UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava on New Coaches, New Teammates, Scheme, Leadership, and More (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
In his first interview from spring practice, UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava talked about how he’s gotten close with head coach Bob Chesney and his relationship with offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy.
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He spoke about learning the playbook, and the growing familiarity with his new teammate.
He said he’s gotten bigger physically, which will help with durability, but he’s still not at his goal weight.
Transcript
WHAT BEEN LIKE FOR YOU WITH NEW COACHING STAFF AND TEAMMATES?
“It’s been fun, man. You know, a lot of new energy, just going out here and competing with everybody’s been fun.”
WHAT HAS NEW COACHING STAFF BROUGHT TO THE TEAM?
“A lot of energy, man. You know, we’re going out there every day and having fun and they bring the juice to practice, so they make you want to be here and make you want to compete out there, so it’s been a fun spring ball so far.”
BONDED WITH CHESNEY?
“Yeah, yeah. Me and Coach Ches have a great relationship going — he tries to give me any nuggets he has for me on the offensive side of the ball, but normally he’s on the defensive side of the ball, so we’re having fun competing against each other.”
HOW MUCH OF HIM COMING IN WAS PART OF YOUR DECISION TO STAY?
“You know, I think the first time after I met coach Chesney, you know, I was pretty sold on staying here, man. You know, I didn’t want to leave, so when I met coach Chesney and got to sit down with him and have a conversation, as soon as — and then I got to meet with coach Kennedy — it was a no-brainer.”
MEETING CHESNEY?
“Man, I met him at the school, he came, and he was just very excited to see me, I was very excited to see him and we just got to chop it up about life and how this past year went and we’ve got a great relationship.”
HOW ARE YOU DOING ON PLAYBOOK?
“Yeah, so we’re at a steady learning pace; it’s a lot of stuff that we’re installing, so it’s been a fun relationship with coach Kennedy as well, just learning from him today.”
WHAT IS RELATIONSHIP LIKE WITH COACH KENNEDY?
“I’ve had great relationships with past offensive coordinators I’ve been with; I think coach Kennedy brings a lot of knowledge to the game; I think he’s taught me a lot more about the run game and just why we like what we run too and different looks that we like to run against, so it’s been great learning from coach Kennedy.”
DOES HE HAVE A LOT OF ENERGY TOO?
“For sure. Coach Kennedy has a lot of energy, man. He’s gonna get on you a little bit if you don’t bring it, so yeah, he’s got great energy.”
KNEW SEMAJ MORGAN, WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE PLAYING WITH HIM?
“Yeah, that’s my little brother, man. Me and Semaj have been playing with each other since high school, seven-on, so to see him come back over here to UCLA has been great. It’s still keeping that same relationship on the field and off the field as well, so.”
MADDEN?
“Madden’s doing great, man. He’s taking that next step, you know, competing for that two spot, so it’s been great to watch him grow and compete.”
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TALKED ABOUT CHESNEY’S COACHING STYLE. WHAT IS IT ABOUT HIS CULTURE THAT STANDS OUT TO YOU AS PLAYERS?
“Yeah, coach Chesney’s a winner, man. You know, everywhere he’s been, he’s been a winner. I think just that winning mentality he brings to the table makes guys buy in and want to play for a coach like that.”
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT HIM DURING FIRST CONVERSATION THAT SOLD YOU?
“I thought just his energy, man. He was a great human being, I think, for me. You know, high-energy and just very charismatic where I didn’t really sense any fakeness from him, so it’s been great just continuing to grow our relationship.”
LOOK BIGGER?
“Do I? Yeah, I’m trying to get up to 220, 225. Right now I’m at 218, so I’ve got to keep eating, keep getting that protein in.”
HOW WILL BEING HERE FOR WHOLE SPRING AND SUMMER HELP YOU?
“I think it will be great, man. I think last year when I got in, everything was fast-forwarded for me and everything just felt like it was fast, so I think just coming in and being to get a whole spring with the guys and have the new guys get to know me as well, so it’s been great bonding with them.”
WIDE RECEIVERS AND O-LINE?
“Yeah, um, I don’t want to name-drop because I know I’m going to miss a couple, but I think the whole O-line and the whole receiver room collectively have been bringing it every practice and I’ve loved competing with them.”
SAHIR WEST GETTING IN BACKFIELD AND CAUSING HAVOC, WHAT’S IT LIKE TO HAVE THAT?
“Sahir’s a problem, man. He’s a problem, for sure, so it’s great competing against guys like that. You know, we want the best in the world to compete against so when we get to the game it’s somewhat easy, so it’s great having him out there.”
HOW FEELING AFTER TAKING SO MANY HITS LAST SEASON?
“Yeah, I took a couple of hits last year and it took a toll on the body, but I think just me recovering over the offseason and coming in ready to work and getting bigger was the main thing for me this offseason, so yeah, hopefully when I get to the season I’ll be able to take those hits a little easier.”
ENERGY IN CAMP?
“Yeah, like I said from the beginning, man, coach Chesney, they bring the energy to every practice, so coming out here with the right energy and right mindset to compete, you know, he’s going to send you [inaudible], so it’s been fun.”
CHEMISTRY WITH RILEY AND DEREK CATCHING SNAPS FROM THEM?
“You know, Riley and Derek both, they’ve been great, man, just getting extra work in with those two guys, even after practice and stuff like that, they will come out here and snap for me when I’m getting routes out here, so it’s been great building rapport with those two.”
GETTING TO KNOW NEW TEAMMATES?
“Yeah, it’s been great, man. A lot of different personalities. You know, we’ve got guys from Virginia, Florida coming in, Michigan, so just buying in to a lot of their different personalities and then making them feel comfortable out here.”
ANY MOMENT THAT EXEMPLIFIES ENERGY IN PRACTICE?
“I think just all our compete periods and when we go into team, just this past practice when we went into live periods, you could feel that everybody’s bought in and they want to compete, so yeah, it was good seeing the live periods and seeing guys tackle out there, seeing guys make some guys miss was fun.”
CHESNEY SAID HE EXPECTED YOU TO STEP UP AS A LEADER, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THERE?
“Yeah, just being myself, man. I think also being more vocal out there, talking to the guys, getting the morale up. I think coach Chesney didn’t see that more vocal side of me and now he’s getting to see it a little more.”
BRIAN ROWE?
“Brian Rowe, man, he’s got a lot of potential to be one of the best in the nation, so I’d say that and it’s been fun building that rapport with him as well.”
RUN GAME LOOKING SOLID?
“Run game’s been great. Just learning from coach Kennedy and him teaching me a little bit more about the run game, certain looks that we like to run against, it’s been great. I think we have one of the top running back rooms in the nation, so I’m excited to see them go as well.”
HOW IS TY DOING IN BATTLE FOR QB2?
“Yeah, Ty’s been doing great. I think our whole QB room, man, Colton Gumino as well. I think we’re all grasping our offense, getting better every day and we’re learning from each other as well.”
HOW DO YOU EXPECT THIS OFFENSE TO BE DIFFERENT FROM LAST YEAR?
“I think it’s just, the thing we’re going for is to be as clean as we can, man. It was a lot of pre-snap penalties last year for us that would set us back into situations that we didn’t want to be in, so I think just operating as clean as we can and keeping that same pace as we go.”
WHO HAS BEEN MAKING YOUR LIFE THE HARDEST FROM DEFENSE?
“From the defense? You know, I’m not going to give them too much credit, but I think they do a good job of disguising their coverages, you know, they brought in some great looks on third down, so yeah, they do a good job of disguising coverages.”
CHESNEY AND KENNEDY HAVE TOLD US ABOUT YOUR NOTE-TAKING AND WORK ETHIC, HOW IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO SET THAT STANDARD?
“Very important, man. If you’re the leader and as a quarterback you’re slacking and you try to tell a guy or hold a guy accountable, they’re going to look at you kind of dumb, so I think just me being on top of my stuff lets guys know they can trust a guy like me.”
HOW LONG TAKE TO BUILD TRUST?
“Yeah, I think just the more we practice with each other, the more we hang out with each other off the field, I think the more you continuously build that trust with them and I think just spending time with the guys has been the main thing for me.”
DEALING WITH SITUATION LAST SPRING CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THIS SPRING?
“Nah, I think I’ve always thought spring has been a great learning lesson for me, just getting that spring ball in and then going into fall camp feeling comfortable with the offense. I think for me last year I went into fall camp still learning the offense and then we still went into the season, so yeah, it’s been great, man, just getting this whole spring under my belt.”
WHAT HAS KENNEDY TAUGHT YOU SO FAR?
“Yeah, I definitely didn’t know a lot about the run game, so as I said before, he’s taken me to that next step in the run game and sort of the looks that we like and that’s been the main thing for me.”