Nico Iamaleava thrilled to work with UCLA OC Tino Sunseri

Nico Iamaleava is ready for the new chapter of his college football career at UCLA and thrilled to learn from OC Tino Sunseri. Basically, Iamaleava loves the prospect of a new offense and learning new skills to elevate his game and his teammates around him.

Iamaleava wants to bring that championship culture to a new era of UCLA football. How fast that happens is anyone’s game, but the Tennessee transfer will certainly give it his best effort in this new scheme.

Sunseri was the co-offensive coordinator at Indiana last season before taking the job at UCLA as the full-time OC. A former college quarterback, he’s slowly worked his way up the ranks.

“He’s really just has high energy as a play caller,” Iamaleava said on Sirius XM. “So, you know, he’s played position at a high level, played at Pitt for a little bit, and, yeah, man, just everything about his offense. I wouldn’t say there’s a, you know, any specific type of offense. I think he has an ‘everything offense.’ So it’s been great man, just learning new things and learning new football. So I can’t wait to play for Coach Tino.”

During his time at Tennessee, Iamaleava sat behind Joe Milton as a freshman before taking over as the starter on Rocky Top. He threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns, along with five interceptions, in 2024 while helping Tennessee to a 10-3 record and a first-round appearance in the CFP.

Now, he’s set to lead UCLA into its second season in the Big Ten Conference. UCLA experienced some growing pains in its new league as they finished the 2024 season with a 5-7 record, including a 3-6 mark. 2024 served as Deshaun Foster’s first season as head coach of his alma mater.

“Oh yeah, I wanted to bring him here,” Foster said of bringing in Iamaleava. “You know, ‘It’s time to let you tell your story.’ A lot of people wrote a book for you and didn’t talk to him about it. So, I just wanted him to be able to come out here. And not for me, because you guys were going to ask me these questions and now I’m speaking for him, so I wanted him to be able to go out there and really tell, like, his truth.

“It’s huge, it’s huge, because now we can just go back to playing ball … and I just think he was looking forward to this opportunity. It was never, like, ‘I don’t want to come’ or anything. I asked him, he’s like, ‘Yeah,’ and we’re here.”