The UCLA Bruins have received a major boost from the NCAA’s recent decision. The Bruins have been on a rough stretch over the last few years. Last season, they finished near the bottom of the chart with a 3-9 overall record.
After a disastrous start to the season, the Bruins fired their head coach, DeShaun Foster. Interim head coach Tim Skipper took charge for the remainder of the season but couldn’t save the Bruins.
In December, UCLA hired Bob Chesney as its new head coach. Chesney has a great winning record with every program he’s worked with. However, without a solid roster, even he can’t do much for the Bruins.
So, UCLA has been busy building a good roster. The NCAA recently made its job a little easier by issuing a waiver. As per Pete Nakos, Bruins offensive tackle Jordan Davis is officially eligible to play for UCLA in the 2026 season.
After transferring from South Alabama, he received a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA for one final year of eligibility.
“A South Alabama transfer, he was a 2024 all-conference selection. The 6-foot-5, 305-pound OL has played over 2,000 career snaps,” Nakos reported.
The Bruins have Nico Iamaleava, Wayne Knight, Anthony Woods, Landon Ellis, Semaj Morgan, Joshua Phifer, Jordan Davis, Eugene Brooks, and more on their roster.
Bruins Head Coach on Why He Chose UCLA
Chesney is coming off a 21-6 run with the James Madison Dukes. The Bruins, on the other hand, are a struggling team. So, it’s going to be a steep climb for Chesney to bring the Bruins back on track.
Chesney recently talked about why he decided to come to UCLA, and there were plenty of reasons for him to make that decision.
“One was the town, one was the mentorship, one was the education,” he said. “Pretty good town to be in. To be able to bump into some people and learn more about life after football. Then I started researching the alumni, and I was like ‘Oh, man. These alums are phenomenal, once we start getting them involved in the mentorship, and involved in helping these guys with life after football.’”
Another reason why Chesney was excited about UCLA was their legacy. The program has sent a lot of great players to the NFL. Chesney wanted to do his part and mentor the future stars of the NFL.
“The amount of people that have gone to the NFL that could also mentor their position groups here. So then, you look at these two different professional trajectories, of the NFL, and life after football,” he said.
For Chesney, UCLA checked all the boxes, and in his opinion, there wasn’t a better program for him.
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