BIG TEN FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 29, 2026

Bob Chesney

UCLA Bruins

Press Conference

BOB CHESNEY: Thanks for being here. Obviously an honor to represent such a great university and a historic football team that is the UCLA Bruins. I'm really proud to be on this stage, really just admire all of these other head coaches, the players, the style of play that exists in this league.

I want to thank Commissioner Petitti for all that he does. This is not an easy moment in time to navigate these waters. I think he does a phenomenal job.

I also want to make sure I thank Martin Jarmond, our athletic director, here with us today, then chancellor Frank for believing in me. Obviously a guy from the East Coast, coming from a lower level, I'm sure we'll have questions about that in the second, at the same time the belief they have in me and the belief I share with them in UCLA is significant. There's no better place I'd rather be at this moment in the time. I strongly believe in the power of what UCLA is.

Not to go through all the details and bore you with statistics, like most teams, we have quite a few new guys. We have 63 new ones. We have 45 transfers and a bunch of other first-year freshmen. I really do love the response they've had to exactly what we're trying to instill at this moment in time.

They come to work every single day. They have a strong desire to be really good at football. Not only be good at football, but be good at life. I think that's really important to me, is that we understand it's not one or the other. To have success on that football field, you better have success in what you do on a day-to-day basis, hold yourself to an extremely high standard.

We'll have three players up with us. You'll get a chance to meet them.

Nico Iamaleava, who is a phenomenal quarterback. We're looking for him to continue leading this team the right way.

Cole Martin, who is a great safety for us. Unbelievable leader. When you meet him and his energy, what he brings to the table, you'll have a pretty quick understanding of what this program really wants to look like on a day-to-day basis.

Sammy Omosigho, a transfer from Oklahoma, plays linebacker for us. You'll get a chance to meet those three. Great young men that represent our university very well.

When I got to my initial press conference, a big part of it was, we talked about having to reengage this community, how to reengage these high school coaches, how to make sure we opened up to our alumni, to make sure we allowed the local press into practices. Every one of the things along the way that we talked about doing in that press conference up to this point in time we have lived out.

I'd also like to say within the administration at UCLA, the commitment that they said they would have to this program, they've also lived out. When you put those two things together, one of the words and things that I think lead to the most amount of success is 'alignment'. When you have that within your athletic department from the chancellor all the way down, you have a chance to be really good. I think that's going to happen here in our near future.

To do that, to do what you said you were going to do, develops trust and builds trust. We've been able to do that in the short period of time we've been together.

Everything here is ultimately conceptual. We'll refer to the past and we'll look back on exactly what we were, how we've done it at other places. At the same time I understand the gravity of exactly where we are at, just how good these coaches are, just how good these players are, just how tough these venues are to play in, I get all that. For me it's got to be about the foundational elements we bring to this program that travel regardless of the level you're at.

I understand what we're talking into. I know not only me but our players also look forward to having an opportunity to represent UCLA on this national stage within the best conference in America.

With that, I'll open it up for questions.

Q. As you continue to establish a culture at UCLA, what are some of the things you did to build a rapport with Nico and be able to build that bond and chemistry and have it trickle down into the locker room?

BOB CHESNEY: Well, it started with retaining Nico. Obviously when we got here. I think for Nico, he can speak on his own behalf, but just to add a little color to it. He did not want to go anywhere. This is when where he wanted to be, to play. His younger brother is on the team. He doesn't live far away. The ability for his family to see him play as well was really important for him.

It was a matter of making sure he understood we had a plan. That was the most important thing we could do to make sure he stuck around and he did. So then after that it's now let's start taking the next step for him personally. I just love the growth he's had as a leader.

I've been on record saying this, when your head coach, coordinator, everybody leaves that program in week three, after he only got there in the second half of the summer. He spent three or weeks with them through camp, all of a sudden there's a major change. That's a challenge. It's hard to lead in those moments when you don't really even know everybody.

To watch him grow and run with this and flourish at this moment as the leader. He was unanimously voted the leader of our football team, when we had a leadership council, he was at the top by a large margin. That speaks to how he carries himself on a day-to-day basis. We're going to need him to be really good on Saturdays, as well.

Q. You've talked a lot about how you feel like you can have success quickly at UCLA. What does success look like in year one for you?

BOB CHESNEY: Not really interested in putting artificial limits on ourselves, or making programs on outcomes that have to be earned. I know what we will do is attack every single day with urgency and relentlessness and do the work. That's the most important thing we can do, is go about it on a day-to-day basis. We're not going to win on Saturdays because of only what we do on those Saturdays. Our players understand that.

To me, success looks like a united, disciplined group that continues to grow every moment they have. I want to lead the nation in development. That's what I want for this team. I want to lead the nation in them being able to develop not only on the field but also off the field. That to me is something that I think will pay dividends moving forward. At the same time, there's a lot of room for growth.

I think our guys understand that. Our coaches are continuing to teach, educate, put our guys in the best position. I think our strength and conditioning staff has done a phenomenal job. Every step of the way we've reached milestones, done a good job with it. From the portal class being the No. 11 ranked portal class in the country and we the day we walked in school had started and the portal open because we are on the quarter system. Within a week and a half's time, 45 new guys showed up on that campus. That speaks volumes of what UCLA is and what UCLA can be.

I don't have a record that we're looking at. Just understand we're not going to put any limits on ourselves. At the same time we understand these outcomes have to be earned and that has to happen on a day-to-day basis.

Q. A handful of teams over the last couple years have had problems traveling multiple time zones. UCLA has three separate weeks where they have to travel multiple time zones. Has that helped you structure things a little bit different for these long travel weeks?

BOB CHESNEY: It's interesting because now my mind is a little bit clouded. I had the chance to go out and visit with the Rams for a couple days, talking to Sean McVay about it. No matter where they play, they land at 6:00 at night. They go through their evening. They get up the next day on whatever time zone they're in and play the game. I think they're like 90% wins on these cross-country trips.

For me I recently did it, went from California back to Virginia. I was paying close attention to what I would feel like the next day. I think that one day where you have a chance to get in and settle the day before, you wake up the next day a little tired, then you go to bed a little earlier the next day, you wake up and feel a whole lot better. I got to juggle that a little bit more and figure out what the best plan is for us.

We did have experience in it. It's a two-day trip. I'm starting to rethink it a little bit. Have to do a little bit more research into it before we pull the plug and decide exactly what we're going to do.

Q. Obviously coming from James Madison, you have a lot of continuity. How do you hope to take what made you successful last year and apply it to this year, while building a new identity and culture?

BOB CHESNEY: I think it's a good question. The continuity part is really reassuring to me and sets you at ease just a little bit better when you know the offense that's being run, you know how those players are being communicated with. You know the same thing on the defensive side, the special teams side. You also know the same thing in the strength and conditioning side. So I think all those elements are reassuring to me to know who we are, to know these guys speak our same language. That's important.

It goes to back to foundational things. The offense and defense may not look exactly the same. The foundational ways of a program being built, being connected, being disciplined and every single day seeking growth is what we need to be really, really good at, and our guys understand that.

Q. You spoke to player development. A player that's standing out to you that people aren't really discussing?

BOB CHESNEY: Yeah, I think to me, there's a lot of guys on our team that I think are doing a really good job. One guy that pops off the screen a little bit every day is Brian Rowe who transferred in from South Carolina. His development every day is surpassing what we actually thought maybe he was as a football player. His strength in the weight room is phenomenal, but then his understanding of the playbook continues to grow. He makes some pretty elite plays. That's important.

We talked a little bit earlier, Sahir West has done a great job. Came over from JMU with us, is doing a really good job on the other side of the ball. We haven't been live for some time yet. To watch their progressions and their growth, for sure they're developing at a high level right now.