Bob Chesney’s rebuild at UCLA has already changed the shape of the Bruins, and Eugene Brooks sits right in the middle of that transformation.
The new head coach brought in 42 players through the transfer portal, but Brooks wasn’t one of them. He was already in place, and after last season he looks like one of the clearest building blocks on the roster. On a line that was a weak spot for UCLA, Brooks stood out as the lone bright spot.
That matters even more with the Bruins leaning into a run-heavy identity under Chesney. At James Madison, Chesney made the ground game the centerpiece, riding running back Wayne Knight to 1,373 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, while quarterback Alonza Barnett III added 589 rushing yards and 15 scores. If that’s the blueprint, Brooks is the kind of lineman who fits it perfectly.
He earned that reputation the hard way. Brooks came out of high school as a highly regarded offensive guard in the 2024 class, first playing at Desert Pines in Las Vegas, where he spent his first two seasons. There, he quickly established himself as a physical run blocker at left guard before transferring to Sierra Canyon in California to face tougher competition.
At Sierra Canyon, Brooks didn’t just hold his own - he became one of the key pieces on a top program. He was named All-CIF Southern Section Division II, All-Mission League Most Valuable Lineman, and made the 2022 L.A.
Times All-Star Football Team. As a senior, he added even more to the résumé: Under Armour All-American, CalHiSports All-State nominee, Daily News All-Area First Team, and a major role in helping Sierra Canyon win two straight Mission League titles.
Recruiting services took notice. 247Sports had him ranked 73rd overall in the 2024 class, third among offensive guards, and seventh in California. Texas, Georgia, Texas A&M, Oregon, USC, and others all came after him, but Oklahoma won out.
The fit looked logical at the time. The Sooners had been battling issues up front, with sacks piling up and the run game lagging.
In 2023, they did show some improvement, allowing Dillon Gabriel to be sacked 17 times while Gavin Sawchuk rushed for 744 yards and nine touchdowns. Brooks joined a recruiting class ranked 12th nationally and came in as the third-highest-rated player behind David Stone and Taylor Tatum.
But his time in Norman never really got rolling. Oklahoma finished 6-6 in the regular season, and Brooks appeared in only three games - Temple, Houston, and Tulane - with his snaps coming on special teams. After that, he redshirted, entered the transfer portal, and headed back to California.
At UCLA, he stepped right into a starting role at left guard. Even as the Bruins struggled and DeShaun Foster was let go after losing the first three games, Brooks gave the line something it badly needed: stability.
Nico Iamaleava had a rough year, finishing with fewer than 2,000 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions, and 27 sacks. But Brooks wasn’t the problem.
He allowed only three sacks in the 11 games he played and started.
Now he gets a better setup around him. Hall Schmidt is projected to start at left tackle next to him, which should take some of the burden off Brooks and let him do what he does best - move people in the run game and carve out space for backs like Knight. For a UCLA offense trying to find its identity, that’s a pretty good place to start.
In Other News...
USC Knows UCLA Could Turn This Rivalry Into A Real Problem
USCs 2026 schedule is drawing plenty of attention because of the usual heavyweight tests, but the crosstown game with UCLA is the one that keeps looking a little trickier than it might have on paper. The Trojans are bringing back key pieces, have a new defensive coordinator in place and are leaning on the nations top-ranked 2026 recruiting class, yet the Bruins have enough around them to make that rivalry game feel less like a formality and more like a real checkpoint.
Last years meeting offered a reminder of how quickly the tone can shift, with UCLA hanging around long enough to lead at halftime before USC pulled away to keep the Victory Bell. This time the matchup comes at the Rose Bowl, which only adds to the sense that the Bruins could make life uncomfortable again if they carry over the kind of early-game edge that has already shown up in this series. [Read more 🡒]