UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava makes a big decision on his future amid knee injury

Nico Iamaleava still has some unfinished business to take care of.

The injured UCLA quarterback Iamaleava has decided not to leave for the NFL after the season, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported on Thursday. Iamaleava instead intends to return to the Bruins for the 2027 NCAA season.

Iamaleava, 22, transferred to UCLA from Tennessee in 2025 amid a dispute over his NIL deal with the Volunteers. He was the starting QB for the Bruins’ ugly 3-9 season that year but encountered more success under new UCLA head coach Bob Chesney.

This season, Iamaleava had thrown for 982 yards and produced five total touchdowns for the Bruins. But he was injured during a win over Big 10 rival Oregon earlier this month when he got rolled over on a tackle attempt by the Ducks and injured his knee.

The injury ultimately ended up being season-ending for Iamaleava, who has already undergone surgery to fix his knee. Senior backup Ty Dieffenbach has since taken over at quarterback for UCLA, going 2-0 as the starter to help the Bruins improve to a perfect 7-0 record (which now has them ranked No. 7 in the country).

Zenitz notes that Iamaleava was projected to be a potential third-round NFL Draft pick or higher before he got injured. Now Iamaleava will try to repair his draft stock by returning to UCLA for another year in 2027 (where he can potentially clean up some other issues as well).