Ohio State Buckeyes HC Ryan Day tips his cap to UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava ahead of Saturday’s Big Ten matchup
The Buckeyes are going up against a quarterback who they’re quite familiar with.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a road win over the Purdue Boilermakers and will return home on Saturday for the second time this month. When they do, they’ll host the UCLA Bruins for the first time since the Bruins joined the Big Ten.
UCLA may be a 3-6 football team, but they aren’t one the Buckeyes can afford to overlook. The Bruins’ most impressive win this season came against Penn State — handing the Nittany Lions their second-to-last loss before the program decided to part ways with James Franklin. UCLA brings a balanced, if not particularly explosive, offense, along with a quarterback the Buckeyes are very familiar with.
Nico Iamaleava Returns to Columbus this weekend
Former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s offseason decision to transfer to UCLA was one of the more notable storylines of the summer. His final game with the Vols came in last season’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal, a 42-17 loss to Ohio State. Iamaleava’s legs were Tennessee’s biggest weapon that night, outside of a late garbage-time drive that saw Peyton Lewis get involved.
“I can tell you that he’s a tough player,” Ryan Day said of Iamaleava on Tuesday. “He played tough in the playoff game here, and I’m watching him the last few weeks — man, he’s physical. He runs hard, he takes some shots, and he keeps coming back. He’s a competitor, man. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a player. He’s got a strong arm and he’s been doing a lot for his team.”
In that playoff matchup against the Buckeyes, Iamaleava completed 14 of 31 passes for 104 yards. What stood out most, though, was that he carried the ball an eye-popping 20 times. Those runs resulted in just 47 rushing yards, but he showcased his toughness and competitive nature throughout the game. So far this season, Iamaleava has thrown for 12 touchdowns against seven interceptions while averaging 184 passing yards per game. As a dual-threat quarterback, he’s also added 474 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
“You watch him on the field and he’s a warrior,” Day added. “So we’ll take all of that into consideration and look at everything, but we know this is a tough challenge for our team — and it starts with him.”
Ohio State’s defense handled the dual-threat ability of Washington quarterback Demond Williams well earlier this season, and they’ll face a similar challenge against Iamaleava. With the way Day is approaching this matchup, expect the Buckeyes to put an emphasis on limiting the UCLA quarterback’s ability to make plays with his legs. The last time Iamaleava played under the lights in Ohio Stadium, things didn’t go his way — and the Buckeyes will look to make sure history repeats itself on Saturday night.
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