Head coach Bob Chesney delivered the unfortunate news on Monday that UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava will be undergoing surgery on his leg that he injured against Oregon earlier this month.
At this point, Iamaleava’s future with UCLA is unclear. After being a rare bright spot on UCLA’s team last year, Iamaleava struggled at points in 2026 while still flashing moments of greatness, highlighted by his performance against Purdue, where he put up 331 total yards with three touchdowns.
“Nico is going to be out. It’s severe. He’s going to have surgery today or tomorrow.” Chesney said Monday.
That means the 2026 season will belong to Ty Dieffenbach’s if can keep playing the way he did versus Wisconsin. After transferring in from Cal Poly this offseason, Dieffenbach now finds himself as the starting quarterback for a team with College Football Playoff aspirations.
If Dieffenbach continues to perform then perhaps he’ll be UCLA’s quarterback for the 2027 season as well, potentially forcing Iamaleava to look elsewhere. Iamaleava is a highly talented player but it has yet to all come together for the quarterback.
Iamaleava has played in 16 games as a UCLA Bruin, scoring 22 total touchdowns with 11 interceptions, 2,910 passing yards and 649 rushing yards. If everything went to plan for Iamaleava in 2026 perhaps he would have ended up declaring to the NFL Draft but now the Long Beach native will be a major question mark in the college football world heading into next season.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Bob Chesney announces that QB Nico Iamaleava is undergoing surgery