The Chesney Train left the station Dec. 9.
[Related: UCLA introduces Bob Chesney as head football coach, instills hope in Bruin community]
And the locomotive has been gaining speed since he stepped foot in Westwood.
But since March 27, the train has been at full steam ahead.
UCLA football garnered the commitment of six four-star recruits since the end of March, including three since April 30.
“When our recruits come to practice, they see the energy,” said offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy. “They see how we compete. They see how much fun people are having. They see how much people care about one another. Then people actually get to see with their own two eyes, then everybody’s like, ‘Oh my God, this, this place is legit, and it is the greatest place to play college football.'”
Safety duo Khalil Terry and Pole Moala and linebacker Colton McKibben headline the first wave of top-ranked prospects.
[Related: Bob Chesney’s recruiting approach fuels new era in Westwood]
Defensive lineman George Toia commenced the second round of four-star commits. The younger brother of former Bruin defensive lineman Jay Toia chose UCLA over Penn State, Texas, LSU and Ohio State among other top-ranked programs.
George Toia ranks as the No. 11 best defensive lineman, No. 14 prospect from Texas and the No. 106 recruit in the nation, per 247Sports.
Joining George Toia is four-star interior offensive lineman Jackson Roper. The Cherry Creek player ranks as the top-ranked player from Colorado, the ninth-best interior offensive lineman in the nation and No. 166 recruit in the country, per 247Sports.
Roper chose Westwood over the likes of USC, Texas A&M, Michigan, Ohio State and Georgia among other elite football schools.
Rounding out the Bruins’ four stars is safety Jerry Outhouse Jr., who flipped from Georgia to UCLA. Outhouse committed to Georgia on March 6, decommitted Wednesday and changed his commitment to UCLA on Friday.
The safety ranks as the No. 22 safety and No. 162 prospect in the nation, as well as the No. 24 recruit from Texas, per 247Sports. Outhouse boasted offers from 41 schools, including Florida, Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
“Energy is building,” said defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler. “The recruiting is immensely helped by that energy, and we have a really good class that we’re starting to put together on defense. A large reason for that is that a lot of them are in the city, and they feel the energy that’s changing.”
Outhouse’s commitment marks a significant turning point for UCLA football.
The Bruins have not had a top-25 recruiting class since 2023 – when they secured a commitment from five-star quarterback and the fourth-ranked recruit in the nation at the time – and have garnered just a quartet of four-star prospects since then.
However, the 2027 recruiting class ranks No. 10 in the country, per 247Sports, boasting six four-star prospects with a lot of recruiting still left on the table.
The last time the Bruins had six or more four stars in one class was 2021, and the last time they had a top-10 recruiting class was 2013, which ranked seventh. The commitment flip of Outhouse from Georgia to UCLA signifies that the Bruins look to be back on the national recruiting radar, competing with the nation’s best football programs for top recruits.
In fact, UCLA’s class ranks in the top five in the Big Ten, and its six four-star recruits give the Bruins more four-stars than 13 SEC schools.
And the Chesney train is far from putting on the brakes.
In just under five months, Chesney has inherited a 3-9 program that boasted a No. 59-ranked recruiting class and has looked to turn the Bruins back into the national brand it once was, logging a top-10 recruiting class and a 2026 roster teeming with the No. 33 transfer class in the country.
The Bruins may be 0-0, but Chesney is already winning recruiting battles against the nation’s best.
“I’ve been around almost every school that I could possibly get to in the time allotted,” Chesney said. “We said it from day one that they’ll have access to practices, access to meetings, they’ll have access to just getting a feel for how we do things because that’s going to be important for them to understand our development process, for them to trust us and understand what type of program their player will be coming into.”
And the UCLA football head coach has not even been in Westwood for a full six months yet.
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