UCLA football coach DeShaun Foster has kept a tight lid on practices this summer.
With very little to see, there hasn’t been much to report on leading up to the Bruins’ season opener on Saturday night against visiting Utah at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
“We are trying to win games,” said Foster, who went 5-7 in his first season as UCLA’s head coach in 2024. “I’m not worried about marketing. If you win games, you’re marketed.”
The UCLA player who’s drawn the most intrigue is quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who’s set to start on Saturday night after transferring from Tennessee.
Iamaleava threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns with the Volunteers last season, helping them go 10-3 and make their first College Football Playoff appearance.
Iamaleava then reportedly requested a $4 million NIL deal from Tennessee, twice as much as previously asked. After sitting out a spring practice, Iamaleava left the program soon after and landed in Westwood, much closer to his hometown of Long Beach, Calif.
“We got an elite quarterback, so that’s going to change the whole offense,” UCLA running back Jalen Berger said. “He can make any throw.”
UCLA linebacker JonJon Vaughns played against Iamaleava at a rival Southern California high school and said Iamaleava has fit right in with the Bruins, many of whom are also from the area.
“It felt like home,” Vaughns said. “We welcomed him like he’d been here five years.”
Iamaleava will make his team debut against an experienced Utah secondary.
The Utes return starting cornerbacks Elijah Davis and Smith Snowden, and safeties Rabbit Evans and Tao Johnson.
Johnson was the best of the group, finishing second on the team with 70 tackles last season.
Devon Dampier is set to take over the reins as starting quarterback after Cam Rising went down with multiple injuries last season and Isaac Wilson struggled to fill the void, throwing 10 touchdown passes with 11 interceptions.
Dampier was a dual threat for New Mexico last season, passing for 2,768 yards with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and rushing for 1,166 yards and 19 scores.
Previously, only Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts and Jayden Daniels had passed for at least 2,500 yards and rushed for 1,000 in a single season.