A West Coast college football program hasn’t won the NCAA title since 2004 but there’s more and more talent building out west in the current landscape of the sport. NIL has allowed new programs to rise to the top, giving hope to teams out west that a College Football Playoff run is possible.
The UCLA Bruins are hoping that new head coach Bob Chesney will eventually lead the program to their first-ever CFP, but Chesney won’t be able to do it alone. It’ll take strong quarterback play for UCLA, or any other up-and-coming program to make a deep postseason run but the Bruins might have that with Nico Iamaleava.
Iamaleava was one of UCLA’s best players during their woeful 3-9 2025 season but with the new coaching staff in place and a full offseason with the Bruins, Iamaleava could take another step this fall.
Phil Steele ranked all draft eligible quarterbacks, with Iamaleava slotting in at No. 18. The 2026 season will have a large effect on whether or not will stay in college or head to the NFL Draft.
Steele had four other West Coast quarterbacks ranked ahead of Iamaleava, here’s Steele’s top-five signal callers out west which includes a pair of Oregon Ducks.
No. 5: Nico Iamaleava, UCLA (National Rank: 18)
No. 4: Demond Williams Jr., Washington (National Rank: 14)
No. 3: Dylan Raiola, Oregon (National Rank: 12)
No. 2: Jayden Maiava, USC (National Rank: 8)
No. 1: Dante Moore, Oregon (National Rank: 3)
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Phil Steele’s ranking of the Top-Five West Coast college quarterbacks
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire | USA TODAY Network
