UCLA is bringing in a running back who already looks ready to carry real weight in Westwood, and Wayne Knight arrives with a résumé that should make him one of the most important pieces of Bob Chesney’s first Bruins roster.
Knight is part of the wave of James Madison transfers following Chesney to UCLA after the Dukes’ historic 2025 run. James Madison finished 12-2, won the Sun Belt title and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. Chesney then took over at UCLA after DeShaun Foster was replaced, and one of his first calls went to Knight.
That makes sense. Knight is the kind of player a new staff can build around quickly, and he should step right into the Bruins’ starting running back job next season.
UCLA has now landed one of the better transfer portal additions in back-to-back years, after bringing in Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava last summer. Iamaleava had helped the Volunteers reach the College Football Playoff the year before, but his first season with UCLA never matched the hype.
His production fell sharply, and Chesney decided to keep him in the fold for 2026.
Knight’s own production was far more consistent. Last season, he rushed for 1,373 yards on 207 carries and scored nine touchdowns. He heads into his senior year with no obvious reason to expect a major drop-off, even with the jump from the Group of Five to the Power Four.
National attention has followed. ESPN’s Max Olson ranked Knight as the 85th-best transfer overall in the country entering the 2026 season.
“Knight is one of 10 transfers making the move across the country from JMU to UCLA with Bob Chesney and his coaching staff in a class of 40-plus incoming transfers for the program. After rushing for 110 yards against Oregon in the CFP, he's ready for the challenge of Big Ten defenses in his final year,” Olson said.
That slot in the rankings may undersell him. Knight is being treated like a top-100 transfer, but it’s hard to look at a back who finished 28th nationally in carries, seventh in rushing yards and 12th in yards per carry at 6.6 and say there are 84 better transfer players out there. The answer will come on the field, but Knight has every chance to make the ranking look too low.
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