2026 Big Ten Football Media Days
Big Ten Football Media Days
Chicago, Ill. (Hilton Chicago)
July 29, 2026

Bob Chesney, The Angelo Mazzone III UCLA Head Football Coach
opening statement
“Hi everyone, thanks for being here. It’s 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 and really, just admire all of these other head coaches. The players and the style of play that exists in this league. I want to thank, obviously, Commissioner Petiti for all that he does. This is not an easy moment in time to navigate these waters. And I think he does an absolutely phenomenal job. I also want to make sure that I thank Martin Jarmond, our athletic director, who's in the back here with us today. And then also Chancellor Frenk for believing in me. Obviously, a guy from the East Coast, coming from a lower level, I'm sure we'll have a lot of questions about that in a second, but at the same point in time, the belief that they have in me and the belief that I share with them in UCLA is significant. There's no better place I'd rather be at this moment in time, and I strongly believe in the power of what UCLA is. Not to go through all the details and bore you with statistics, but, like most teams out there, we have quite a few new guys that joined our team. We have 63 new ones. So, we have 45 transfers and a bunch of other first-year freshmen. And 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 and not only be good at football, but be good at life. And 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 and hold yourself to an extremely high standard. We'll have three players up here with us, you know, at a later point in time, but you'll get a chance to meet them. Nico Iamaleava who is a phenomenal quarterback, and we're looking for is for him to continue leading this team the right way, Cole Martin, who's a great safety for us, an unbelievable leader, and when you meet his, him and his energy and what he brings to the table, you have a pretty quick understanding of what this program really wants to look like on a day-to-day basis. And then Sammy Omosigho, who's a transfer from Oklahoma, plays linebacker for us, who'll get a chance to meet them. Great young men that I think represent our university very, very well. You know, when I got to my initial press conference, a big part of it was, we talked about having to re-engage this community, how to re-engage these high school coaches, how to make sure that we opened up to our alumni, how to make sure that we allowed the press, the local press, into practices, you know, and 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. And I'd also like to say that, as within the administration here at UCLA, just the commitment that they said they would have to this program, they've also lived out. And when you put those two things together, one of the words, and things that I think lead to the most amount of success, is this word alignment. And when you have that within your athletics department, from the Chancellor all the way down, you know, you have a chance to be really good, and I believe that that is what is going to happen here in our very near future, but to do that, and to do what you said you were going to do, also develops trust and builds trust, and that's really important that we're able to do that, you know, in the short period of time, we've been together. You know, we'll talk a lot about it right now, as you want to ask some questions, but everything here is ultimately conceptual. We'll refer to the past, and we'll look back on exactly what we were, and how we've done it at other places, but at the same point in time, just understand, that I understand, you know, the gravity of exactly where we're at, and just how good these coaches are, just how good these players are, just how tough these venues are to play. I get all that. And for me, it's gotta be about the foundational elements that we bring to this program that I think travel, regardless of the level you're at. I understand, you know, what we're walking into, and I know that 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.”

on establishing a culture at UCLA and building rapport with Nico Iamaleava
“Yeah, well, it started with retaining Nico, obviously, when we got here, and 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 where he wanted to be. This is where he wanted to play, his younger brother is on the team. He doesn't live very far away, so the ability for his family to see him play as well, I think, was really important for him. So, it's just a matter of making sure he understood that we had a plan. That was it. That was the most important thing we could do to make sure he stuck around, and he did. So then, after that, it becomes - now let's start taking the next step for him personally. And I just love the growth he's had as a leader. I think when you look at last year, and I've been on record saying this, when your head coach, your coordinator, and everybody leaves that program in week three, after he only got there in the second half of the summer. So, he spent three or four weeks with them through camp, and then, all of a sudden, there's a major change. That's a challenge. And it's hard to lead in those moments when you don't really even know everybody. So, to watch him just grow and run with this and flourish at this moment as the leader, you know, he was, uh, unanimously voted the leader of our football team when we did, voted our leadership council. He was at the top by a large margin. And that just speaks to the way he carries himself on a day-to-day basis, and we're gonna need to be really, really good on Saturdays as well.”

on what success looks like in his first season as UCLA’s head coach
“Yeah, you know, I'm not really interested in putting artificial limits on ourselves or making promises 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, and that's the most important thing that we can do, is go about it on a day-to-day basis. We're not gonna win on Saturdays because of only what we do on those Saturdays, and our players understand that. So, to me, success looks like a united disciplined group that continues to grow every moment that they have. I want to lead the nation in development. That's what I want for this team. I want to lead the nation and them being able to be developed not only on the field, but also off the field. And that, to me, you know, is something that I think will pay dividends moving forward, but at the same point in time, there's a lot of room for growth here. And I think that our guys understand that, our coaches are continuing to teach, and educate and put our guides in the best position. I think our strength staff did a phenomenal job. Every step of the way, we've reached some milestones and done a really good job with it, from the portal class, the number 11th ranked portal class in the country, and we had started the day we walked in, school had already started, and the portal opened, because we're on the quarter system, so within a week and a half's time, you know, 45 new guys showed up on that campus, so that speaks volumes of just what UCLA is and what UCLA can be, but, I don't have a record that we're looking at. I'm just understand we're not gonna put any limits on ourselves, and at the same point in time, we understand these outcomes have to be earned, and that's gotta happen on a day-to-day basis.”

on travel in the Big Ten
“Yeah, so it's interesting because now my mind is a little bit clouded, but I had a chance to go out and visit with the Rams for a couple days and talking to Sean McVay about it. You know, no matter where they play, they land at six o'clock at night. They go through their evening, they get up the next day on whatever time zone they're in, and then they play the game. And I think they're, like, 90% wins on these cross-country trips. I think for me, I recently did it, went from California back to Virginia, and just I was paying close attention to what I would feel like the next day. And I think that one day where you have a chance to get in and settle, you know, the day before, and then just, you know, you wake up the next day, a little, little tired, and then you go to bed a little earlier the next day, and you wake up, and you feel a whole lot better. I think that I gotta juggle that just a little bit more and figure out what the best plan is for us. But we did have experience in it. It was a two-day trip, always. I'm just starting to rethink it a little bit, and you got to do a little bit more research before we finally pull the plug on exactly what we're gonna do.”

on taking the foundation he built at James Madison and applying it to UCLA
“Yeah, I think it's a good question. I think that the continuity part is really reassuring to me and sets me at ease just a little bit better when you know the offense that's being run. How those players are being communicated with. You know them on the same thing on the defensive side. You know the same thing on the special teams side. You also know the same thing in the strength and conditioning side. So, I think all those elements, you know, are really reassuring to me to know who we are, and to know that these guys all speak our same exact language, that's important. But again, it goes back to foundational things. You know, the offense may not look exactly the same, and the defense may not either, but 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.”

on players that have stood out during the offseason
“Yeah, I think, to me, there's a lot of guys on our team that I think are doing a really good job. I think that one guy that just pops off the screen a little bit every day is Brian Rowe, who transferred in from South Carolina. His development every day is really, really, you know, just surpassing what we actually thought maybe he was as a football player. His strength and weight room is phenomenal, but then his understanding in a playbook continues to grow. He makes some pretty elite plays, and that's really important, you know, that he does that. And then we talked a little bit earlier, me and you, and I think Sahir West has done a great job. He came over from JMU with us, and he's just doing a really good job on the other side of the ball. We haven't been live, you know, for some time yet, but I think that to watch their progressions, you know, and their growth, for sure, they're developing at a high level right now.”