This post was updated Aug 9 at 6:58 p.m.
UCLA football is just weeks away from opening its 2026 campaign Sept. 5 against California. The Bruins have been ramping up their fall practice camps in preparation for the opening kickoff, where first-year head coach Bob Chesney will make his first official calls for the squad. Daily Bruin Sports contributor Zach King gives his biggest takeaways from UCLA’s first three days of fall camp.
Reincarnated
The first line of Kendrick Lamar’s “squabble up” echoed throughout Wasserman Football Center on Friday afternoon during warm-up drills, helping set the tone for UCLA as the team dove into the first three days of preseason camp this week. The program not only brings in former James Madison coach Chesney but also two new top coordinators, 19 new coaches and 55 players, including a Big Ten-leading 43 transfers.
Cohesion remains a priority for Chesney, who’s reestablishing the relationships that motivated 10 former players and 10 former coaches from James Madison to follow him to Westwood among a transfer group featuring former players from Big Ten foes like Michigan, Ohio State and Washington.
“They just know how to react and act,” said fifth-year defensive lineman Aiden Gobaira on Saturday, who followed Chesney from Harrisonburg, Virginia. “Their messages are more than just football. … It’s talking about being a good person.”
Both Chesney and returning senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava expressed appreciation for the passion and competitiveness seen on the field that comes with increasing camaraderie throughout the team, citing how easy it has been for players to bond off the field.
Discipline and competitiveness
If there was a singular throughline connecting the rhetoric of Chesney’s first three days of camp, it was his emphasis on discipline interwoven with competition. The coach emphasized that discipline will be key to not repeating last season’s start, when UCLA was winless through its first four games while averaging nine penalties per contest – tied for seventh-most in the nation at the time.
“Ultimately, procedural discipline was a big part of what we want to make sure we’re constantly talking about,” Chesney said Thursday. “The best teams in the world love the fact that that guy above him is a little bit better, and they are chasing him every single day.”
Throughout camp, UCLA coaches continuously stressed maintaining a competitive edge within every movement as a cornerstone of progression. Senior defensive back Rodrick Pleasant said the team’s one-on-one drills have built spirit up and down the roster and brought the team together.
Secondary depth
Depth and versatility were the words of the day in the defensive back room, with both Chesney and his unit not shying away from the confidence brewing within the group. Much of this optimism stems from the return of two of the team’s bright spots last year, Pleasant and fellow senior Scooter Jackson – who remains academically ineligible. Chesney also noted JMU senior transfer DJ Barksdale as a player he’s excited to utilize creativity amongst a talented room.
“We’re super deep this year,” Pleasant said. ”It’s an amazing unit. … I’m excited about what we can do.”
Running backs ready
Chesney didn’t hold back his excitement for his running back room, particularly when it came to senior Jaivian “The Jet” Thomas.
“He’s a complete back,” Chesney said Thursday, before turning his attention to the group as a whole. “That room, I’m really looking forward to just seeing how they continue to gel together and grow.”
During individual drills, fifth-year JMU transfer Wayne Knight – a foundational piece of Chesney’s success last year at JMU – looked comfortable and confident returning punts. The 2025 Second Team All-American, whose 1,373 rushing yards last year were fifth-most among returning Division I backs, will vie not only for the lead back role, but potentially that of primary punt returner as well.
Quarterback comfort
A year removed from his first camp at UCLA, both Iamaleava and Chesney expressed the quarterback’s growing confidence within the program and with Chesney’s staff, with Chesney saying that Iamaleava has grown much more comfortable.
Iamaleava mentioned multiple times how valuable it was to work at UCLA during the spring – something he was unable to do before his first season with the team last year, which has helped him mesh better with the offense.
Iamaleava’s growth as a leader was repeatedly highlighted by both Chesney and his teammates.
“He’s bringing people with him,” Pleasant said Friday. “That’s been the most impressive thing about him. He’s making guys better day in and day out, and he’s holding dudes accountable.”
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