Inside Nico Iamaleava's Initiative to Speed Up UCLA's Offensive Chemistry

If there's one thing that's stood out the most to coaches and players about transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava through two weeks of UCLA 's fall camp, it's his leadership.

His proactiveness isn't just limited to the Bruins' August trip to Costa Mesa, though.

He's been laying the foundation for offensive chemistry since he opted for Westwood in April.

"When Nico first came out here, me and the receivers were like, 'Come on, let's go get some routes in,'" Bruins wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer said during Wednesday's media availability .

"It's a different quarterback, and we're trying to get to the league, we're trying to win the natty, so let's get in as much work as we can.

But he was all on top of that and we got a lot of work in.

And you all can see how it's working out." Gilmer went on to say that they had those player practices around two to three times a week.

On how much it helped starting early with their new quarterback, he added, "A lot.

Shoot, we're not learning each other in fall camp, so now we know each other and can go out and execute." Iamaleava's Competitiveness Surprising Foster DeShaun Foster knows what he's getting in Iamaleava, and yet, he is still surprised at stuff the redshirt sophomore can do during fall camp.

During Foster's Saturday media availability , he detailed the new intricacies he's learning about his quarterback.

"How much of a competitor he is," Foster said.

"Just a leader.

He get's fired up when we have some of those competitive periods and you can kind of see his juice going and jawing a little bit with some of the guys on the defense.

They're having fun and playing with enthusiasm." A quarterback is expected to command every room he walks into, and Iamaleava's competitive drive seems to be an infectious trait on the field and in the Bruins' locker room.

Much of this intangible skill is what helped the transfer signal-caller lead Tennessee to a 10-3 record and their first ever College Football Playoff appearance last season.

The foundation is being planted in camp, and Iamaleava's journey to lead UCLA to heights it's never seen starts on Aug.

30 against Utah.

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