Following Tennessee football’s strong 45-26 win over Syracuse in Atlanta on Saturday, the Vols’ former quarterback Nico Iamaleava made his debut with UCLA following his spring transfer. The Bruins came up short, falling to Utah 43-10 at home.
Iamaleava finished the game completing 11-of-22 passes for 136 yards, one touchdown and one interception. On 13 carries, he ran for 47 yards.
After the game, Iamaleava and his head coach, DeShaun Foster, both met with the media. Here’s what they said.
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Nico Iamaleava
On what he saw and felt during the loss
“We just didn’t execute well. Got to finish drives. Coach Tino put us all in the right position to go out there and execute. Me personally, I have to be better. We all got to be better as a unit.”
On the locker room knowing they have to be better
“It’s first game, man, we went out there and we got punched in the mouth. The guys in the locker room, we all stood together. We know that we can be better than that, that we displayed. The only way is up from here, we have to continue to get better.”
On the first drive coming up empty
“First drive, second drive and third drive, we had plenty of opportunities to put it in the end zone. I think we put it in the fourth drive. Those first three drives are critical, man. Our defense is going out there and playing hard. We went down early, we got to pick our defense up and respond well as a unit.”
On the score dictating what they did offensively
“I think going down 20-0 is only a three-play game. We went out there and we didn’t execute well. We got it to 20-7 and coming out of half, instead of a field goal, we were wishing for seven. We just didn’t execute well, man. It all came down to execution and we didn’t do it at a high level today.”
On losing offensive momentum after the touchdown, what changed
“All self-inflicted. Coach (Foster), Coach Tino, like I said, they put us in great positions to make plays. We didn’t execute well tonight.”
On being a leader, his job to get the team ready for next week
“Everything we want is still ahead of us, man. It’s week one. Our whole mindset is shifting to who our opponent is week two and going out there and dominating and executing at a high level like our coaches are putting us in position to do.”
On the crowd participation at the game
“Fan base came out and showed their support. It felt great going out there and playing in front of them. Obviously, we got to do our part and get them a win and make them enjoy the game. That’s all on us and we’re going to continue to get better throughout the year.”
On starting with a gut-punch of a week one
“I think we just take this as a learning experience. Utah is a great team. You have to give credit where it is due. They came out and played. We’re going to face many more tough opponents out there on the schedule and we got to be ready.”
On being his first game with UCLA, what he learned
“Coach Tino put me in a lot of great positions to go out there and make plays and, me personally, I didn’t execute at a high level. So, taking myself to the drawing board and using this film as a learning experience and what to see out there, it will definitely help me out this year.”
UCLA coach DeShaun Foster
On Nico Iamaleava’s performance
“Nico is a competitor. He’s not going to quit. Keeps playing hard, kept motivating the guys around him. We just have to do a better job protecting him and keeping him upright.”
On the offense losing its rhythm
“I think the score kind of got us to be one-dimensional at one point. That was tough. I was proud of the way they came out and just kept fighting. There might have been a couple long faces on the sideline, but for the most part, most of those guys were still out there fighting and understanding what you’re putting on film now is actually who you are as a football player.”
