Nico Iamaleava turns heads with strong message to DeShaun Foster after Bruins’ loss vs New Mexico

Nico Iamaleava’s transfer to the UCLA Bruins was one of the biggest moves of the offseason, fueling growing excitement around the program. However, a recent loss to the New Mexico Lobos marked their third consecutive defeat, as DeShaun Foster’s squad remains winless this College Football season.

Inevitably, criticism toward head coach Foster has started to mount, and speculation is already swirling about what the future may hold for him.

At a time when many might be ready to turn their backs during a rough stretch like this, Iamaleava stepped up and showed why he’s considered the leader of this team, expressing full confidence in the staff — and especially in his head coach — during his remarks to the media.

“I totally believe in Coach Foster. He gives me so much belief to get in the building and go to work. He gives me that ‘want’ to go out there and practice, and practice hard,” he said via SI.com.

“We’re doing him a disservice by not performing for him. He’s telling us everything we need to hear, he’s telling us everything we need to do, and we’re not executing as players. It all falls back on the players. Coach Foster’s done a great job, Coach Tino [Sunseri], and Coach Ikaika [Malloe] have all put us in great positions to win a game and we haven’t done that successfully.”

The Bruins’ difficult moment

A sense of disbelief hangs over Westwood as the UCLA Bruins have stumbled to an unprecedented 0-3 start, a situation that few could have imagined. The highly anticipated debut of quarterback Nico Iamaleava has so far failed to ignite the Bruins’ offense, which has been plagued by a lack of rhythm and costly mistakes.

From poor execution to an inability to close out games, the team appears lost and outmatched on both sides of the ball. The promise that once surrounded this squad has quickly faded, replaced by mounting frustrations as the Bruins search for any sign of life to salvage a season that seems to be spiraling out of control.

Redemption just around the corner

As the leader of this team, Iamaleava knows they can’t afford to rest on their laurels. Securing their first win of the season has become imperative in order to shift the momentum and change the atmosphere within the program.

“You can look at it two ways. You can be 0-3 and you look at it and you fold, and you don’t care about the season. Or you can look at it as – we know that we’re not playing at our best out there for us, to lose these games,” he said.

“It’s one thing if the other team is just better than you, but we’re just shooting ourselves in the foot with so many costly penalties that are costing us in big time moments. For me, I’m looking at the season ahead of us, we’ve got seven or eight more games to play. It’s time to go get better.

What’s next for the Bruins?

• @ Northwestern, September 27
• vs Penn State, October 4
• @ Michigan State, October 11
• vs Maryland, October 18
• @ Indiana, October 25