Big Ten Media Days: UCLA releases 2025 football roster
LAS VEGAS — Before UCLA met with reporters Thursday at Big Ten Media Days, the program released its official 2025 football roster ahead of fall camp as part of its media guide.
Now, the question surrounding which number new quarterback Nico Iamaleava will suit up in officially has its answer.
Iamaleava, the Tennessee transfer who signed with the Bruins in April, will don No. 9 when he takes his first snap in the Aug. 30 season opener against Utah. In the spring, there were rumblings about whether he would assume the No. 8 jersey he wore for the Volunteers and was famously used by Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman at UCLA in the late 1980s.
Iamaleava’s younger brother, Madden, who transferred from Arkansas after initially committing to the Bruins out of high school, will wear No. 10.
In spring camp, the UCLA roster also featured a number of players on the same side of the ball wearing the same number. Most notably, linebackers Jalen Woods and Isaiah Chisom both wore No. 9.
Woods retained the No. 9, while Chisom, a transfer from Oregon State, was assigned No. 32.
In the secondary, Central Florida transfer nickel back Bryon Threats is now No. 23. He shared No. 2 in the spring with Oregon State transfer cornerback Andre Jordan Jr., who held onto the number.
No. 24 now solely belongs to freshman defensive end Cole Cogshell. In the spring, freshman cornerback LaRue Zamorano III shared the number with Cogshell.
Zamorano’s new number is 14.
Among the players who changed jersey numbers was wide receiver Ezavier Staples, who wore No. 21 last season. Now, the fifth-year senior will wear the No. 4 jersey worn by last year’s starting quarterback Ethan Garbers.
Other notable roster numbers for new arrivals
The Bruins brought in a host of other transfers, like the Iamaleavas, who did not take part in spring camp in Westwood.
Pierce Clarkson, the one-time Louisville quarterback who was last at Ole Miss, will wear No. 15. On defense, Michigan State transfer defensive end Anthony Jones will wear the same number.
Also along the defensive line, Michigan transfer edge Kechaun Bennett will wear No. 52.
Oregon transfer cornerback and speedy return specialist Rodrick Pleasant will wear No. 18. Fellow defensive back Jamier Johnson, an Indiana transfer, is No. 19.
In the backfield, California transfer running back Jaivian “Jet” Thomas will sport No. 21. Elsewhere on offense, Oregon transfer receiver Jalen Saint Paul is No. 86. and Pittsburgh transfer tight end Jake Renda is No. 88.
Backup kicker Cash Peterman, who transferred from Arizona, is No. 35. Ohio State transfer long snapper Morrow Evans is No. 41. Tulane transfer punter Will Karroll is No. 49.
As for the freshmen who moved in over the summer: defensive end Lucien Holland is No. 17; wide receiver Shane Rosenthal is No. 20; cornerback Kuron Jabari Jr. is No. 25; long snapper Halakilangi Muagututi’a is No. 30; cornerback Chase Coleman is No. 31; defensive lineman Robert James III is No. 35; interior offensive lineman Nehemiah Johnson is No. 50.; wide receiver Jace Brown is No. 89; and punter Lennox Miller is No. 97.
New names
Others added to the roster who were not announced transfers or originally part of the 2025 signing class include: Tennessee senior transfer receiver Kyle Miller (No. 23) and freshman defensive back and Redondo High School graduate Zeke Johnson (No. 30).
The roster sits at 105 players, the new capped roster limit in college football as part of the House settlement this offseason.
