As ugly as his divorce was with Tennessee, the situation may end up having a happy ending for Nico Iamaleava — and for his new team at UCLA, too.
While there was initially some concern around the Bruins building about the quarterback based at least partly on information that circulated during that highly-publicized fallout with Tennessee, the feedback since he got to UCLA has continued to be beyond glowing. Not only has Iamaleava impressed from a talent standpoint, he’s also made a huge impression with his work ethic, leadership, maturity and intelligence behind the scenes.
“He’s been special,” one source told CBS Sports.
Putting controversial Tennessee exit to rest, Nico Iamaleava turns focus to championship aspirations at UCLA
Brandon Marcello
UCLA has several people on staff who have been around successful quarterbacks and that know what it takes to be an early-round NFL draft pick, including general manager Khary Darlington and assistant GM Steven Price (who both have NFL backgrounds) as well as new offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri (who worked with quarterbacks like Tua Tagovailoa, Bryce Young and Mac Jones at Alabama). The feeling in the Bruins building is that Iamaleava is poised to soon remind people that he’s deserving of being viewed as an early-round draft prospect.
As one source put it, Tennessee may end up having some big regrets if Iamaleava performs at the level that UCLA is currently expecting from him.
Simply put, Iamaleava has been so legitimately impressive that the Bruins (who have a projected win total of just 5.5) feel like they have a realistic chance of being competitive in every game and surprising people with their final win total, especially with a schedule that includes only three games against teams ranked in the preseason AP poll.
One other UCLA note by the way: Be on the lookout for sophomore wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer to emerge as a top weapon for Iamaleava within the Bruins passing game after posting 31 catches as a freshman last season. There’s a lot of internal excitement about him.
The best Georgia WR room in more than a decade?
While much of the focus with Georgia this offseason has been around new Bulldogs starting quarterback Gunner Stockton, there’s something flying under the radar that will very much help Stockton as he heads into his first season as Georgia’s starting QB.
At least some around the Bulldogs program believe Georgia may have its most talented overall wide receiver group since the days of A.J. Green 15 years ago.
Stockton being on a team-friendly deal money-wise contributed to the Bulldogs being able to add several notable pieces through the transfer portal. Two of them were at wide receiver with Zachariah Branch from USC and Noah Thomas from Texas A&M. It’s continued to be clear that both are going to be big weapons for Georgia to go along with multiple other receivers that NFL scouts view as potential draft picks like Colbie Young and Dillon Bell as well as other talented pieces such as junior London Humphreys, an underrated athlete who had 15 catches last year and recorded an 11-foot broad jump this offseason.
It sounds like Branch, who is expected to be a multi-dimensional weapon for the Bulldogs on both offense and special teams, had some explosive plays on offense during Georgia’s first preseason scrimmage along with a long kick return. Thomas, meanwhile, has continued to be one of the stars of fall camp for the Bulldogs. The 6-foot-5 Thomas, who posted eight touchdown catches as a junior at Texas A&M last season, has been — as one source put it — largely unguardable during fall camp. He had a diving touchdown catch during that first Georgia preseason scrimmage.
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LSU set to succeed with more than just offense
Yes, LSU is set to be one of the better offensive teams in the SEC, especially with a potential early first-round draft pick at quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier. However, a less-talked about aspect of the Tigers that gives the team a realistic chance to compete for a national championship to go along with that talented offense is a defense that LSU sources expect to be much-improved compared to last year’s injury-depleted unit that finished 11th in the SEC in total defense.
The Tigers added several highly-ranked defensive players through the transfer portal and it’s contributed to the LSU staff having a lot of optimism regarding its defense to go along with other developments like star linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. being set to return from a season-ending knee injury.
Word is that the defense was “flying around to the football” during the Tigers’ first preseason scrimmage.
Cornerback Mansoor Delane, a transfer from Virginia Tech who entered last year with early-round NFL draft grades, played “really well” during the scrimmage according to a source.
USF defensive line transfer Bernard Gooden, a highly-ranked spring addition, “was disruptive” during the scrimmage as well. In addition, the feedback has been that another notable spring portal pickup, former Houston All-Big 12 safety AJ Haulcy, has been “fantastic throughout camp.” Haulcy, who picked the Tigers over teams like Miami during the transfer process, had five interceptions at Houston last season.