LOS ANGELES — The UCLA football team features 63 new players and a revamped coaching staff. The Bruins have played to an 8-16 record and failed to appear in a bowl game over their first two seasons in the Big Ten Conference.
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The uncertainty surrounding a team enduring that level of turnover is abundant, so with UCLA’s fall camp opening Thursday, here are the biggest questions the Bruins need to answer.
Can Bob Chesney win at the Power 4 level as a head coach?
Bob Chesney is a winner. He’s won everywhere he’s coached, from Salve Regina to James Madison. So history would say, he’ll continue that trend at UCLA.
But the Big Ten isn’t the Sun Belt.
The Big Ten is home to the last three national champions. It’s a conference in which the program Chesney is inheriting has sputtered to a 6-12 record in its first two seasons. Turning that around quickly in the Big Ten, and winning at the level he has in the past, won’t be easy.
A good starting point is Chesney’s belief in UCLA. “There’s no better place I’d rather be at this moment in time, and I strongly believe in the power of what UCLA is,” he said at Big Ten Media Days.
With the investment in Chesney from UCLA’s administration, the players that followed him from JMU, the transfers that chose UCLA, and the select few that returned to Westwood, Chesney isn’t starting from zero. But to win, he will have to build a standard from the ground up.
“To have success on that football field, you better have success in what you do on a day-to-day basis and hold yourself to an extremely high standard,” he said.
Obviously, this question can’t be answered until fall camp ends and UCLA takes the field Sept. 5 at Cal, but this is what every Bruins fan is wondering. They believe Chesney can win in the Big Ten, and at the high major level, but that can’t be confirmed until the results come.
That process starts Thursday.
Can Nico Iamaleava be the engine of a productive offense?
This wasn’t a question when 247sports rated Iamaleava a 5-star and the No. 2 overall recruit, behind only Arch Manning, in the 2023 high school class.
But now it is.
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While Iamaleava helped Tennessee qualify for the College Football Playoff as a redshirt freshman, in games against ranked opponents – Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia and Ohio State – he never surpassed 200 passing yards and threw only one touchdown. Then in 2025 at UCLA, he finished 14th in passing yards and 12th in touchdowns in the Big Ten.
Now that there’s seemingly a sense of stability, the onus is on Iamaleava to produce.
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He was decidedly solid throughout spring camp. Rather than his play, his leadership was celebrated. That’s a part of the equation, but as the quarterback, production impacts leadership. It leads to respect. And for Iamaleava, it will certainly determine UCLA’s success.
For fall camp, that entails getting on the same page with his weapons and offensive line and furthering his connection with offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy.
Who will start at boundary cornerback?
Fall camp is for position battles. Returning defensive backs Rodrick Pleasant and Scooter Jackson missed the majority of spring camp, and this positional group still showed out, proving it could be the deepest room on UCLA’s roster.
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Pleasant, a rising junior who was limited during spring camp with a shoulder injury, should get the first crack at guarding opposing top receivers.
Robert Stafford III and Dante Lovett showed no signs of drop off as they filled in for Pleasant and Jackson during spring camp. Jhase McMillan earned praise from UCLA’s coaching staff.
Battles like this shouldn’t be viewed negatively. While starters will earn their place, depth is crucial and already useful for UCLA as it awaits Jackson’s status.
How will the carries be split among the running backs?
The running backs are another group that don’t have a clear leader in playing time. While JMU transfer Wayne Knight brings the pedigree and production profile, returners Jaivian Thomas and Anthony Woods received praise from the coaching staff throughout spring camp.
Knight had a head start on knowing the playbook, but Thomas and Woods will have time during fall camp to catch up.
Showing effort in pass protection and an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield would be beneficial.
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