No. 21 UCLA football (4-0, 2-0 Big Ten) has opened with a program-best start since 2022 and its first appearance in the AP Top 25 Poll since 2023 in coach Bob Chesney’s first year in Westwood. Joining him on the journey to UCLA was a plethora of new players who have made notable impacts and contributions to the Bruins’ current win streak. On top of that, several key returners have also made significant improvements to their game – from the stars who jump off the stat sheet to individuals who may go under the radar. With the Bruins currently on a break, Daily Bruin Sports’ football beat writers discuss their picks for UCLA’s most underrated player to start the 2026 season.
Jacob Nguyen
Sports editor
Pick: Riley Robell and Carter Sweazie
“Knight rushes in for a touchdown.”
“Woods enters the end zone.”
“Thomas scores another six.”
At this point, it’s almost guaranteed that some iteration of those statements will be mentioned in any game recap or discussion of a UCLA football game in 2026.
And for good reason.
The Bruins have more than doubled their rushing touchdown tally from 2025 in eight fewer games, with fifth-year running back Wayne Knight tied for third in the country in that same metric. UCLA sports the country’s fourth-most rushing yards per game – just a year removed from being in the bottom half of the conference.
All the attention has rightfully been awarded to the run game, but few have acknowledged the big guys in the trenches who make it all possible.
Being an offensive lineman isn’t fancy. You don’t even get stats listed for you on ESPN. But any football aficionado knows they’re the key to a stable offense – and that’s never been more the case for UCLA.
I honestly could’ve highlighted the entire room, especially considering Chesney hasn’t been shy to deploy double-digit numbers of linemen in single games to keep rotations fresh. However, I opted for senior Riley Robell and fifth-year Carter Sweazie – and putting two is already a cop-out – mainly because I wanted to shout out some James Madison guys looking for revenge against Oregon.
Beyond that, the interior offensive line has particularly stood out for its ability to open up A and B gaps for the likes of Knight, who rarely struggles to break defenses and find holes, despite multiple hits.
The offensive line hasn’t been perfect. You still see senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava forced to make the occasional quick decision on his feet under pressure.
But it’s rarely from a nose tackle breaking through Robell and Sweazie and more often from an edge whisking in from the side.
So while no stat sheet is going to credit touchdowns to the guys down low, they most definitely enable them to happen in the first place.
Kai Dizon
Daily Bruin senior staff
Pick: Jalen Woods
It’s not fifth-year linebacker Jalen Woods’ fault he shares a last name with fifth-year running back Anthony Woods.
It’s not his fault Anthony Woods – who also has a legitimate case for being the team’s most underrated student-athlete – has 269 rushing yards, is averaging 7.5 yards per carry and has trotted into the end zone four times through four games this season.
To make matters worse, Jalen Woods shares his jersey number with Iamaleava.
But maybe what has stolen the spotlight from Woods the most is senior linebacker Sammy Omosigho and his three sacks, four forced fumbles and 37 total tackles.
But the fact is Woods has proved integral to the Bruin defense – 32 tackles, two pass deflections, an interception and a sack.
Through four games in 2024, former Bruin linebacker Carson Schwesinger – the first selection in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft – had 34 tackles, a forced fumble and zero sacks, interceptions or pass deflections.
Is Woods going to be as good as Schwesinger? Probably not. But is he the Bruins’ most underrated – and underappreciated – player? Absolutely.
Zach King
Daily Bruin contributor
Pick: The Entire Tight End Room
Standing at the edge of Klyde Warren Park in Dallas this summer, I watched blue-and-red fireworks light up the sky celebrating the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth.
Three months later and in a different state, two things remain the same: It’s still somehow just as hot in Southern California, and I’m still sitting back in awe watching fireworks – but this time the colors are a bit more blue and gold.
Through the first four games, UCLA’s offense has provided plenty of pyrotechnics rarely seen before. Knight leads the conference in rushing touchdowns and ranks third in yards per carry.
The Bruins have hung more than 50 points in back-to-back conference games for the first time since 1973, and UCLA entered its bye week undefeated for the first time since 2022. Against Maryland alone, UCLA produced both an 83-yard touchdown through the air and a 63-yard score on the ground – the first time in program history the Bruins have recorded an 80-yard touchdown pass and 60-yard touchdown run in the same game.
You know those TNT Komodo 3000, extra-mega-crazy fireworks sold at the back of seedy firework shops? The ones your parents would never in a million years let you get, but the dream was always to light the biggest one you could find?
That’s basically been offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy and Chesney’s 11- and 12-personnel offense.
And while everyone has been watching and deservedly celebrating the fireworks, nobody celebrates the show harder than those in charge of lighting the fuse.
Both Chesney and Kennedy made it clear preseason that versatility and team commitment are foundational to success. Few position groups have embodied both principles quite like the tight ends.
UCLA entered the season with a collection of different body types in the room, which has given Kennedy pieces that can be moved around formations without necessarily changing personnel. Whether lining up as blockers, shifting into the backfield or moving into the slot, the tight ends have forced defenses to adapt to a variety of reads and looks – opening up both the play sheet and the field in ways that don’t show up on the stat sheet.
If you don’t believe me, look at the tape – and make sure the colors of the explosion don’t keep you from enjoying what’s left behind in the trail.
Against Cal, Anthony Woods’ monster 31-yard touchdown was set in place by a beautiful pancake from senior tight end Josh Phifer and extended into explosiveness by a gnarly edge set from fifth-year Brayden Loftin.
Against San Diego State, Loftin set himself right at the hip of the left guard before gashing up the middle and setting a crucial block for Knight, opening the scoring after a drowsy first half and setting the tone for a dominant second-half offensive performance.
Down to Purdue midway through the third quarter, Loftin again lined up as a pseudo-left guard before turning into a fullback, leading the way for Woods to put the Bruins back on top in a shootout.
But even when you think a firework has worked its magic, the best ones can have multiple layers of magnificence. Against Maryland, Phifer and Loftin supported Iamaleava on the edges for a Wildcat formation. A handful of plays later, Kennedy runs a speed option out of the I-formation for yet another sizable rushing gain – only made possible by the speed and versatility of Phifer and Loftin on the left edge.
There is little more that I can say about how efficient UCLA’s offensive line has been, how dominant its defense has looked or how effectively Iamaleava and Knight have served as the focal points of the rushing attack. But in a position where success can manifest in a variety of ways, the box score won’t remember every sealed edge, pancaked defender or defensive scheme blown apart by one of the most unique and creatively used tight end rooms in the country
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