UCLA Football 2027 Recruiting Class Gaining Respect

UCLA football is entering a new chapter of its program with Bob Chesney becoming the new head coach.

Chesney had great success in his two seasons at James Madison: in his first year, he went 9-4, including a bowl win, and in his second year, he went 12-2, won the Sun Belt Conference Championship, and made an appearance in the College Football Playoff.

After the Dukes were eliminated from the College Football Playoff, Chesney would be one of the top head coaching candidates this offseason, and he decided to come to UCLA. In his first offseason, Chesney would bring in one of the top transfer portal classes in the country, as well as bringing in one of the top recruiting classes for the 2027 high school class.

ESPN has released its top five biggest winners through the offseason and Spring, and UCLA was one of the teams listed, along with Texas A&M, Miami, Notre Dame, and Michigan.

ESPN Loves the Bruins 2027 High School Recruiting Class

ESPN’s Eli Lederman is one of the network's top college football recruiting analysts, and he loves the class Chesney brought in for 2027.

“Bob Chesney made the most of his first few months on the recruiting trail at UCLA. The first-year Bruins coach and his staff worked hard to get recruits on campus during spring, and those efforts ultimately yielded 17 commitments after April 1, including five SC Next 300 prospects,” Lederman said.

“UCLA holds pledges from 11 in-state prospects, headlined by No. 6 cornerback , California's No. 4 recruit in 2027. Johnson (No. 36 overall) landed in the Bruins' incoming class on May 2, part of a three-day span in which the program also landed top-100 defenders (No. 60) and . (No. 83). SC Next 300 safety (No. 287) and inside linebacker (No. 293) round out the blue-chip commits in a deep UCLA defensive class built by Chesney and first-year defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler.”

Chesney Needs To Win To Maintain the Class

In the same piece, Lederman also points out that while this class is very impressive, Chesney needs to win games this upcoming season to guarantee he finishes with a strong recruiting class. Lederman spoke with a rival Big Ten GM, and he shared the same sentiments. "It'll be interesting to see how it plays out," said one rival Big Ten GM. "If they struggle, this might not hang on very long."

They are not wrong, as many highly touted high school players want to be part of a program that can consistently win games. If Bob Chesney and UCLA struggle in his first year as head coach, recruits will take notice, reopen their recruitment, and consider other schools.

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