Nico Iamaleava's Redemption Path: Aggression vs. Caution in the Upcoming Matchup

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Nico Iamaleava is coming off the worst year of his career. As UCLA enters a season with a ton of promise and Iamaleava's NFL Draft hopes rely heavily on his performance this season, it's safe to say that he's under a lot of pressure to perform. in Week Two against San Diego State.

No disrespect to San Diego State, but they are likely one of the easier opponents on UCLA's schedule this season. While they could still certainly give the Bruins some issues, this would be one of the games where Bob Chesney and the Bruins have the most leeway to experiment. be reckless, but it could be worth using this matchup to take some more shots down the field and give Iamaleava opportunities to make aggressive throws.

UCLA's offense was effective against Cal, and though most of it was run through the ground game, Iamaleava looked solid for most of the game. Another interesting storyline against SDSU is how Bob Chesney elects to use Iamaleava's rushing ability. In a game like this, it may be wise to limit quarterback runs and allow Iamaleava to focus on getting comfortable in the passing game.

UCLA's deep running back room, which is more than capable of carrying the offensive load on the ground, will give Chesney even less reason to put Iamaleava in harm's way. after a 10-yard rush against Cal. Though he ended up being fine, the scare could still influence how likely Chesney is to use Iamaleava's legs against the Aztecs. Another thing I will look for in Iamaleava's game this week is an area where he showed a major strength against Cal.

Following the red zone interception, Iamaleava came back on the next possession looking calm and in control. He delivered a strike downfield to Mikey Matthews to set the Bruins up in field-goal range, allowing UCLA to steal three points before halftime and regain some momentum heading into the locker room.

The ability to quickly respond to a mistake by making a big-time throw is rare in a quarterback and will certainly be something to watch closely as he takes on SDSU. With a lot of weight on Iamaleava's shoulders this season, it is great to see him playing calm and collected for the most part. Loading recommendations...

Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations Kade Nix is the UCLA Beat Writer On SI and a member of the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). He specializes in college basketball coverage, with a statistical, analytics-driven approach to reporting, providing readers with in-depth analysis of recruiting, roster construction, player development, and the evolving college sports landscape

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