UCLA Football 2025 Depth Chart Roundup: Quarterbacks

As UCLA's first practices loom ahead of the 2025 season, DeShaun Foster has cultivated a roster through recruiting and the transfer portal, ready to improve on last season.

Finishing their first season in the Big Ten with a 5-7 record, it's only up from here for the Bruins. With that being said, let's dive into UCLA's projected depth chart this upcoming season and how analysts view they'll impact UCLA. Up first, quarterbacks highlighted by a massive transfer addition.

Nico Iamaleava, Redshirt Sophomore

Iamaleava was the No. 1 transfer in this year's portal, and Foster was able to land him. There is no doubt that the former Tennessee signal-caller will be starting for the Bruins this season.

"Former five-star recruit with elite physical tools and one of the highest ceilings in college football. A long, athletic frame paired with top-end arm strength makes Iamaleava a prototypical modern quarterback from a traits standpoint. Showed flashes of brilliance during Tennessee’s 2024 College Football Playoff run, but overall passing production remained modest (77th nationally in passing offense) in a system that leaned heavily on the run game and defense.

"Plays best when allowed to extend plays and improvise, but struggles to consistently operate within structure. Decision-making and timing remain works in progress, particularly on intermediate throws and against disguised coverage. Can be streaky with accuracy and doesn’t always play on schedule, but has shown the ability to generate explosive plays when things break down.

"Intangibles — including poise, anticipation, and leadership consistency — are still developing. That said, the upside remains massive. With continued growth in processing speed and pocket discipline, Iamaleava has the natural ability to elevate a contender and play his way into Round 1 of the NFL Draft." -- Cooper Petagna, 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst

Luke Duncan, Redshirt Sophomore

Duncan didn't see the field in 2024 behind Ethan Garbers, but being slotted as the backup quarterback this year makes him just as important as any.

"There have been many seasons over the years of UCLA football where the depth at quarterback has been tested, and sometimes sorely. For every Iron Man season from Brett Hundley, there was a Mike Fafaul start here, a Chase Griffin start there, or an Osaar Rashaan sighting. It's an absolute necessity for any football team to have a capable backup quarterback -- if you don't have one, you had better have an elite offensive line and a quarterback who can absolutely dance in the pocket.

"Based on what we saw this spring, the likely backup quarterback this year is Duncan. Yes, UCLA is bringing in two Iamaleavas, and it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that whatever agreement was struck to bring them both to Westwood comes with expectations of certain places in the depth chart, but we'll base our read of the situation on what we've seen with our own eyes. This spring, Duncan was the clear first-string guy, and with Nico Iamaleava coming in this summer, we think Duncan will move back one spot -- to the No. 2." -- David Woods, Bruin Report Online

Pierce Clarkson, Redshirt Sophomore

Clarkson comes to Westwood as a transfer from Ole Miss. He was the No. 128 quarterback in the transfer portal and is coming back home to be a Bruin.

"It once again pays off to be located in Southern California. The Bruins have now bolstered their quarterback ranks with not one, not two, but three Southern California quarterback bouncebacks, all of whom were rated either four or five stars out of high school. Even before the Transfer Portal, this was a time-honored tradition for UCLA to land transfers looking to come back home, and now the Bruins have done it again. Now, whether Clarkson impacts at a significant level is anyone's guess, but at worst he provides a different sort of quarterback compared to the Iamaleavas and Duncan with his mobility, giving Tino Sunseri another tool in the tool belt." -- Bruin Report Online Staff

Henry Hasselbeck, Redshirt Freshman

Hasselbeck committed to the Bruins in 2023 and redshirted his first season. He was one of the few UCLA quarterbacks dissuaded from transferring among the bolstering of the position via the transfer portal.

Madden Iamaleava, Freshman

Iamaleava was actually at Arkansas' spring practices as a true freshman commit before leaving and joining his brother in Westwood. He is a four-star quarterback for the class of 2025.

"Iamaleava has had a strong junior season and showed he’s deserving of all the attention and early scholarships he received this off-season. Iamaleava didn’t start a game until this year after backing up his older brother Nico Iamaleava, who’s a freshman at Tennessee. Like his older brother, Iamaleava is a two-sport standout and a talented volleyball player but his future is definitely at quarterback. He has always had a strong arm but has made a nice jump in poise, accuracy and maturity. He shows dual-threat ability and although he doesn’t run a ton, he has very good pocket mobility and can extend plays. He’s a tough kid, highly competitive and as the game continues to slow down for him, he’ll make another big jump." Greg Biggins, 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst

Colton Gumino, Freshman

Gumino is the final name in the depth chart for the position group. He was recruited to UCLA as a three-star prospect and is expected to redshirt his first season.