UCLA football’s Nate Iese shuffles through many positions, finds niche

It was during an early fall camp practice in an 11-on-11 scrimmage play when a Bruin defender had the misfortune of meeting redshirt sophomore fullback Nate Iese in open space.

Iese caught the ball in the flat, ran forward and barreled over him, the defender’s body crumpling in Iese’s wake.

A spectator, watching the play unfold from the sideline, turned toward his comrade.

“That is a big boy,” he said in slight disbelief.

It’s a first impression Iese often leaves.

At 6 feet 3 inches and 250 pounds, Iese has a linebacker’s build cross-paired with a tight end’s skill set. So at an often-overlooked position like fullback, he’s a knight masquerading as a pawn.

“Oh, I like old Nate,” said offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, a wide smile brimming across his face. “He’s really a guy I’m excited about. We don’t have true end-line, tight-end-type kids. So he gives us some of that.”

Iese’s greatest assets on the field – his size and athleticism – have long been the cause of his football coaches’ greatest conundrum: Where exactly does Iese fit on the field?

Even at the start of his UCLA career, it wasn’t crystal clear.

Out of Sheldon High School in Sacramento, he was a consensus three-star defensive end recruit. The Bruins, though, recruited him as outside linebacker, a position he had never played before.

His father, Oak Iese, could tell his son was a bit nervous about the switch. In time, Nate Iese fell in love with the linebacker position, his dad said. But coincidentally, the coaches moved him again after his freshman season, this time to the defensive line in spring 2013.

By the start of fall camp that year, he was a Y receiver (UCLA’s equivalent of a tight end). By camp’s end, he was an F-back (UCLA’s equivalent of a fullback).

Statistically, his 2013 season flashed so quickly, a few ill-timed blinks and you might have missed it. He notched only one catch on the year: a three-yard touchdown reception at Nebraska, though he played in all 13 of the Bruins’ games. He was primarily a blocker.

“(Nate’s) not selfish, he’s not gonna just be like, ‘Oh I wanna play this.’ He’s really selfless … and that’s one of his best characteristics,” said redshirt junior center Jake Brendel.

Amid the helter-skelter position shuffling, Iese never complained or spoke out. To him, it was simple: He just wanted to get on the field and contribute.

It may seem like a clichéd football line until one examines how far back Iese’s ride goes, and how many loops and twists it’s taken.

In his four years at Sheldon, Iese played defensive end and at least six other positions along the way.

He could throw, so he played some quarterback early on. He could run, too, which led to time as running back. His junior year, his coach, Josh Crabtree, needed a right tackle. He went to Iese.

“When you coach a kid like Nate in high school, they have so much more they’re playing for than just the name on the front of the jersey,” Crabtree said. “This is a kid who ended up with 30 offers to big schools and he could have very easily looked at me crazy and said, ‘Coach, I can’t do that, that’s not going to help me.’”

Iese never did. He started a few games as right tackle, took snaps at every other offensive lineman position besides center and made all-league as an offensive lineman that year.

When his team needed receivers his senior year, he played outside wideout, slot receiver and tight end. He also returned punts. Whatever his team needed, Iese did.

This year, though, the pinballing has finally come to a stop.

After last season, like clockwork, Iese’s role again changed. The coaches saw Iese catching passes for the scout team, and with his high school days on offense in mind, they knew Iese could bring a unique skill set to the offense. At fullback, especially, he would create mismatches.

Iese, always wanting to contribute, was all for it.

So the coaches planned to give him more targets at fullback. And the meetings and film work began, his role turning more offensive, though he still often serves as a blocker.

Through four games, Iese has six catches, including a 17-yard catch-and-run against Virginia and a pair of touchdown receptions, against Texas and Arizona State.

“There’s a lot more things we can do as an offense as a whole (with me at fullback), and that makes me really proud of that position,” Iese said.

If Mazzone can call his number more often in games as he says he wants to each week, the expansion of Iese’s role could just be beginning.

The journey never seemed to test Iese, but rather show who he is.

“This is a kid who never once showed an ounce of selfishness. He’s one of the most selfless people I’ve ever known,” Crabtree said. “That kind of all plays into the type of person he is, and caliber of human being he is.”