PASADENA — Nico Iamaleava was only on the Rose Bowl Stadium’s turf for a few minutes before UCLA football’s spring showcase on Saturday afternoon, but he snagged plenty of attention.
The Tennessee transfer quarterback stood with his family, including brother Madden Iamaleava, and spoke with UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster before going into the team tunnel just before the showcase began. He waved to the crowd, which occasionally shouted his name, as he exited.
“You can tell he has presence,” Foster told reporters after the showcase. “He commands attention being 6-foot-6. He’s a huge guy. And he’s not somebody that’s just seeking that attention — he has a poise to him that is just comforting.”
Iamaleava is still enrolled at Tennessee but will start meeting with UCLA coaches virtually after the Tennessee semester ends. The last day of final exams at the school is May 15, according to its online academic calendar.
Players have already had the opportunity to meet with their new quarterback, and offensive lineman Julian Armella said that the Iamaleava family remembered him from high school football.
Armella and linebacker Isaiah Chisom spoke with reporters after the spring showcase, marking the first time that players were available to media since before Iamaleava’s transfer was made official — a time when there was unrelenting attention on the UCLA football program.
“It’s college football and college sports,” Armella said. “You’re going to have buzzing from here and there, and this and that and the other. But at the end of the day, it’s a production- and results-based business.
“Regardless of him coming or Joey (Aguilar) leaving and all that stuff — as a team, we’ve done a really good job of honing in this spring and coming together as a team and working together to get to our end goal, which is to win games.”
Armella said he had recently seen Aguilar, UCLA’s former quarterback who transferred to Tennessee, on campus between classes. Both Armella and Chisom, who are transfers themselves, were understanding about Aguilar’s decision to transfer.
“The transfer portal stuff, it can happen as fast or as slow as you want it to happen,” Chisom said. “I wish him the best. There’s no hard feelings. He made the decision that is going to uprise his career, and, I mean, we made decisions to move forward in our career.”
Luke Duncan took repetitions at quarterback with the first and second team offenses on Saturday at the showcase. His best passes of the day included a 15-yard strike to Kwazi Gilmer and passes of roughly 20 yards to Mikey Matthews, Jaedon Wilson and Ezavier Staples during 11-on-11 drills.
The coaching staff had asked him to take the extra repetitions, according to Foster, and Duncan was eager for the work.
“Luke has done a very good job of being able to assess the offense as the captain as well as take leadership and be able to assert himself in the quarterback room,” Armella said. “To be a quarterback, you need to be vocal, you need to give everybody their calls. You can’t play quarterback with any type of hesitation, and I think he’s done a really good job of embracing his role.”
Battle for No. 9
Two linebackers have worn jersey No. 9 throughout spring practice: Chisom and Jalen Woods.
“Being an offensive lineman and trying to ID a backer (when there’s) nine, nine and six – it can get a little confusing,” Armella said.
Only one will wear the No. 9 jersey when the season starts, and the determining factor will be who starts at the position. Foster said that he will also take intangibles like being on time, watching film and cheering on teammates into consideration.
“Grades play into it,” he said. “It’s not just everything that’s on the field. I’m looking for just somebody that totally embodies our pillars, and those are going to be the guys that end up getting their jerseys.”
Injury update
Receiver Carter Shaw participated in all aspects of practice except for 11-on-11 team periods after missing the last six games of the fall season and all of spring practice due to injury.
Defensive linemen Nico Davillier and Keanu Williams were each on the sidelines in street clothing. Offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio also did not practice on Saturday. Foster said that there were no injuries of concern and that they were held out to get other players more repetitions.
