UNLV DB on Nico Iamaleava: ‘Nothing really sticks out to me’
By Jacob Moss
Published:
Nico Iamaleava’s move from the Tennessee Volunteers to the UCLA Bruins this past spring after an NIL dispute with the Vols was one of the biggest stories around the sport over the offseason.
The criticism that the former 5-star recruit gained from the whole saga only grew louder over the weekend as Iamaleava struggled in his first career start under center out west in the Bruins’ 43-10 blowout loss at the hands of the Utah Utes.
Now, both he and UCLA will be looking to avoid any further embarrassment this upcoming Saturday when they travel to the desert to take on the UNLV Rebels on the Vegas Strip.
The Rebs don’t appear to be too concerned about facing Iamaleava, though, and UNLV senior defensive back Aamaris Brown recently told reporters why during a recent presser.
“Honestly, nothing really sticks out to me about him [on tape],” Brown said. “You know, in the past, there’s been talk about ‘5-star this, 5-star that.’ I have been around plenty of 5-star and 4-star [players], it don’t scare me. I have played competition higher than them, including Alabama and all that. … Going against a guy like Nico, there’s no surprise, no excitement or nothing like that.”
It’s clear that Brown doesn’t seem to think that Iamaleava has anything the Rebels need to be concerned about, and he’s also throwing down the gauntlet ahead of what’s a pretty big matchup for UNLV.
Only time will tell if Iamaleava can rise to the challenge this weekend, but if he is unable to do so, then those critics will only grow louder in the wake of a defeat.
[H/T CBS Sports]
