UCLA’s football head coach Bob Chesney explained how he has gotten a Top-Five recruiting class for the Bruins in his appearance on the Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday.
As of May 7, the Bruins sit as the No. 4 2027 recruiting class on 247Sports with 17 commits, nine four-star recruits and eight three-stars. Oklahoma, Texas A&M and USC are the only teams that are ranked ahead, but only Oklahoma has more commitments with 21. So what has Chesney been doing to sell a struggling UCLA squad to recruits?
“Nothing. I specifically say to our coaches, we are not selling anything. We are presenting things, right?” Chesney said. “We are presenting what we have here at UCLA.”
Some of the things Chesney listed were: UCLA being a top public school in the country, the southern California location, a recent trend of national championships in other sports, the history of first-round draft picks and Olympic athletes that were once Bruins and the academic prestige of UCLA.
“It’s our time now as football to make sure we put this program back on the map,” Chesney said. “Everybody else is winning. Everybody else is winning at a high level. In the classroom, out on the sports fields, in the arenas… You have a chance to breathe some rare air based on the people that you’re surrounded with at UCLA.”
The Bruins played their Spring Game over the weekend and he had the chance to expose his players to some of that winning culture with coaches like UCLA’s Women’s Basketball National Champion head coach Cori Close attending and calling plays.
Chesney’s plan for the Bruins is in motion for the start of the 2026 football season, with UCLA beginning their season against the California Golden Bears at the California Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sep. 5.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA coach Bob Chesney says he’s not ‘selling’ anything to recruits
Reporting by Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
