Nico Iamaleava injury update: UCLA QB leaves game after helmet-to-helmet hit vs. Washington

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava has left Saturday night’s game against Washington due to an apparent injury. The injury occurred when Iamaleava was sacked and appeared to take helmet-to-helmet contact.

Prior to his exit, Iamaleava was 16-of-26 for 69 yards passing and no touchdowns with two fumbles. He was immediately taken to the injury tent with UCLA trailing 27-0 and 8:21 remaining in the third quarter.

Backup quarterback Luke Duncan took the field when the Bruins began their next offensive possession. Iamaleava remained in the injury tent as sideline reporter Caroline Pineda had little update on his status.

“Nico Iamaleava walked into the tent under his own power,” Pineda said. “He has remained there for over 10 minutes now. Backup quarterback Luke Duncan was warming up for the majority of that series. We’ll keep you posted on Nico’s status.”

Duncan started one game previously this season when Iamaleava was out with a concussion against Ohio State in Week 12. He finished 16-of-24 passing for 154 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions as UCLA lost 48-10.

On his first drive entering in place of Iamaleava, Duncan led UCLA to a touchdown. He went 2-of-4 for 61 yards and connected with Mikey Matthews on the 37-yard score.

Shortly after that score, Iamaleava was seen walking back to the locker room. There was still no word as to the nature of the injury, but that certainly doesn’t bode well for his chances to return to this game.

More on Nico Iamaleava

Iamaleava transferred to UCLA this offseason after spending the first two years of his college career at Tennessee. He has thrown for 1,659 yards and 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions this year as the Bruins entered this contest with a 3-7 (3-4 Big Ten) record.

Last season, Iamaleava helped lead the Volunteers to an appearance in the College Football Playoff. The former five-star threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns to five interceptions and entered this year with expectations of being one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

Unfortunately, an NIL dispute led to him parting ways with Tennessee, but he still had his sights set high at UCLA. It hasn’t quite gone according to plan so far though, with coach Deshaun Foster being fired early amid an 0-4 start.

We’ll hope for the best when it comes to an update on Iamaleava’s health. Interim coach Tim Skipper will likely have more information on the injury postgame.