Only 10 programs in college football finished with a worse offense than UCLA did last season, and that alone tells the story of how rough it got for the Bruins. There were bright spots - Jerry Neuheisel’s rise to interim offensive coordinator and the upset of Penn State in the Rose Bowl among them - but the overall product in 2025 never came close to matching the talent on hand.
That’s why the arrival of Bob Chesney feels like such a clean reset. Chesney’s first UCLA staff includes offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy, and that pairing is the reason there’s real buzz around what the Bruins could become in 2026. James Madison ranked ninth in scoring offense last year and went on to play Oregon in the College Football Playoff, and Kennedy was a major part of that surge.
Kennedy’s coaching path has been a steady climb. He got his start at ASA College at the JUCO level, working as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in his first two seasons.
From there, he spent time on the staffs at Mississippi State and Florida before joining Chesney at Holy Cross in 2023. When Chesney moved on to James Madison after Curt Cignetti’s departure, Kennedy followed, and the Dukes became one of the most productive offenses in the country.
That background is a big reason UCLA’s offense could look completely different this fall. The Bruins still have some holdovers from the DeShaun Foster era, but the roster now has the feel of a group that can be maximized by Kennedy’s system. That matters especially for two of the most important players on the team: quarterback Nico Iamaleava and running back Wayne Knight.
Iamaleava feels like a make-or-break player in this setup. He has all the talent needed to be a strong Big Ten starter, but this season will say a lot about where his game is headed.
Knight gives the Bruins another huge piece. The Second Team Associated Press All-American enters the year as one of the best rushers in college football, and the fit with Kennedy’s offense looks obvious.
The potential production is what makes this so intriguing. James Madison averaged 241.5 rushing yards per game last season, good for sixth nationally, and there’s a case that UCLA can push into the top 25 on the ground with Knight leading the way and depth behind him. Put that kind of run game next to a quarterback with Iamaleava’s ceiling, and the Bruins suddenly have a much higher offensive floor.
That’s the bet here: that a strong coordinator, paired with better personnel, can turn a struggling unit into something dangerous. UCLA looks fortunate to have Kennedy, and if the Bruins land somewhere in the six-to-eight-win range, he’s the kind of coach other programs will come calling for before long.
In Other News...
Donovan Dents UCLA Status Just Turned Into A Messy Eligibility Fight
Donovan Dents path back into college basketball has turned into one of the more unusual roster stories around UCLA this offseason. After first announcing his retirement from the game, Dent entered the transfer portal with a Do Not Contact tag following a court injunction that granted a fifth year of eligibility to players from the 2022 high school class, creating the appearance that a fresh start elsewhere might be possible.
The catch is that the injunction does not wipe away transfer rules, which leaves Dent in a murky spot as his separate lawsuit against the NCAA plays out. For UCLA, the uncertainty matters because if Dent does return to the floor next season, the Bruins may end up being the only realistic place he can do it, at least unless the legal fight changes the landscape. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA May Have An Early Camp Winner Fans Should Watch
During UCLAs fall camp, one of the more interesting watch items has been the early chemistry forming between Nico Iamaleava and Florida transfer Aidan Mizell. The quarterback had a positive review of Mizells work so far, and that matters for a Bruins offense trying to sort through a crowded group of transfer receivers on its 2026 roster.
Mizells path has made him a little harder to project than some of the other newcomers, but camp is where those first impressions start to settle in. If he keeps stacking clean reps and expanding his role, he could become one of the names UCLA fans hear a lot more often once the season gets moving. [Read more 🡒]
UCLAs Turnaround May Come Down To These Proven Starters
Bob Chesney is only getting started in his first fall camp as UCLAs head coach, but the Bruins already have a familiar core to lean on. The upcoming season figures to be shaped by a small group of proven contributors on both sides of the ball, including linebacker Jalen Woods, quarterback Nico Iamaleava, left tackle Davis, pass rusher Sahir West and safety Johnson. For a program trying to steady itself quickly under a new staff, that kind of continuity matters.
The appeal of this group is not just familiarity, but the sense that each player brings something the Bruins can count on when the margins get tight. Woods and Johnson help anchor the defense, West adds pressure off the edge, and Davis gives the offensive front a stabilizing presence while Iamaleava sits at the center of the whole operation. If UCLA is going to make the kind of early statement Chesney needs, it may come from these starters doing what they have already shown they can do. [Read more 🡒]