UCLA target Nico Iamaleava has yet to commit to the Bruins despite earlier reports, as he tries to repair his image after a public fallout from Tennessee. Well, he got a nod of support from the biggest voice in the sport, Kirk Herbstreit, on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“Nico Iamaleava is one of the nicest guys that I’ve ever spoken to..
From my time being around him he’s a guy that you want in your huddle..
He was a true freshman last year who ran that Josh Heupel scheme” ~ @KirkHerbstreit #PMSlive pic.twitter.com/0mWgThuf0d
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 16, 2025
“I did about four or five games with Tennessee. First time I did a Tennessee game, I was very interested to see what it was going to be like in our production meeting, what he’s going to be like,” Herbstreit said. “I saw the pajamas. I heard about the $8 million — no idea what’s true, what’s not. And he hopped on our first call that we did with him.”
“It was against NC State early in the year. I think it was the first game of the year. And I thought, ‘All right, here we go.’ And this dude was one of the typical Polynesian, laid back, calm, quiet, humble, nicest guys I’ve ever spoken to. I was blown away.
“So, I’m not piling on Nico at all. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know. I hear about his dad, I hear about his team. I can just tell you the kind of guy that that’s why I’m sure it’s tough for Josh Heupel to let him go, is, if it’s Nico, Nico is a great teammate.”
“Nico is a great guy. Nico is a guy that you want, is a guy from my time being around him, you want him in your huddle. I talked to Jack Sawyer after the Ohio State-Tennessee game. We’re going to do the Oregon game, and we were just reminiscing about the week before, and he said, ‘I’ll tell you what, man, we knew we had him early, but I was blown away by their quarterback.
“That guy just — we cracked a couple of his helmets. He just kept coming back. He kept competing.’ He goes, ‘That kid’s the real deal. So, I’m impressed with Nico as a person. I’m impressed with Nico as a player.’ The kid was a true freshman last year.
“Everybody said, ‘Oh, he’s not worth it.’ He is worth it. I don’t know what he’s worth and what he’s not worth. I know that in the college game as a true freshman, to try to run Josh Heupel’s scheme, when you got Dylan Sampson, who’s an outstanding back, and the receivers were okay.”
Perhaps it’s Iamaleava’s endearing personality that has paved alleged conversations between the player and UCLA.
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