Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) during the Vol Walk ahead of Tennessee's game against UTEP in Neyland Stadium on Saturday, November 23, 2024. Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nico Iamaleava Reminds DeShaun Foster of Legendary NFL Teammate

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Connor Moreno | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 12:00 PM ET

UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster is still learning more about star quarterback Nico Iamaleava through three weeks of training camp. One thing that's stood out thus far? His leadership, and it reminds Foster of an NFL legend and former Carolina Panthers teammate.

"He's just a leader," Foster said to Ashley Adamson and Yogi Roth during B1G Network's behind-the-scenes of UCLA's training camp . "I've been around Julius Peppers, and he's 6-7, but you can tell he might not want to be that size. But he just has a personality and people just gravitate to him and Nico is the same way.

"He just gets his team ready to go. You can see he's inserting his leadership each day. That last practice, he was chirping up the defense a little bit. It was fun just to see his personality come out. He's a competitor and I just can't wait to see him in live action."

Going into the 2025 season, Nico is hard to miss. He's one of the most talked-about names in the sport and the microscope will only grow larger when he takes the field for the first time against Utah on Aug. 30.

Iamaleava One Of College Football's Most Interesting People

The Athletic's Joe Rexrode released a list of the 20 most interesting college football people for the 2025 season, and Iamaleava made the cut, along with the likes of Arch Manning, Bill Belichick and even Jon Gruden.

Here's what Rexrode had to say about Iamaleava and why he is one of the most interesting quarterbacks in the sport this season:

"He’s been one of the most-watched players in the sport since the groundbreaking NIL deal that brought him to Tennessee. His first full season on the field was pretty good, not great, but then he didn’t have much great around him either. So whether Iamaleava’s camp was complaining more about a pay raise or about offensive roster support after the season, they handled things terribly, and he ended up in a worse situation. Of course, if his loss proves UCLA’s gain and he can give a jolt of life to a sluggish program while looking more like the NFL prospect he’s supposed to be, Iamaleavawill have Vol Twitter reeling."

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