Hurts transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma, and likewise, Iamaleava transferred to UCLA following a season as a starter at Tennessee. As the starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide his sophomore season, Hurts was benched at halftime in the national championship game against Georgia. He was the backup quarterback his junior year and saw limited action, which led him to transfer to Oklahoma.
Iamaleava saw limited action in his freshman season at Tennessee until he saw extended playing time in the last regular-season game against Vanderbilt. When starting Vols quarterback Joe Milton opted out of their bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft, Iamaleava became the starter and led Tennessee to a dominant bowl game victory over Iowa.
Their paths are different, but they were both backup quarterbacks for nearly a full season at one time in their collegiate careers. The hope and expectation is that Iamaleava can have success on the field leading the Bruins as Hurts did leading the Sooners.
Hurts and Iamaleava both had their college football paths significantly altered. Iamaleava transferred to UCLA following his first season as a starter at Tennessee, where he guided the squad to a 10-3 record and a trip to the College Football Playoffs. Likewise, Jalen Hurts transferred to Oklahoma for his final season after three seasons at Alabama.
Hurts' dual-threat skills were well-known as a player in college. He had a career-high 3,851 passing yards and 32 touchdowns in his final season at Oklahoma, in addition to 1,298 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. Iamaleava last season with the Vols had 358 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns while at Tennessee, along with 2,616 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions. The hope is that Iamaleava has a similar season to what Hurts had in 2019 at Oklahoma.
The Jalen Hurts analogy has been used by UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster to minimize the difficulties posed by the offensive adjustments at his new school. However, Iamaleava doesn't need to throw for over 3,000 yards with 25 touchdowns; he needs just to lead the offense, get much-needed first downs, and be efficient and limit turnovers.