Foster: UCLA's Iamaleava is an 'Exceptional Talent'

UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster made the rounds at Big Ten Media Days and left fans and public media with a better taste in their mouths than he did last year at this time.

Amidst all the appearances, Foster sat down for nearly 12 minutes with UCLA's Wayne Cook and Nick Koop to talk all things Bruins leading up to the season. One of the hottest topics they discussed, of course, was UCLA's new transfer quarterback, Nico Iamaleava.

Foster, admittedly, was in awe of his new signal-caller's sheer talent. He and Cook, a former quarterback himself, engaged in a conversation praising Iamaleava's talent.

"I think he's pretty much almost caught up," Foster said when asked how Iamaleava is doing after coming into the program later than usual. "They zoom every day. Now that he's on campus, they zoom every day, he meets with Tino [Sunseri] every morning. But he's sharp. That's the thing. I just feel good that he's actually taking the time to learn it himself and not just, 'I'm going to learn it when Tino is teaching me.'"

Cook then shared his thoughts on Iamaleava upon meeting him the first few times, and couldn't hold back his praises.

"I've met Nico twice now, and I really like him," Cook said. "I told him how much I appreciate his footwork and he looked at me and goes, 'It still needs to be better, coach Tino is already on me about this stuff,' and I loved that. Because, I don't care if you're a running back, I don't care if you're a quarterback, I don't care if you're Garrett DiGiorgio, if your feet are a mess, you're nevery going to be what you want to be. ... He's got so many gifts, but he feels like he realizes that he's got to keep going and keep working and keep learning, and I love that."

Foster agreed, "He's open to learning, and that's the thing. He's really open to learning. But, he's an exceptional talent. I watched him jump 10 feet yesterday. This is a talented young man."

Iamaleava, a redshirt sophomore, made his way to the Bruins after a public dispute with the Volunteers over his name, image and likeness resulted in his departure. Iamaleava was at the wrong end of negative public discourse and is now one of the most polarizing college football talents ahead of the next season.

To amplify things, Iamaleava joins a revamped UCLA culture under Foster ahead of their second season in the Big Ten Conference. Foster finished his debut coaching season with a 5-7 record but has since changed the trajectory of the program in his first full offseason, conjuring up UCLA's best recruiting class in over a decade.

This coming 2025 season, however, will be highlighted by Iamaleava. Despite the headlines, he had a standout freshman season with the Vols, leading them to a 10-3 record and their first College Football Playoff appearance. Naturally, the UCLA signal-caller is the Bruins' most sought-after prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft.