When the UCLA football team abruptly fired head coach DeShaun Foster, few people were more surprised than quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
While the move did not necessarily come as a surprise after the Bruins got off to a disastrous 0-3 start, it forced Iamaleava, who joined the team late in the offseason, to adjust to another significant change in just a handful of months. The redshirt sophomore believes that the team has been handling the transition as well as they can be, he said during his weekly media availability.
“I've been good, man,” Iamaleava told reporters on Wednesday. “I think Coach Skip [Interim head coach Tim Skipper] coming in and relaying the message to us about what we got to do for Coach Fos [DeShaun Foster] has been great, and I think the whole team has really heard the message… Since I first got here, Coach Tino [Sunseri] and Coach Fos pushed me to take that leadership role and be more vocal with the guys. I think that's continuing to take over with the team now.”
UCLA has gotten off to a well-documented 0-3 start to the 2025 college football season. Following a brutal 43-10 loss to Utah in the season opener, subsequent losses to UNLV and New Mexico prompted the team to make a change. Losing to the Lobos, a team that was preseason projected to finish at the bottom of the Mountain West, was clearly a new low.
Since firing Foster, the team had a bye in Week 4, giving it two weeks to prepare for its next outing. UCLA now enters conference play as the only winless team in the Big Ten.
UCLA football's 2025 Big Ten outlook without DeShaun Foster
Since firing Foster, the Bruins subsequently parted with defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe. They are essentially entering Big Ten play with a brand new coaching staff, putting them entirely against the odds.
Although UCLA went just 5-7 in 2024, including 3-6 in the Big Ten, the season was deemed fairly successful. It was Foster's first year at the helm with no previous head coaching experience as the Bruins adjusted to life without Chip Kelly.
With Iamaleava taking over in 2025, expectations were understandably elevated. However, after their poor start, it is difficult to believe in a UCLA team that plays three of its first five Big Ten games on the road. The Bruins begin by facing Northwestern on the road on Saturday.
