'coach Chesney Is A Winner.' Nico Iamaleava And Cole Martin Sold On Bruins' New Leader

UCLA backmost Nico Iamaleava didn’t want to participate nan transportation portal, moreover aft a tumultuous play that saw nan programme fire its caput coach aft an 0-3 start and autumn short of a vessel crippled contempt a midseason semi-revival.

After 1 speech pinch then-recently hired Bruins coach Bob Chesney, Iamaleava was sold connected wearing nan Blue and Gold for different season.

“It was a no-brainer,” Iamaleava told reporters aft believe Saturday. “Coach Chesney is simply a winner.”

Saturday’s believe was nan 5th of UCLA’s outpouring believe schedule, featuring afloat padded, unrecorded reps and a batch of power astatine Spaulding Field. After successful violative plays, aliases defense stops, nan respective winning units would often swarm nan drill area pinch cheers, briefly, earlier moving onto nan adjacent rep.

Iamaleava said nan power nan coaching unit has brought truthful acold during outpouring practices has been cardinal to them being really nosy for players and promoting competition.

Multiple coaches, including Chesney, sewage progressive during drills, giving proposal and encouraging players. Bruin information Cole Martin said he’s ne'er seen a caput coach beryllium arsenic progressive successful drills arsenic Chesney.

“He wants to beryllium retired location playing pinch us,” Martin said. “It makes everybody amended erstwhile your caput coach is conscionable arsenic motivated and intrigued arsenic you are.”

Like Iamaleava, Martin said he had nary thoughts of leaving UCLA aft his first speech pinch Chesney. Martin said chap returning protect backmost starters Rodrick Pleasant and Scooter Jackson, each 3 of California, were moving retired aft their first conversations pinch Chesney and each agreed connected 1 thing: He was different and could alteration nan trajectory of nan program.

UCLA coach Bob Chesney leads nan Bruins done outpouring shot believe astatine Spaulding Field connected April 2.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

“You’ve sewage to judge successful somebody, and he’s personification you tin judge in,” Martin said of Chesney.

The past fewer seasons person been reliable for UCLA, aft a tumultuous six years nether Chip Kelly from 2018-23, nan Bruins haven’t won much than 5 games successful their first 2 Big Ten seasons. The programme hasn’t won double-digit games since 2014.

Under Chesney, who led James Madison to a 12-2 grounds and College Football Playoff berth past season, that inclination will look to beryllium reversed.

“You tin consciousness that everybody’s bought successful and they want to compete,” Iamaleava said.

Iamaleava said processing his activity expertise by being much vocal connected nan section has been a attraction this offseason. That domiciled includes starring by example, done copious notetaking and attraction to item during practices aliases erstwhile learning plays.

“If you’re nan leader, and arsenic a quarterback, if you’re slacking and you effort to show a feline [something] aliases clasp a feline accountable, they’re gonna look astatine you benignant of dumb,” Iamaleava said. “Me being connected apical of myself, being connected apical of my worldly lets guys cognize that they tin spot a feline for illustration me.”

Martin said he has noticed Iamaleava being noticeably calmer and embracing his activity domiciled successful outpouring practices, which he said has been cardinal to building nan team’s community.

After Tennessee parted ways pinch Iamaleava successful mid-April of 2025 aft nan backmost missed a outpouring believe amid a name, image and likeness dispute, he said his preseason pinch UCLA felt “fast-forwarded.”

Iamaleava said he went into preseason campy still learning nan playbook. While he is still learning Chesney’s playbook, nan business is very different and Iamaleava said being astir nan programme for nan full outpouring will beryllium great.

“The much we believe pinch each other, nan much we bent retired pinch each different disconnected nan field, I deliberation you continuously build that spot pinch them,” Iamaleava said. “Spring has been a awesome learning instruction for me.”

One standout during nan unrecorded plays was moving backmost Anthony Woods, who collapsed for a mates of coagulated runs arsenic a portion of what Iamaleava called “one of nan apical moving backmost rooms successful nan nation.” Woods went for 294 yards connected 63 carries past season.

With Chesney mostly moving pinch nan defense during practice, Iamaleava said he has worked very intimately pinch first-year UCLA violative coordinator Dean Kennedy, particularly connected really to negociate nan tally game.

“I decidedly didn’t cognize a batch astir nan tally game,” Iamaleava said. “[Kennedy] is taking maine to that adjacent measurement successful nan tally crippled and conscionable definite looks that we like.”

When asked what was nan hardest portion of competing against UCLA’s defense successful practice, Iamaleava joked that he didn’t want to springiness them excessively overmuch credit. He acknowledged, though, that they “do a bully occupation disguising their coverage.”

In consequence to nan inverse question, Martin had a speedy laugh, earlier saying everyone connected nan violative broadside is difficult to screen successful their ain ways and that competing against each different has been adjuvant for nan full team’s development.

“We’re trying to each make each different better,” Martin said.