LOS ANGELES -- "Being comfortable being uncomfortable." Was the message UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava said Wednesday afternoon in a moment of self-reflection after the final practice of fall camp before Saturday's season opener against Utah.
Iamaleava credited first-year offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri for bringing him out of his comfort zone and helping him learn what it takes to be a leader of a team.
"Stepping onto my comfort zone and being a more vocal guy," Iamaleava said. "I think (Tino Sunseri) pushing me to lead the team and step out of my comfort zone has been a big difference.
“Me stepping out of my comfort zone and being a more vocal guy.” - UCLA Quarterback Nico Iamaleava https://t.co/fDKdscy1i5 pic.twitter.com/tkqDZfFoag
— Thomas Murray (@Thomas_L_Murray) August 28, 2025
After letting the dust settle and telling his truth on why he transferred from Tennessee to UCLA during the offseason, Iamaleava has been quieting the noise about his leave and has been focused on playing football for the past month, when UCLA headed to Orange County for fall camp.
During that time, he's been honing those leadership skills that Sunseri has been instilling into him.
"I really think fall camp helped me," Iamaleava said. "Just being comfortable in the offense and taking control of the offense. Me and the guys have been putting the work in and we can't wait to display that on Saturday."
While Iamaleava believes fall camp has been helping him work on those leadership skills, wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer shared earlier in camp that Iamaleava was the mastermind behind player-led practices during the offseason.
Gilmer said they would meet three to four times a week and would orchestrate their own practice as a way to prep them for fall camp.
For the Bruins this season, they will be in dire need of finding leaders across the football field, as this year's roster will include over 50 brand new players.
"He's a self-driven person," Sunseri said of Iamaleava earlier in fall camp. "He has a certain standard of how he wants to be able to operate each day."
Following the conclusion of today's practice, head coach Deshaun Foster met with the media for the final time before Saturday's game. Once he was done, Iamaleava was scheduled to be next.
But he wasn't there...
Instead, Iamaleava was leading a group of receivers through drills that lasted nearly 20 minutes after the final whistle of practice was blown.
The group was working on building chemistry together in goal-line drills.
Practicing behind a fence that stood nearly 10 feet tall, it was hard to see who exactly was participating in the drill with Iamaleava, but Gilmer and junior Mikey Matthews' participating in the drill.
While the Bruins were out in Costa Mesa, the team would arrive at practice via a shuttle bus. As players would walk off the bus and make their way to the practice field, Iamaleava would exit the bus alongside Gilmer and Matthews. This sight would last from the beginning until the very end.
As the three would walk, joined by the other receivers, the group always had the same motivated look on their face while walking to practice.
"That's my brother," Gilmer said during fall camp. "We're gonna do everything together and with all the receivers too. We're all brothers. So we're all gonna be together."
Gilmer and Matthews are expected to be the starting wide receivers for the Bruins, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Iamaleava and the two were putting in the extra work.
"I think every day we come in. We've been here seven days a week. We've got a real chance to really bond with each other and grow our relationships with each other," Iamaleava said. "Hanging with each other off the field as well as on the field."