There’s a good reason a swath of reporters surrounded Nico Iamaleava at Big Ten Media Day in Las Vegas. The redshirt sophomore quarterback became synonymous with the name, image and likeness era of college football when Iamaleava departed Tennessee – after leading the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff a year ago – and signed with UCLA.
Iamaleava’s entrance all but pushed out would-be starting quarterback Joey Aguilar after he transferred to Westwood from Appalachian State. No matter what, UCLA’s offense was going to look different – and more importantly, play differently. Eric Bieniemy’s one-year stint as offensive coordinator led the Bruins awry compared to the Super Bowl-winning offenses the longtime coach had fostered with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Placing near the cellar of college football with 18.4 points per game, the Bruins’ offensive strategies never took off on the way to a 5-7 record. Rushing offense, which had been led by Joshua Kelley, Demetric Felton, Brittain Brown and Zach Charbonnet in years past, with DeShaun Foster as running backs coach, took a big leap backward, generating the fourth-worst ground attack in the nation.
In response, transfers entered the running backs room – as well as every position group on offense – to match with a new offense altogether.
Foster made a change, bringing in Tino Sunseri (Indiana’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach) to diversify the offense, one that players have called “elusive,” and the Bruins’ head coach has signaled to bring a balanced attack to the forefront rather than the screen-heavy sets Bieniemy ran a year ago.
“I just want to be balanced,” Foster said Monday about Sunseri’s offense. “We have a good quarterback, so we don’t want just everybody dropping eight on us; we’ve got to be able to establish the run, and I think that Tino has done a good job of building confidence in the O-line and the running backs.”
On what UCLA can expect in Week 1 and the 2025 season, Sunseri stayed mum when he talked to the media during Costa Mesa fall camp, but shared the mindset he wants his players to take ahead of competitive football games.
“We want them to be able to feel empowered in this offense,” Sunseri said Aug. 2. “I’m not telling them what to do. I’m teaching them how to be able to handle situations. … We can’t win the game from the sideline anymore.”
Here is how UCLA’s offense shores up in Foster’s second season.
Quarterback
If UCLA is to dream in 2025, it’ll be on the shoulders of Iamaleava. The former No. 1 recruit in the nation, according to On3. and consensus five-star showcased why he was so highly touted a year ago at Tennessee.
Across 13 games in 2024, Iamaleava – standing at 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds – tossed for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions on a 63.8% completion percentage. He’s weathered the Southeastern Conference noise – plus the social media chatter over his spring transfer – and now ranks among the top quarterbacks in the Big Ten.
What has impressed Foster about Iamaleava since joining the Bruins?
“Just his presence, you know, [he] has a calm demeanor to himself and just a leader,” Foster said. He has an aura around him that you can kind of like, ‘OK, he has confidence and stuff.’”
Around the rest of the room, redshirt sophomore Luke Duncan and Pierce Clarkson – a Louisville/Ole Miss transfer – are competing to become Iamaleava’s backup. Duncan, a former three-star quarterback from Orinda, has been suiting up with the second-string squad all throughout the fall despite Foster not naming a backup quite yet. Clarkson has played in three collegiate games, all for the Cardinals.
Iamaleava’s brother, freshman Madden Iamaleava, took some reps during media-watching period in the fall, but is suiting up in a scout-team red jersey for game week, likely ruling him out of the backup battle.
Wide receiver
UCLA has a group of four clear targets on the field at all times as it awaits the return of Rico Flores Jr. from his torn ACL (Flores has been practicing in recent weeks).
Sunseri and Iamaleava have one receiver, Kwazi Gilmer, who has promised to compete for the Biletnikoff Award for the most outstanding wide receiver. The 6-foot-2 sophomore emerged as a legitimate option a year ago and could be poised for a breakout campaign; his close-knit bond with Iamaleava has been on display on and off the field all preseason.
Mikey Matthews, a Cal transfer, is among the wide receivers likely to play next to Gilmer among the ones all season. At 5-foot-9, he lacks size, but Matthews showcases quick cuts that helped him rank fifth on the Golden Bears in receiving yards a year ago. Redshirt senior Titus Mokiao-Atimalala has been a known quantity among the Bruins since Dorian Thompson-Robinson was slinging the ball. Now fully healthy, he is set to play a major role within the offense.
Sophomore Ezavier Staples (6-foot-4) and Arkansas transfer Jaedon Wilson (6-foot-3) provide serious height that is otherwise lacking among the receiver corps. Wilson played in only one game a year ago, but in 2023 grabbed two touchdowns for the Razorbacks.
“They put in the work this offseason to get ready for the season,” Foster said two weeks ago.
Freshmen Shane Rosenthal and Jace Brown have also appeared in some sets during fall camp — and could play a role depending on how far Sunseri ventures into depth.
Running back
Foster has made it clear, he sees a four-deep group that he feels “comfortable” with among running backs. At the top of the tailbacks, Cal transfer Jaivian Thomas and returning redshirt senior Jalen Berger stand out as a one-two punch.
Thomas, whose nickname is “The Jet,” was Cal’s leading rusher a year ago, outpacing former All-Pac-12 running back Jadyn Ott with 626 rushing yards (6.3 yards per carry) across 12 games. Berger, who played third fiddle behind TJ Harden and Keegan Jones in 2024, has undergone a full offseason at UCLA, something he called “better and easier” while speaking during the Costa Mesa fall camp.
“Well, whenever you have backs, and let me say this: We’re gonna be a physical football team,” Sunseri said.
Anthony Frias II, at 225 pounds, will probably provide force as a power back in the offense, while Anthony Woods – who redshirted at Utah with an injury last year – has speed that Thomas said rivals anyone on the team.
Sunseri has expressed wanting to use all four running backs – and could even ask freshman Karson Cox to jump in – while also using the likes of receivers and tight ends in the rushing attack throughout the fall.
Tight end
Hudson Habermehl’s return to the fold sparks another year of tight ends being a large part of what UCLA’s success looks like on offense. He emerged as a target in the open field during 2022 and 2023, but suffered a season-ending leg injury during spring practice in 2024.
Replacing Moliki Matavao is no easy task, but Foster said Habermehl, a redshirt senior, is up to the task.
“It’s all about him just trusting his knee,” Foster said a few weeks ago. “I’m kind of happy now that I have him back in Year 2, you know, a top-caliber player like he is and he has a high ceiling, you know, has a huge catching radius, a fearless blocker.”
Jack Pedersen – who has appeared in fullback-like plays and is known for his blocking ability – will return as the probable second tight end on the field, while Pittsburgh transfer Jake Renda and freshmen Noah Fox-Flores and Dylan Sims could also see sporadic action.
Offensive line
After last season’s rushing woes, the offensive line might be where the Bruins make or break a successful season in 2025.
Center has been the most contentious battle for playing time, where it appears Oluwafunto Akinshilo has beaten out Sam Yoon for first-string reps. Yoon ended last year as the starting center, but Akinshilo appears set for his first season as a surefire starter.
During the Rose Bowl run-through, Kentucky transfer Courtland Ford (who played and started 12 games from 2020-22 at USC and Kentucky) slotted in at left tackle, while redshirt freshman Eugene Brooks, who has yet to play in a game, took hold of left guard. Reuben Unije and K.D. Arnold have also slotted into the primary five linemen during practices.
Right guard and right tackle appear more certain. Garrett DiGiorgio returns to start at the latter, while Julian Armella – a Florida State transfer who played sporadically on special teams for the Seminoles – has appeared comfortable at the former.
A starting five of Ford, Brooks, Akinshilo, Armella and DiGiorgio would all be 6-foot-5 or taller sans Brooks (at 6-foot-4 and the heaviest offensive lineman at 340 pounds), and a combined 1,620 pounds, bringing much-needed size up front to protect Iamaleava.
The motto at the heart of the offensive line?
“We just tell each other: STP,” DiGiorgio said.
That stands for “something to prove.”
