LOS ANGELES - UCLA kept moving pieces into place on Sunday, and linebacker Trent Hendrick became the latest one.
The Bruins announced that Hendrick had joined the program five days after he received a temporary restraining order that gave him a fifth year of college eligibility. By Monday’s practice, he was already in the building wearing No. 51 and taking part in positional warmup drills without pads during the media viewing period.
Head coach Bob Chesney said after practice that Hendrick will be “100%” ready for UCLA’s season-opener against Cal on Sept. 5.
At the same time, Chesney noted that Hendrick still has to “go through the normal acclimation” process before he can move into padded work and full team periods. Chesney added that “he’s been working out.”
That timeline may sound aggressive for a player who joined the roster less than two weeks before a regular-season game, but Hendrick arrives with built-in familiarity. He spent four seasons at James Madison, including the last two under Chesney, and in 2025 he earned Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year honors after posting 106 total tackles.
“Obviously, we don’t want to add just anybody to our program,” Chesney said. “He knows the system. He can jump in right away - obviously can’t because he’s in only a helmet for a couple days - but at the same point in time, he’s a nice addition of a kid that we trust and believe in as part of our family.”
Hendrick’s path to UCLA is part of a larger eligibility fight that has spread across college sports. His eligibility originally ended after the 2025 season, but after the NCAA adopted its Age-Based Eligibility Model in June and did not grandfather in players whose eligibility had just expired, hundreds of athletes became plaintiffs in state lawsuits challenging the rule. Last Wednesday, Hendrick and seven other football players won a TRO from a Louisiana judge, opening the door to a fifth year.
He did not hear his name called in April’s NFL Draft. Instead, he spent the spring at rookie minicamps with the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs. He did not appear in a preseason game and never signed an NFL contract.
Now he enters a UCLA linebacker group that already includes Oklahoma transfer Samuel Omosigho, JMU transfer Drew Spinogatti and returners Jalen Woods, Donovyn Pellot and Scott Taylor. Chesney said he and his staff addressed the team about Hendrick’s arrival, and the incumbent linebackers responded with gratitude.
“I’m sure there are many coaches and many programs that never would even have that conversation - the kid would just show up,” Chesney said. “So I think it’s important that we had those conversations just about who he was as a player, that he’s guaranteed nothing, and just like everybody on this team, whatever they’re going to get, they got to work for.”
Chesney described Hendrick as a natural-born leader and said he fits the culture of the programs he has been around. On the field, Chesney and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler leaned on him at James Madison in coverage - both man and zone - and as an inside-the-box tackler.
UCLA’s defense already drew Chesney’s praise on Monday, when he said it was “flying around.” The staff’s scheme asks defenders to play aggressively and take calculated risks, and the offense did not answer back in practice.
“You got to make them pay a little bit,” Chesney said.
With Hendrick added to the mix, the Bruins’ offense will have even more to sort out in 11-on-11 work, and so will opponents once the season begins.
In Other News...
UCLAs Offense Now Hinges On One Risk After Donovan Dent Exit
Donovan Dents departure left UCLA with a real void at point guard, but the Bruins are approaching it with a committee answer rather than a single replacement. After Dent averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 assists last season before transferring to LSU, UCLA has spent the offseason planning to spread the playmaking burden across multiple guards, with Trent Perry and Jaylen Petty among the players expected to help carry it.
The appeal of that setup is obvious: fewer possessions have to run through one creator, and the Bruins believe that shared responsibility could steady the offense or even make it better. The risk, of course, is whether all those pieces can fit together cleanly once the games start and UCLA has to prove it can replace Dents control without losing the rhythm he provided. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA Fall Camp Is Creating A Roster Crunch Fans Should Watch
Fall camp has given UCLA plenty to sort through, and the most crowded decisions may be the ones unfolding in the backfield. The Bruins have multiple position battles going on, especially among the running backs, and the coaching staff still has not officially sorted out the depth chart behind Nico Iamaleava at quarterback. It is the kind of August competition that can sharpen a roster, but it also leaves several players waiting to find out where they fit.
For a team trying to build momentum, the real challenge may be keeping that competition from turning into attrition. When roles are unclear and snaps are hard to come by, some players inevitably start weighing whether their path is better elsewhere, and UCLA is not immune to that reality. Nothing has been confirmed on the transfer front, but with camp still running and the roster picture unsettled, the Bruins are carrying a layer of urgency that will linger until the decisions finally come into focus. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA Fans Have A New 2027 Reason To Pay Attention This Week
Myles Bakers senior season at Sierra Canyon opened with the kind of all-around burst that reminds everyone why his name had been buzzing around Southern California recruiting circles. The defensive back, who had once been committed to UCLA before flipping to Cal, made an early statement with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a rushing score and a pick-six, giving Bruins fans one more reason to keep one eye on the 2027 class.
For UCLA, the timing makes the recruiting watch even more interesting, with the programs 2027 commitments and upcoming games now part of a week that already has plenty of attention around it. Bakers debut doesnt change where hes headed, but it does sharpen the backdrop for a Bruins fan base that will be tracking both the calendar and the local talent board closely from here. [Read more 🡒]