Five Reasons To Believe UCLA Can Exceed Expectations This Season

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UCLA football is a team that, under new management, will be worth watching in Bob Chesney's first year as head coach.

Since taking over as head coach in the offseason, Chesney has completely overhauled the roster, adding 42 new players from the transfer portal and 20 incoming freshmen from the 2026 high school class.

With that amount of newness to the Bruins' roster, as well as a brand-new coaching staff, some are skeptical about how successful they will be in year one. However, given how bad last year was, there is no other way to go but up, and UCLA has improved its roster.

With that being said, with all the skeptics around UCLA, here are five reasons as to why the Bruins will exceed expectations this season.

Successful Coaching Staff

Bob Chesney is coming off an amazing year with James Madison, as he led the Dukes to not only the Sun Belt Conference Championship, but also an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Along with Chesney are offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler, who both helped lead both units to rank in the top 20 in college football.

Keeping a coaching staff that was one of the best in the country is a major addition, as some of the top playoff teams did not have either a top-20 offense or defense last season.

Improved Defensive Line

Last year, UCLA's defensive line was considered the worst in the Big Ten. The Bruins had a total of 10 sacks on the season, which was last in the conference, along with 40 tackles for a loss. The leader in sacks was linebacker Jalen Woods with 1.5.

Chesney went into the transfer portal and brought in his best pass rusher from James Madison, Sahir West, who had a total of seven sacks last year. Following West are Aiden Gobaira, who had a resurgence with Chesney last year; Ryan McCulloch, who is extremely talented off the edge; and Darold DeNgohe, who can stop the run. With all these new players coming in, the Bruins will be able to rush the passer effectively and stop the run.

Adding to a Good Secondary

The Bruins' secondary was already their best unit and the one positive from last year's team. Players like Cole Martin, Rodrick Pleasant, and Scooter Jackson had very good seasons last year and would be more recognized if they were on better teams.

All Chesney has done is add more to the unit, making it one of the better secondaries in the Big Ten. DJ Barksdale has come in to secure the nickel corner position, Tao Johnson helps Cole Martin as a nice safety duo, and Dante Lovett Jr. adds good depth to help both Jackson and Pleasant.

Improved Running Game

UCLA's running game was not a strong unit last year, as quarterback Nico Iamaleava was the leading rusher with 505 yards and four touchdowns. As for the running backs, sixth-year senior Jalen Berger led the Bruins with 346 yards on 81 carries and two touchdowns.

Wayne Knight is the new lead back, as he is coming off an incredible year with James Madison with 1,373 yards on 207 carries and nine touchdowns. Knight is also capable of being a reliable receiving back as well, with 397 receiving yards and a touchdown last year.

A Motivated QB

Nico Iamaleava did not have a good season last year after transferring from Tennessee. After leading the Vols to a College Football Playoff appearance, Iamaleava would disappoint with UCLA with 1,928 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

This year, with all the noise surrounding him about how he should have never left Tennessee and him being a "bust," he has a coach who has built this team around him and given him the best chance to succeed.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/ucla as Five Reasons To Believe UCLA Can Exceed Expectations This Season.

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