UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster says former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava reminds him of a Hall of Famer that wasn’t a quarterback
UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster has only had Nico Iamaleava on his roster for a few months, but he’s already seen enough from the former Tennessee Vols quarterback to compare him to a Pro Football Hall of Famer. While appearing on the Big 10 Network, Foster said that Iamaleava’s personality reminds him of Hall […]
UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster has only had Nico Iamaleava on his roster for a few months, but he’s already seen enough from the former Tennessee Vols quarterback to compare him to a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
While appearing on the Big 10 Network, Foster said that Iamaleava’s personality reminds him of Hall of Fame defensive lineman Julius Peppers.
Foster and Peppers were teammates with the Carolina Panthers from 2002 to 2007.
“He’s just a leader,” said Foster of Iamaleava. “I’ve been around Julius Peppers, and he’s not somebody that — he’s 6-foot-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’s the same way. He just gets his team ready to go, gets the offense [ready]. You can see he’s inserting his leadership — each day it’s coming. And now, that last practice, he was chirping at the defense a little bit. It was fun, just to see his personality come out. But he’s a competitor, and I just can’t wait to see him in live action.”
Iamaleava’s departure from Tennessee was controversial due to its timing and reports suggesting his camp wanted to increase his NIL earnings.
While the attention around the former five-star recruit’s offseason move is understandable, at the end of the day, Iamaleava just has to go play football now. A fresh start may be the best thing that’s ever happened to the obviously talented signal-caller.
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