How Tim Skipper Unlocked UCLA's Nico Iamaleava

Skipper, honest and humble as he is, says it was all Iamaleava.

"Man, I wish I could take credit for him being able to run so fast, and being tall, and being able to throw so great," Skipper said during Monday's media availability. "I think what we do is just let him be him. I mean, seriously, my job is to make sure the guys are ready to play, and then the players go out there and play.

"Players play and coaches coach. I treat everybody the same and he's on our team and he's a dual-threat guy that we can use in many different ways, and we're going to try to use all of those ways."

Nico's Midseason Grade: B+

Nico Iamaleava has been one of the most polarizing topics of this season. Through the first month, he didn't meet expectations and was widely ridiculed (again) for his departure from Tennessee. In the last two weeks, he's led the Bruins to two statement wins and has been one of the hottest arms in the sport.

I've defended Iamaleava at even the lowest points of the season, and have been criticized for it. But I truly think the redshirt sophomore's early struggles were due, in part, to his supporting cast and, mostly, to the tire fire that was the coaching staff before Skipper and Neuheisel took over.

Iamaleava hasn't been completely blameless, though. Some of the blemishes he showed last season have been evident through the first half of this year. The difference, though, is that he has gotten better every single game.