Nico Iamaleava wants to bring a 'championship culture' to UCLA

UCLA has a new face under center in 2025 — Nico Iamaleava. The former Tennessee quarterback is coming off a College Football Playoff run with the Volunteers, and has his sights set on the postseason at his new school.

He’s hoping the success he experienced in Knoxville in 2024 will translate to UCLA. That includes winning titles.

“The main thing for me is to bring a championship culture back to Westwood,” Iamaleava said at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday. “I hate losing. I’m a big time winner — I want to win games. And that’s our main thing. Our main goals for this year is to bring championships back to Westwood.

“The coaches all preach that every day to us in the weight room and in the team room. I’m very excited for the opportunity … to represent UCLA.”

With more than 70 years removed from the last time UCLA has claimed a national title, Iamaleava’s claims are bold. However, that’s the type of confidence that a coach would want out of their QB1.

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.

Iamaleava arrived at Tennessee with plenty of fanfare as a highly rated recruit. A Downey (Calif.) Warren product, he was a five-star prospect and the No. 6 overall player from the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was also the No. 1 overall player his class.

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.

Foster took over for Chip Kelly, who led the Bruins for six seasons and led UCLA to at least eight wins in each of his last three seasons in Los Angeles. In college football’s current landscape, Foster was forced to rebuild the program in 2024. Now that he’s had a full offseason to shape the team in his image, only time will tell how the season pans out of Iamaleava, Foster and company.

UCLA will kick off the 2025 season against Utah in a non-conference matchup between two Power Four opponents. They’ll also match up against the likes of Penn State, Indiana and Ohio State down the stretch.