DeShaun Foster 'excited to have a playoff quarterback' in Nico Iamaleava at UCLA
Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava transferred to the Bruins from Tennessee following spring practices in April.
Second-year UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster discussed Iamaleava at Big Ten media days.
"The arm strength is just something you see, off just from watching him play at all,' Foster said. 'He's just a talent, and it's not anything I saw him do last season, it's more of what I had seen him do all the way up. Him being a local quarterback, I had seen him play a few times, and he's played with a lot of players that are on our team, so there is a lot familiarly there and we're just excited to have a playoff quarterback.
"Somebody that was able to lead his team to a playoff, they may have not have gotten the outcome they wanted, but he was still able to play and showed how tough he was in that game. Just being able to come back home and be comfortable, and be in a familiar environment, I think the sky is the limit."
The 6-foot-6, 215-pound signal-caller appeared in 18 games at Tennessee from 2023-24. He completed 241-of-379 passing attempts for 2,930 yards, 21 touchdowns and five interceptions. Iamaleava also recorded 435 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 129 attempts at Tennessee.
He is from Long Beach, California.
PHOTOS: Tennessee starting quarterbacks through the years
More: Nico Iamaleava's UCLA football jersey number announced
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