Bob Chesney has high praise for his quarterback Nico Iamaleava

The success of the 2026 UCLA Bruins will depend largely on how much Bob Chesney and the UCLA coaching staff can get out of Nico Iamaleava. Iamaleava had some strong flashes in his first year with UCLA but the quarterback will have to show more consistency with an elevated talent level around him this season.

Chesney isn’t afraid to shower his new quarterback with compliments. UCLA’s new head coach appeared on the Jim Rome Show to discuss his 6’6” former five-star recruit quarterback. Chesney brought up the fact that last year was far from a normal offseason for Iamaleava.

“He’s a leader. I look back a lot of times about what these guys just went through. Nico did not show up here until halfway through the summer, maybe more than that,” Chesney said of Iamaleava. “He got started and within the first three weeks of the season, the offensive coordinator was gone, the head coach was gone, the quarterbacks coach was gone.”

That can’t be easy for any quarterback, especially one facing a lot of pressure after a messy exit from an SEC program. Iamaleava still posted 1,928 passing yards, 505 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns over 11 games.

“To be able to keep it together speaks volumes of his leadership and just his mental toughness,” Chesney said. “He loves this game though. He is passionate about this game, his mouth doesn’t stop running when he makes a play against the defense, they don’t stop yelling back at him. It’s just a fun environment.”

If Iamaleava and the UCLA offense can take a step, it’ll make the Bruins a whole lot more watchable than how the team was during their 3-9 campaign in 2025.