Oregon defensive tackle Bear Alexander will not face discipline for punching UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava during Saturday’s game, according to ESPN. The decision came from Ducks head coach Dan Lanning, who addressed the incident after video surfaced showing Alexander striking Iamaleava late in the first half of UCLA’s 17-15 win.
The hit happened on a second-quarter scramble when Iamaleava was tackled by Alexander and Jerry Mixon. Officials did not throw a flag on the play, and UCLA coach Bob Chesney said Monday the no-call amounted to a missed call by the officiating crew. “Egregious. It’s a shame that it was missed,” Chesney said at his Monday news conference, according to Yahoo Sports.
The Main Development: No Discipline For Alexander
Lanning explained that Alexander was reaching for the ball rather than intentionally targeting Iamaleava’s head, framing the contact as a mistimed strip attempt during a quarterback run. “Obviously [the punch is] late and it’s not the way it needs to be done and wasn’t executed the right way. Bear knows that. One of the first things he said to me was, ‘I wasn’t trying to hurt the guy.’ You don’t want to see it play out like that, but you want your players to be aggressive,” Lanning said, per ESPN.
Video of the play shows Alexander twisting Iamaleava’s helmet before swinging his right arm, which connected with Iamaleava’s chin. Chesney’s account differs slightly on the location of contact, saying Alexander wound up and swung toward the back of Iamaleava’s head. Either way, the punch did not jar the ball loose and the play ended as a normal tackle.
What It Means: Conflicting Views On The Play
The gap between Lanning’s characterization and Chesney’s is the core of this story. Oregon’s coach described a football play gone wrong on a strip attempt. UCLA’s coach described a dangerous blow that officials should have caught in real time.
As of Monday, it remained unclear whether the Big Ten or Oregon would issue any discipline for Alexander, according to Yahoo Sports. Lanning’s comments confirm that Oregon has now settled that question internally, with no punishment coming from the program.
Chesney said he learned about the punch from Iamaleava himself during the game. “Well, that’s the play that we came out, and I was talking to Nico. He’s like, ‘They keep punching me in the face.’ I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll take a look at it.
I’ll tell the refs.’ I didn’t see it from that because it was on their sideline. But when you see it, it’s certainly egregious,” Chesney said, according to USA Today.
Context: A Separate Injury On The Same Play
The punch occurred on the same play in which Iamaleava sustained a lower leg injury, but the two events are not connected. Sources indicate the punch did not appear to play a role in the injury, which is described separately as serious enough to draw concern from UCLA’s coaching staff about Iamaleava’s outlook. Total Apex Sports covered Iamaleava’s exit with the lower leg injury following Saturday’s game.
Alexander finished the game with six tackles for Oregon in the loss. UCLA’s win improved the Bruins to 5-0 on the season despite the quarterback injury that ended Iamaleava’s day.
What’s Next
No further review of the incident has been announced by the Big Ten or by UCLA. Oregon has closed the matter with Lanning’s decision, and attention now shifts to how both programs handle their quarterback and defensive line situations heading into the next round of conference games.
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