UCLA news: Nico Iamaleava never weighed transfer after Bob Chesney hire

UCLA has a brand-new head coach, as Bob Chesney joined the program from James Madison after leading the Dukes to the College Football Playoff. Chesney inherited a great quarterback, Nico Iamaleava. Iamaleava has already impressed Chesney in their short time together.

Now, Chesney, speaking at Big Ten Media Days, spoke about the offseason heading into his first year at UCLA and his quarterback, per Griffin McVeigh of On3.

“He did not want to go anywhere,” Chesney said on Wednesday. “This is where he wanted to be, this is where he wanted to play. His younger brother is on the team. He doesn’t live very far away. So, the ability for his family to see him play, as well, I think, was really important for him.”

This is the third year in a row that Iamaleava has had a new head coach. He was under Josh Heupel his final year at Tennessee, before transferring to UCLA under Deshaun Foster. Now, he is under Chesney, and Iamaleava is comfortable with the program’s direction.

“It was just a matter of making sure he understood that we have a plan,” Chesney said. “That was it. That was the most important thing we could do to make sure he stuck around, and he did. So then, after that, it becomes, let’s take the next step for him personally. I just love the growth he’s had as a leader.”

Iamaleava may be right to trust Chesney. He has proven that he is a winner. He led Salve Regina, a Division-III school, to its first season finishing ranked in its history. He then took Assumption to the Division II Playoffs three of five seasons. At Holy Cross, he turned them from a team who has played in just one playoff game to four straight playoff berths at the FCS. Then, he was 21-6 with a CFP berth in two years at James Madison.

The last coach to make the jump from James Madison to the Big Ten did fairly well too, as Curt Cignetti won a national championship with Indiana.