Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule leaves no doubt how he feels about former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava
Former Tennessee Vols QB Nico Iamaleava did all he could to lead UCLA to a come-from-behind win against Nebraska.
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava did all he could on Saturday night to lead the UCLA Bruins to a win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Pasadena.
Iamaleava completed 17 of 25 passes for 191 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, while also rushing for a team-high 86 yards in UCLA’s 28-21 loss to Nebraska.
UCLA fell to 3-6 on the season with the loss.
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule makes it clear how he feels about former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule opened his post-game press conference on Saturday night by praising Iamaleava’s performance.
“I thought number nine was fantastic and just an absolute warrior,” said Rhule of Iamaleava. “That first drive, we hit him so many times, I didn’t know how long he could do that. And he just did it all night. I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
Rhule’s positive comments about Iamaleava echo what he said about the former Tennessee quarterback earlier this week.
“He’s elite,” said Rhule when asked about Iamaleava last week. “He’s an excellent player. He obviously leads them in passing. He leads them in rushing. So it’s really the tale of two seasons. Take out the first part of the year right there, and they’re 3-2 in the Big 10, they’re 3-2 under Coach Skipper.
“In the Penn State game, he was their leading rusher. He willed them. And it was really not even designed runs — it was drop-back quarterback scrambles versus man. It wasn’t even undisciplined passing lanes — he’s just that athletic. They were running him on some designed quarterback runs earlier, [but] he started getting hit a lot. I’m sure coming off a bye, there will be some designed quarterback runs. And so I have the utmost respect for him as a player. His dad was here this summer at the Adidas seven-on-seven. Great guy to get to know. We recruited his younger brother (Madden). So I have a lot of respect for the way he plays….he’s an elite player.”
Iamaleava and the Bruins will be back in action next weekend against the Ohio State Buckeyes. It’ll be Iamaleava’s first time back in Columbus since Tennessee’s loss to the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff last season.
Iamaleava accounted for Tennessee’s only two touchdowns in the 42-17 loss to Ohio State last December.
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