UCLA

Iamaleava is the clearest offensive reference point. He passed for 1,928 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2025 while leading UCLA in both rushing attempts and rushing yards. His mobility remains an advantage, but UCLA should no longer need it to function as the base of the running game. Returning starters Jaivian Thomas and Anthony Woods are joined by Wayne Knight, the James Madison transfer who earned second-team AP All-America honors as an all-purpose player and averaged 6.63 yards per carry on more than 200 attempts last season. A productive rotation would let Kennedy preserve Iamaleava’s improvisation without requiring him to carry the same rushing burden.

That plan depends on the offensive line becoming cohesive. UCLA signed 10 transfer linemen, six with at least 10 FBS starts, giving the staff meaningful experience for a physical transition. Experience alone will not create coordinated protection or movement in the run game, however, and the starting combination was not settled exiting spring. The passing game has its own developmental work. Spring reporting described South Carolina transfer Brian Rowe Jr. as explosive but still learning the playbook, while Michigan transfer Semaj Morgan brought dependable energy to the receiver room. Their connection with Iamaleava could provide the downfield answers needed when defenses commit extra bodies to the run.

The defense is attempting a similar conversion of quantity into function. Nine defensive-line transfers give Hitschler options across a front he described as internally competitive at the end of spring. Oklahoma transfer Sammy Omosigho, who arrived with 36 games of experience, emerged as a visible spring presence. Returning sophomore Scott Taylor offers a different kind of value after playing all 12 games as a freshman. Omosigho’s experience and Taylor’s continuity can help stabilize a unit that otherwise must sort through extensive change, particularly in the front and secondary.

Several consequential roles remain unsettled. UCLA had not publicly established its offensive-line combination, defensive-front rotation or first-team cornerback and safety group by the end of spring. Defensive backs Tao Johnson and Cole Martin are among the options in the remade secondary, but their exact places in the lineup were not defined. Current injury, eligibility and game-day availability also cannot be assumed this far from the season. Those uncertainties do not erase the roster’s potential; they explain why fall cohesion matters more than the number of transfers assembled.

The schedule gives UCLA an early chance to reveal whether that process is working. The Bruins open at California, then host San Diego State and Purdue before traveling to Maryland. That first month should test whether the new line combinations and defensive communication are sturdy enough to travel. The October trip to Oregon is the clearest midseason pressure point, followed by home games against Wisconsin and Michigan State. November brings trips to Minnesota and Michigan before USC visits the Rose Bowl for the finale, creating a demanding finish even though UCLA avoids Ohio State, Penn State, Washington and Iowa.

Ryan Kartje reported that Big Ten media picked UCLA 13th in the conference preseason poll, matching its 2025 finish. That restraint is understandable: quarterback continuity and transfer experience offer possibilities, not proof. Still, Chesney has a workable blueprint. If the line supports a genuine running-back rotation, Iamaleava can become a selective rushing threat rather than the entire ground game. If Omosigho, Taylor and the rebuilt defensive rooms establish order, UCLA can meet its schedule with more than offseason optimism. The Bruins’ season will turn on whether a remade roster becomes a team before its most difficult pressure points arrive.

Win probability

76%

Defensive havoc rate

12.0%

Front-seven havoc

6.7%