Iamaleava Named to Davey O'Brien Award Preseason Watch List
August 07, 2025 | Football
The Davey O'Brien Foundation on Thursday announced that UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been selected to the 36-man Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award Preseason Watch List.
Iamaleava becomes the first Bruin to appear on the preseason Davey O'Brien watch list since Dorian Thompson-Robinson in 2022. Thompson-Robinson went on to be named a semifinalist for the award after compiling 39 total touchdowns (27 passing, 12 rushing) with 3,169 passing yards on a school-record .696 completion percentage.
This is the third preseason watch list that Iamaleava has been selected to in the leadup to the 2024 campaign, as he was earlier tabbed to the watch lists for the Maxwell Award (most outstanding college football player) and Walter Camp Player of the Year.
Iamaleava, a native of Long Beach, Calif., returns home after spending two seasons at Tennessee where he led the Volunteers to a 11-3 record as the starting quarterback and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024. Iamaleava finished last season completing 213-of-334 passes (63.8%) for 2,616 yards (201.2 yards per game) and nine touchdowns with five interceptions. He totaled 299-plus yards of total offense in three contests against UT-Chattanooga (320), Kentucky (306) and Vanderbilt (299). A master of the deep ball, Iamaleava ranked second in the Southeastern Conference with six 50-plus-yard completions last season.
In 2023, Iamaleava played in five games and served as Tennessee's backup quarterback as a true freshman. Iamaleava shined in his first career start versus Iowa in the 2024 Citrus Bowl, accounting for 178 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to earn MVP honors.
Compiled by a subset of the Davey O'Brien National Selection Committee, this year's list was selected based on previous Division I career player performance as well as expectations heading into the 2025 college football season.
The official Davey O'Brien Midseason Watch List will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 21, and will contain active quarterbacks from the Preseason Watch List, players honored as weekly Great 8 recipients through the season's first eight weeks and any additional quarterbacks approved by the selection subcommittee.
The 35-player Davey O'Brien QB Class of 2025 will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 28. For the fifth straight year, fan voting on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) will earn players bonus selection committee votes during the semifinalist, finalist and winner voting rounds. First-round fan voting will begin Oct. 28 following the QB Class announcement.
The list of semifinalists selected from the QB Class will be named on Wednesday, Nov. 12. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later (Tuesday, Nov. 25). The 2025 Davey O'Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 11, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. The 49th Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
UCLA opens the 2025 season at home at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California versus Utah on Aug. 30 at 8 p.m. (PT).ย Single-gameย andย season ticketsย for UCLA's upcoming football season are now available. Fans can call (310) 206-5991 or email tickets@athletics.ucla.edu for more information.
