UCLA’s defensive line enters a new era with a built-in advantage: experience.
As Bob Chesney and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler install their system across a roster still learning the details, a few Bruins already know the language. That matters on a unit expected to carry the tone of the defense, and it starts up front with Aiden Gobaira and Darold DeNgohe.
Both linemen have ties to Chesney from previous stops, though their paths back to him looked nothing alike. Gobaira’s route was the more improbable one. Before Chesney arrived, he wasn’t even sure his football future was intact.
“I was a guy who didn’t really have a path, didn’t think he was going to be able to play, and (Chesney) came to me and just gave me the opportunity.” Gobaira said at UCLA’s practice Saturday.
“I can’t even imagine what I would be, where I would be without him. Like, that man has really done so much for me, and forever and always, I’ll be grateful.”
Gobaira redshirted his first season at Notre Dame, then suffered ACL, MCL and meniscus injuries before the 2023 season. He medically retired and did not play in 2024, but he returned at James Madison in 2025 and then followed Chesney to UCLA. He is one of four defensive players who transferred directly from JMU to UCLA.
DeNgohe’s path was less about starting over and more about coming back around. He began at JMU, redshirted in 2023 under Curt Cignetti, stayed when Chesney took over from Holy Cross, and played in 12 games in 2024. After transferring to Rutgers last season, he found his way back to Chesney in Westwood.
“It’s definitely been a journey, but everybody’s journey is different,” DeNgohe said Saturday. “I’m very grateful for the staff … I feel like a prodigal son. You know, they welcome me back with open arms, and it’s something that, you know, you can’t take for granted.”
DeNgohe, who is from Cameroon, said his comfort with Chesney and his staff, along with his family’s comfort level, played a major role in his decision to come to UCLA.
That familiarity gives UCLA something valuable as the Bruins build out a new defensive identity. Rodrick Pleasant said Friday that aggression is a key part of Chesney and Hitschler’s scheme, and the defensive line has to “set the tone” for it to work.
DeNgohe put it simply: “We’re the motor, we’re the D-line, we’re the front line,” DeNgohe said. “So everything starts with us.
So we try to go out there and set the standard. You know, and just try to be as physical as possible.”
Gobaira echoed that message.
“We have to be the most physical group out there, you know,” Gobaira said. “And that’s what we work out every day.”
That edge comes at a time when UCLA needs it. The Bruins are coming off a 2025 season in which they finished 17th in the Big Ten against the run, allowing 5.2 yards per carry, and 18th in the conference with 10 sacks.
For a defense trying to reset, Gobaira and DeNgohe offer more than just depth. They bring firsthand knowledge of what Chesney expects, and that gives UCLA a clearer place to start.
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Bob Chesney arrives in Westwood with the kind of rsum UCLA fans can get behind, having guided James Madison to a Sun Belt Conference championship and a College Football Playoff berth before taking over for DeShaun Foster. The Bruins are already trying to absorb the habits that follow him, from the accountability and discipline he is expected to demand to the familiar faces he has brought over from his former program, all while leaning on a handful of key returners to help steady the transition.
The problem for UCLA is that the easing-in period looks short. A challenging schedule is waiting, which means Chesney will not get long to sort out chemistry, install his approach or find out how quickly the new pieces can fit together. For a program that wanted a cleaner runway into this next era, the real test appears to be arriving sooner than anyone around the Bruins would have liked. [Read more 🡒]
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Iamaleava also pointed to head coach Bob Chesneys steady approach as part of what has helped him grow. For UCLA, the stakes are simple enough: if Iamaleava keeps progressing through camp and carries that comfort into the fall, the Bruins give themselves a better chance to make this season count. [Read more 🡒]