LOS ANGELES — Bob Chesney has his quarterback — and it’s time for round two of the Bruins’ star signal caller.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava announced Monday afternoon on Instagram that he’s returning to Westwood for a second season with the Bruins, a spark for newly introduced coach Bob Chesney’s early roster construction efforts.
“No place like home,” Iamaleava wrote. “Same vision. Same goals. Same grind. Locked in. Time to work!”
Iamaleava, the soon-to-be redshirt junior from Long Beach, spent the 2025 season as the Bruins’ starting quarterback after transferring in from Tennessee following a name, image and likeness saga that ended with the signal caller in Westwood rather than Rocky Top. Across 11 games, Iamaleava threw for 1,928 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a 64.4% completion percentage, a career-best mark.
Using his legs, his 6-foot-4 frame galloping across the Rose Bowl grass – and often avoiding sliding ahead of oncoming tacklers – the Warren High alumnus made a name for himself on the ground. Iamaleava recorded 505 rushing yards, for 4.5 yards per carry, and ended the season with four rushing touchdowns.
His best performance of the season arguably came in then-winless UCLA’s 42-37 upset against No. 7 Penn State, turning in a five-touchdown effort (three rushing, two passing) with 166 passing yards and 128 rushing yards. After his efforts, Iamaleava claimed the Maxwell Award Player of the Week, Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week and Walter Camp National FBS Offensive Player of the Week.
Iamaleava will be playing for his third head coach and in his third offense in a calendar year in Westwood with Chesney’s entrance into the equation. Chesney has run a dual-threat offensive operation across his 16-year head coaching career, most recently helping James Madison quarterback Alonza Barnett III tally more than 2,500 passing yards and 500-plus rushing yards for the Dukes in 2025.
The former No. 1 recruit in the country, according to On3, will now get his fresh start – and a chance to improve his 2027 NFL Draft stock – in his redshirt junior campaign in blue and gold.
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