With Nico Iamaleava likely out for the rest of the college football season, UCLA will turn to Ty Dieffenbach at quarterback. The California-native went viral back in 2020 for a TikTok dance with JoJo Siwa.
I do not know the context but I would really like to know the context.
Suddenly one of the most important players in college football, Dieffenbach became a household name overnight. His new role does not compare to the pressure of dancing with one of the biggest content creators on TikTok!
Who is UCLA quarterback Ty Dieffenbach?
UCLA is undefeated at 5-0 after a statement win over Oregon on Saturday. However, the Bruins lost their starting quarterback to a knee injury right before halftime. Head coach Bob Chesney said on Monday that there is “serious concern.” The former five-star, multi-million dollar transfer will be out for an extended period of time, if not the rest of the season.
“I’m going to wait for our doctors to make the final call,” Chesney said on Monday. “There is some serious concern at the moment. But at the same point in time, there’s nothing that has been fully ruled at this moment. There’s still other opinions and other people we want to talk to, to make sure everyone sees it the same way.”
With Nico Iamaleava out, Ty Dieffenbach is (probably) in. He threw for 43 yards and a touchdown during the second half against the Ducks. Nico’s younger brother, Madden Iamaleava, is another option at the position. It seems like Dieffenbach is the guy.
Listed on the roster at 6-foot-6, 227 pounds, the former three-star recruit hails from Calabasas, California. Dieffenbach threw for 4,153 yards and 48 touchdowns in three varsity seasons at Agoura High School and rated as a three-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2023. He ultimately committed to Pittsburgh and spent two years with the Panthers. He did not see any game action.
That led him to enter the portal. Diffenbach transferred to Cal Poly for his redshirt sophomore season in 2025, won the starting job, and completed 92 passes for 1,305 yards and nine touchdowns (with nine interceptions) and ran for 321 yards and four touchdowns.
Dieffenbach re-entered the transfer portal during the offseason. UCLA brought him on as the backup to Nico. Now he’s the starter!
Who is JoJo Siwa?
Most simply put, JoJo Siwa is a dancer and singer-turned-media personality. She got famous in 2015 when she appeared on the reality television show Dance Moms, signed with Nickelodeon in 2017, and built a massive following on social media. Her 46 million followers on TikTok puts her at or near the top of most content creators, with more than 10 million followers on Instagram.
Best known for her energetic and eccentric personality, Siwa was named as one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2020. Her music video for Karma has been viewed more than 55 million times.
The 23-year-old apparently grew up with Ty Dieffenbach. I don’t know exactly how they got connected but Siwa used to own a $4 million mansion in Tarzana and Tarzana is located right next to Calabasas. They somehow became friends along the way.
Dieffenbach appeared in a TikTok video with Siwa in July of 2020. That was right in the middle of the pandemic — in California — so they must’ve been close enough friends to be included in each other’s bubbles. It looks like a birthday party?
Dieffenbach did his best to keep up with Siwa but he is a much better quarterback than dancer. Wouldn’t it be funny if the latter showed up to a UCLA football game to support the former? He seems to be the guy and she lives in LA so it’s a real possibility.