bruin quarterback Ethan Garbers’ 247.9 last season.

That is not to say that Iamaleava’s redshirt freshman year was unimpressive. In fact, Iamaleava was the first freshman Volunteer to lead the program to 10 victories in a season. He was also one of two freshmen to take their team to the College Football Playoff, joining Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt.

Iamaleava arrives at Westwood with two things the Bruins lacked last year: ball security and rushing upside.

The Long Beach, California, local boasted 19 passing touchdowns to just five interceptions through 13 games, while Garbers’ 11 interceptions tied for the most in the Big Ten last season.

Iamaleava also rushed for 358 yards and three touchdowns, including two against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal. In contrast, Garbers ran for a measly 136 yards – at 1.6 yards per carry – and just one score.

Iamaleava’s presence not only gave the Bruins an upgrade under the hood of the car but also added a little more horsepower. Joining Nico Iamaleava was his brother and freshman signal-caller Madden Iamaleava.

Madden Iamaleava – a four-star recruit – was committed to the Bruins before switching to Arkansas on signing day, and was practicing for the Razorbacks until Nico Iamaleava joined the Bruins.

UCLA got its quarterback for 2025 as well as its man under center for the future.

Predictions

It is hard to imagine that UCLA’s offense fails to improve under Nico Iamaleava’s leadership.

Particularly with first-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri providing the oil that lubricates the entire system, allowing the gears to turn and the gas to flow.

When it comes to developing quarterbacks, Sunseri is the Rolls-Royce of coaches, utilizing prestige and longevity to create his brand.

The former signal-caller himself – who ranked second in total offense in program history at Pittsburgh – started as a graduate assistant at Alabama, working primarily with the quarterbacks and aiding the development of NFL quarterbacks Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa.

He then grew Cole Johnson into the CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year at James Madison in 2021. Sunseri followed that act up with Todd Centeio – the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 – and Jordan McCloud, Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2023.

Sunseri then took his talents to Bloomington, where he helped guide former Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke to ninth in the Heisman rankings and elevated Indiana’s offensive yardage output by over 100 yards from 2023 to 2024.

And Nico Iamaleava may be the highest-ranked recruit with the most pro-level attributes – barring Jones and Tagovailoa – that Sunseri has ever worked with.

Simply put, Sunseri’s lengthy resume, coupled with Nico Iamaleava’s SEC and CFP experience, should take the Bruins miles past Garbers and former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s efforts from 2024.

Nico Iamaleava has the size, speed and ball knowledge to tackle most offensive schemes and pick apart opposing defenses, allowing Sunseri to conjure up whatever his imagination desires. The most important aspect of Nico Iamaleava’s offensive repertoire, however, may be his arm strength.

He ranked second in the SEC and tied for 10th nationally in passes of 50-plus yards with a tally of six. Comparatively, Garbers threw three 50-plus passes in his four-year tenure in Westwood. Nico Iamaleava generates genuine downfield threats that should prevent linebackers and the secondary from stacking the box and crowding the line of scrimmage.

And with the rest of the defense respecting Nico Iamaleava’s deep ball, UCLA’s running game should be primed to flourish without the threat of seven or eight defenders anticipating the run – a common occurrence last season when the Bruins struggled to move the ball in the air.

Fans may underestimate Nico Iamaleava after a “disappointing” season at Tennessee, but with a new environment and a quarterback coach prodigy behind the wheel, Nico Iamaleava should keep the Bruins on pace with the rest of the Big Ten.