Nico Iamaleava's 'Aura' Becoming UCLA's Confidence Catalyst

"Just his presence," Foster said during Monday's media availability on what impresses him about Iamaleava off the field. "Has a calm demeanor to himself and is just a leader. He has an aura around him that you can kind of, like, 'OK, he has confidence.'"

When you've been the topic of critique all offseason, like Iamaleava has, following his public dispute and departure from Tennessee in April, it may be surprising to learn that the redshirt sophomore isn't hearing all the noise.

How Nico Iamaleava Is Blocking Out the Noise

In a sit-down interview with Ashley Adamson and Yogi Roth during the B1G Network's behind-the-scenes of UCLA's training camp, Iamaleava discussed how he's blocking out the noise and worrying about what people who don't know him think about him.

"For the people in the building and guys that really know me and know who I am, a lot of the stuff in the outside world, I can't control," Iamaleava said. "But I can only control what I do on a day-to-day basis and how I carry myself around my teammates. My teammates know me and what I bring to the table, and [I] can't really focus on the outside world."

No matter how hard he tries, though, people will always be talking about Iamaleava ahead of the season, and the microscope will only grow larger once he takes his first snap in the blue and gold against Utah on Aug. 30.