UCLA Bruins coach Bob Chesney, while evaluating his star quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, now requires a specific kind of mental exercise: remembering just how difficult the kid is to actually tackle.
Following a recent spring session, Chesney didn’t just praise Iamaleava’s arm talent; he highlighted a fundamental shift in the quarterback’s comfort level and play style.
Bob Chesney Raves About UCLA Quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s Spring Progress
Chesney appeared before the media on Saturday and reflected on spring ball updates.
He said, “I thought Nico did a good job. I mean, it’s interesting because you’re not live. So we all, I mean, I’ve gone back and watched a lot of his plays from Tennessee to last year.”
Chesney also said this makes evaluating Iamaleava a bit tricky. Iamaleava’s greatest gift isn’t just the structure of the play; it’s what happens when the structure fails.
While his escapability is his calling card, the visible shift Chesney referred to this spring is Iamaleava’s willingness to win from within the pocket. This spring, however, Iamaleava is showing a newfound patience.
Chesney continued, “The thing he does the best is just create when things are not open downfield. And we all know that he’s a hard kid to bring down. So I thought today to stay in the pocket and deliver some passes, especially in some tight quarters, I was really excited to see him do that.”
It hasn’t been a perfect spring, nor should it be. Iamaleava is currently working through a mixing phase where he isn’t just throwing to the top-tier starters. He’s being asked to build chemistry with the entire depth chart.
“He’s got a couple different mixes in there,” Chesney said. “I thought one or two of them today, he put in good places and another one he kind of went a little wide with. But it’s all part of the growing process and the timing.”
The takeaway from Chesney is clear: Iamaleava is no longer just a talented kid with a big arm. He is becoming a deliberate, lively, and free leader who knows when to use his legs to create and when to use his arm to strike. Iamaleava’s rise as a complete quarterback would definitely add to UCLA’s chances to make the College Football Playoff, which stands at 0.8%, per PFSN’s CFB Playoff Meter.
As Chesney put it, the Bruins are focused on finding the right matchups and letting their guys compete. With a quarterback who is notoriously hard to bring down, the margin for error for opposing defenses just got a whole lot thinner.
