1 hr. ago
Bob Chesney and the UCLA Bruins are placing a lot of trust in new offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy. Kennedy has been one of Chesney's guys, coaching alongside him at Holy Cross and at James Madison before following him across the country to UCLA.
Chesney brought Kennedy along with him because he's gotten results, leading the No. 1 offense in the Sun Belt Conference last year at 37.1 points per game. It's a one-year wonder for Kennedy either, in his first year with James Madison, the Dukes had the No. 3 scoring offense at 33.3 points per game.
Kennedy will be highly reliant on returning UCLA starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Iamaleava, the former five-star recruit, has all of the physical traits but it'll be up to him and Kennedy to corral those traits into a productive Big Ten quarterback.
The Big Ten Network spoke to Kennedy about his new quarterback, where he had nothing but praises for Iamaleava. Rather than speaking of his skillset, Kennedy focused on Iamaleava the person.
"He's a phenomenal football player, obviously, but more importantly he's a phenomenal person. When you have that type of person, that has great morals and values, and understands the big picture of life. It's just such a joy to work with that person," Kennedy said of Iamaleava. "He has such a good head on his shoulders. He's very respectful to everyone in the building. Every single teammate."
#iamaleava #ucla #year #chesney
Chesney brought Kennedy along with him because he's gotten results, leading the No. 1 offense in the Sun Belt Conference last year at 37.1 points per game. It's a one-year wonder for Kennedy either, in his first year with James Madison, the Dukes had the No. 3 scoring offense at 33.3 points per game.
Kennedy will be highly reliant on returning UCLA starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Iamaleava, the former five-star recruit, has all of the physical traits but it'll be up to him and Kennedy to corral those traits into a productive Big Ten quarterback.
The Big Ten Network spoke to Kennedy about his new quarterback, where he had nothing but praises for Iamaleava. Rather than speaking of his skillset, Kennedy focused on Iamaleava the person.
"He's a phenomenal football player, obviously, but more importantly he's a phenomenal person. When you have that type of person, that has great morals and values, and understands the big picture of life. It's just such a joy to work with that person," Kennedy said of Iamaleava. "He has such a good head on his shoulders. He's very respectful to everyone in the building. Every single teammate."
#iamaleava #ucla #year #chesney
1 day ago
The UCLA football team participated in media day on July 29, and three of the Bruins' best players were interviewed by Mike Hall on the Big Ten Network.
Among those athletes was starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the junior who transferred to Westwood from Tennessee last summer. Also featured were defensive starters, senior linebacker Samuel "Sammy" Omosigho and junior defensive back Cole Martin.
"It's my first year here at UCLA, so having him here has just been a great thing," Omosigho explained. "He's implemented a great standard. The only way we can deviate (from) the standard is literally going up. They've cut out the room for going down. We hold each other accountable, from the coaches to the players. It's building a good, competitive, growing, natural environment in the facility, so it's been great."
Omosigho racked up two sacks and 50 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss of yards, last season at Oklahoma.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: HC Chesney has 'implemented a great standard' at UCLA, per LB Omosigho
#players #junior #here
Among those athletes was starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the junior who transferred to Westwood from Tennessee last summer. Also featured were defensive starters, senior linebacker Samuel "Sammy" Omosigho and junior defensive back Cole Martin.
"It's my first year here at UCLA, so having him here has just been a great thing," Omosigho explained. "He's implemented a great standard. The only way we can deviate (from) the standard is literally going up. They've cut out the room for going down. We hold each other accountable, from the coaches to the players. It's building a good, competitive, growing, natural environment in the facility, so it's been great."
Omosigho racked up two sacks and 50 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss of yards, last season at Oklahoma.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: HC Chesney has 'implemented a great standard' at UCLA, per LB Omosigho
#players #junior #here
4 days ago
UCLA's redshirt junior quarterback Nico Iamaleava was named to the 90th Maxwell Award watch list for his second year with the Bruins, according to the Maxwell Football Club.
The Maxwell Award is given to the Collegiate Player of the Year with the last recipient being former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who was picked No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2026 NFL Draft. In the preseason watchlist, the Big Ten Conference leads all conferences with 17 nominees with the SEC following with 16 and the Big 12 and the ACC with 15 players each.
Iamaleava was named to the preseason award watch list last year and UCLA's young quarterback stood out as one of the most valuable players on the team, as he laid his body on the line, despite the Bruins putting together a less than ideal season.
The Bruins star ended the season with a 64.4 percent completion percentage for 1,928 passing yards and 13 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. He also compiled the most yards on the ground for the team with 505 rushing yards and ran in four more touchdowns.
Iamaleava will have to put together a much better season though as he and new head coach Bob Chesney attempt to bring UCLA back to relevancy with the likes of Big Ten quarterback's Oregon's Dante Moore and Ohio State's Julian Sayin standing in their way.
#season
The Maxwell Award is given to the Collegiate Player of the Year with the last recipient being former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who was picked No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2026 NFL Draft. In the preseason watchlist, the Big Ten Conference leads all conferences with 17 nominees with the SEC following with 16 and the Big 12 and the ACC with 15 players each.
Iamaleava was named to the preseason award watch list last year and UCLA's young quarterback stood out as one of the most valuable players on the team, as he laid his body on the line, despite the Bruins putting together a less than ideal season.
The Bruins star ended the season with a 64.4 percent completion percentage for 1,928 passing yards and 13 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. He also compiled the most yards on the ground for the team with 505 rushing yards and ran in four more touchdowns.
Iamaleava will have to put together a much better season though as he and new head coach Bob Chesney attempt to bring UCLA back to relevancy with the likes of Big Ten quarterback's Oregon's Dante Moore and Ohio State's Julian Sayin standing in their way.
#season
5 days ago
The UCLA Bruins football team participated in media day on Wednesday and three of the Bruins' best players were interviewed by Mike Hall on the Big Ten Network.
Among those players was starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the junior who transferred to Westwood from Tennessee last summer.
Hall started the interview by asking each player about what feels different at UCLA this season under Bob Chesney compared to a year ago with DeShaun Foster. Hall then questioned Iamaleava about the differences and similarities between each head coach's offensive philosophies, which shifted with the hiring of new offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy.
"Yeah, a little similar. There's going to be different changes with the formations, shifts and motions. I think it's a lot similar to last year, just different words," Iamaleava explained. "I've continued to dive into that playbook and get comfortable with it. It's been fun under coach Kennedy and coach Ches."
After the Bruins scored more than 20 points in only five games last season, the pairing of Chesney and Kennedy has plenty of room to improve the offense entering a new campaign.
#hall
Among those players was starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the junior who transferred to Westwood from Tennessee last summer.
Hall started the interview by asking each player about what feels different at UCLA this season under Bob Chesney compared to a year ago with DeShaun Foster. Hall then questioned Iamaleava about the differences and similarities between each head coach's offensive philosophies, which shifted with the hiring of new offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy.
"Yeah, a little similar. There's going to be different changes with the formations, shifts and motions. I think it's a lot similar to last year, just different words," Iamaleava explained. "I've continued to dive into that playbook and get comfortable with it. It's been fun under coach Kennedy and coach Ches."
After the Bruins scored more than 20 points in only five games last season, the pairing of Chesney and Kennedy has plenty of room to improve the offense entering a new campaign.
#hall
