Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been drawing comparisons from UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster, who sees similarities between his new leader and a former National Football League teammate. Through three weeks of training camp, Foster has taken note of Iamaleava’s leadership qualities.
“He’s just a leader,” Foster said to Ashley Adamson and Yogi Roth during B1G Network’s behind-the-scenes look at UCLA’s training camp. “I’ve been around Julius Peppers, and he’s 6-7, but you can tell he might not want to be that size. But he just has a personality and people just gravitate to him and Nico is the same way. (…) He just gets his team ready to go. You can see he’s inserting his leadership each day. That last practice, he was chirping up the defense a little bit. It was fun just to see his personality come out. He’s a competitor and I just can’t wait to see him in live action.” The full statement was made by Foster.
Iamaleava is one of the most discussed figures heading into the 2025 college football season. His transition to UCLA after a notable name, image, and likeness deal at Tennessee places added attention on his first game against Utah on Aug. 30.
Joe Rexrode of The Athletic included Iamaleava among the “20 most interesting college football people” for the upcoming season alongside Arch Manning, Bill Belichick, and Jon Gruden. Rexrode wrote about why Iamaleava stands out this year: “He’s been one of the most-watched players in the sport since the groundbreaking NIL deal that brought him to Tennessee. His first full season on the field was pretty good, not great, but then he didn’t have much great around him either. So whether Iamaleava’s camp was complaining more about a pay raise or about offensive roster support after the season, they handled things terribly, and he ended up in a worse situation. Of course, if his loss proves UCLA’s gain and he can give a jolt of life to a sluggish program while looking more like the NFL prospect he’s supposed to be, Iamaleavawill have Vol Twitter reeling.” This statement was provided by Rexrode.
As UCLA enters its second season in the Big Ten Conference under Foster’s leadership, attention remains focused on how Iamaleava will perform as both player and leader.
