Oregon coach Dan Lanning recently discussed a controversial hit involving defensive lineman Bear Alexander and quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Alexander appeared to twist the quarterback’s helmet and swing his right arm, striking Iamaleava in the head and chin, leading to intense online debate about player safety and discipline in college football.
Lanning defended Alexander, saying the contact was accidental and happened during live action. Despite growing criticism, Oregon’s leadership chose not to suspend Alexander or give him any formal punishment for the incident.
Dan Lanning defends Bear Alexander following controversial hit on Nico Iamaleava
The incident happened after Nico Iamaleava was already going down beneath two Oregon defenders. Replay footage showed Bear Alexander delivering a late punch to the back of Nico Iamaleava’s head and helmet after the quarterback was already down. No flag was thrown, and the footage spread after UCLA defeated Oregon 17-15 at Autzen Stadium. Iamaleava later left with a lower-leg injury unrelated to Alexander’s contact.
Dan Lanning said he viewed Alexander’s action as an attempt to attack the football, not the quarterback. “Based on how I saw it, and I feel horrible for their team. You never want to see a player get injured. I think Bear was trying to take a ball shot. We were pretty aggressive about when the quarterback’s running there’s opportunities if the ball’s lose. Obviously it’s late, right? And it’s not the way it needs to be done, it wasn’t executed the right way. Bear knows that and I think he feels bad about that,” Lanning said.
The decision means Alexander will not receive an Oregon suspension or formal team punishment from the play. It does not remove the Big Ten’s authority to review missed conduct. The conference commissioner can impose discipline for an offensive act, with a standard ceiling of a two-game suspension and a $10,000 fine.
Oregon decision highlights unpunished contact during Bear Alexander tackle on Nico Iamaleava
The incident drew heavy criticism from UCLA head coach Bob Chesney, who called the missed penalty egregious, putting Coach Dan Lanning’s decision not to issue a team suspension under immense public scrutiny.
The Bear Alexander play described the late contact as happening after the quarterback went down. Lanning added, “It’s one of the first things he said to me was, ‘I wasn’t trying to hurt the guy.’ I don’t think that’s how he actually got hurt, I think it was actually on a lower extremity. But, yeah, you don’t want to see it play out like that. But you want your players to be aggressive and try to punch the ball out,” Lanning said.
Lanning’s disciplinary approach now faces strict scrutiny. The Big Ten admitted an officiating error regarding the missed personal foul call on Bear Alexander during the game against UCLA. Next games will show if Alexander faces discipline.
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