Ryan Day makes strong statement about Nico Iamaleava as Ohio State prepares to face the former Vols QB for second time in a year
Former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava will return to Columbus on Saturday for the first time since the Vols’ loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff last season.
UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava will return to Columbus this weekend for the first time since the Tennessee Vols’ loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff last season.
Iamaleava, who transferred from Tennessee to UCLA near the end of spring practice, accounted for the Vols’ only two touchdowns in the 42-17 loss to the Buckeyes last December.
Iamaleava admitted at Big 10 Media Days in July that the frigid temps in Columbus last December make it tough to “warm up”.
“I’m excited to catch those boys again,” said Iamaleava when asked about playing Ohio State in 2025. “It’ll be a big test for me. I know they want to beat me pretty bad again, like they did the first time. So, I’m gonna try and hold my own.
“They said it was like 11 degrees. It felt like four (degrees). It was pretty cold, I’m not gonna lie. I didn’t feel my hands in pregame warm-up. It was hard to warm up. But once I got the adrenaline flowing, I thought I did a good job at just getting acclimated with the game…I took some shots. I cracked two helmets in the game, two of my Vicis helmets. And I had to switch to my third one. It was a hard, tough game. I think the weather played a lot of effect in that — just it being so cold. It was a fun game, though.”
“I knew we were going against a tough opponent and we didn’t show up how we should have,” added Iamaleava of the Vols’ loss to the Buckeyes. “I took the L to the chin.”
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day says he has a lot of respect for Nico Iamaleava
Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day met with reporters this week to preview Ohio State’s game against UCLA and he made it clear that he has a “lot of respect” for Iamaleava.
“I can tell you that he’s a tough player,” said Day. “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.”
After a slow start to the season, Iamaleava has played well over the last month, leading the Bruins to a 3-2 record in their last five games after getting off to an 0-4 start.
UCLA and Ohio State are set to kick off at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday night in Columbus.
Tennessee Volunteers News
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.
