UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava Out for Season with Knee Injury

UCLA’s senior starting quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, will miss the remainder of the season due to a knee injury. This was confirmed by an unnamed source familiar with the situation. The injury serves as a setback for the 12th-ranked Bruins, who have a 5-0 record in Coach Bob Chesney’s first season, aspiring for a College Football Playoff spot.

Iamaleava’s injury occurred during UCLA’s victory over Oregon. He was tackled after being spun around while running with the ball and grabbed his leg as Oregon’s Bear Alexander struck his head. Although Coach Chesney indicated during a halftime interview that the quarterback was fine after being hit in the quad, Iamaleava did not return in the second half. Instead, he reappeared in street clothes during the third quarter.

Before leaving the game, Iamaleava completed 10 of 17 passes for 162 yards, throwing two interceptions. Across five games, he had 982 passing yards, 144 rushing yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions. Post-game, Chesney mentioned the injury might be more extensive than anticipated, requiring a thorough medical evaluation.

Senior quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, initially third in the depth chart behind Iamaleava and his brother Madden, took over the offense in the second half. He completed three passes for 43 yards and one touchdown, aiding the Bruins to a 17-15 triumph. “When someone goes down, someone has to step up,” Chesney remarked. “One of the two is going to happen when your number gets called, and Ty stepped up in that moment.”

Madden Iamaleava appeared in two games this season, stepping in when his brother was injured against Purdue and in the game against Maryland when the Bruins led comfortably. The choice to play Dieffenbach instead of Madden was strategic, based on game conditions and his capability in the run game, as Chesney explained.

“This week we felt we needed a quarterback who could run more, and Ty had a strong week of practice, which led us to play him,” Chesney said, adding that Madden could have performed well too but Ty was favored based on practice performance.

Both Chesney and Dieffenbach noted the continuous competition for the backup quarterback position. “Every week is a contest between me and Madden,” Dieffenbach stated, “but when I heard I was going to play, I was just ready to execute.”

Before aiding UCLA’s victory at Autzen Stadium for the first time since 2004, Dieffenbach spent 2025 playing at Cal Poly. There, he started 11 games, throwing for 1,305 yards, nine touchdowns, nine interceptions, and adding 321 rushing yards with four scores. His time in San Luis Obispo followed two years at Pittsburgh, where he did not play in any games. Returning to Southern California, Dieffenbach, an Agoura High alumnus, initially started as a wide receiver in high school, finishing with 4,153 passing yards and 48 touchdowns during his varsity career.