UCLA Football Top 30 Players: No. 22

Continuing with our list of the top 30 players on the UCLA football roster for the upcoming 2026 college football season, we are going to look at a second defensive lineman.

We have already looked at defensive tackles in Amier Washington and Darold NeNgohe. After redshirting his freshman season, Washington wouldn't take the next step in his development for the Red Raiders in his second and third seasons. DeNgohe would have a great year with Bob Chesney at James Madison, but after transferring to Rutgers, he would return to play for Chesney at UCLA.

May 2, 2026; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins coach Bob Chesney reacts during the spring game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Now we are going to look at a player who could potentially start alongside Washington along the defensive line next season. That player is Aiden Gobarira, whose career has largely been defined by injuries.

Aiden Gobaira in High School

May 2, 2026; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins coach Bob Chesney reacts during the spring game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Coming out of Chantilly High School in Chantilly, Virginia, Gobaira was a highly sought-after recruit. Listed at 6-4 and 230 pounds coming off the edge, Gobaira was looked at as an explosive player who has untapped potential, as he was still growing into his frame.

Gobaira was an explosive athlete who flew off the edge for the Chargers. He made a big jump as a junior and was even better as a senior. Throughout his high school career, he continued to improve as a player.

There were a number of snaps during his senior year with the Chargers in which he was past the tackle before the blocker was completely out of his stance. His edge speed was great, and he closed on the football extremely well. Gobaira showed great balance and agility, allowing him to develop a strong array of pass-rushing moves.

With those traits, he would be a highly ranked player in the 2022 high school recruiting class. Being ranked 170th in the country by 247Sports, he would also be the 17th edge rusher in the class and the sixth-ranked player in the state of Virginia. Gobaira would also be selected to take part in the All-American Bowl, one of the highest honors for a high school recruit.

Gobaira would be a highly sought-after player in the class as he had multiple Division I offers. Offers include Penn State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Michigan State, and hometown schools, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Gobaira would seem to be a lock to commit to Penn State, but a last-second push from Notre Dame would put the Fighting Irish on top.

Gobaira would commit to Notre Dame and would be one of the top players in the class for the Fighting Irish.

Aiden Gobaira at Notre Dame

While playing great high school football, Gobaira would soon find out that playing for one of the top programs in the country is very difficult. Gobaira would see the field for one snap during his true freshman season in 2023, even while Notre Dame had an underperforming 8-4 record in the regular season.

The next year for the Fighting Irish wouldn't be much better, as he would suffer a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus, forcing him to miss the entire 2023-2024 season. The following spring, Gobaira would sit down with his coaches and decide to medically retire from football, missing the entire 2024-2025 season.

Even after retiring from football, he still had aspirations of playing college football. He would work with trainers from Notre Dame, have access to their facilities, and would eventually decide to come out of retirement, hit the transfer portal, and play for Bob Chesney at James Madison.

Gobaira With the Dukes

Coming off multiple injuries that forced his retirement from playing collegiate football, there weren't too many expectations placed on Gobaira. He would be trying to play off rust and hasn't played a single snap of college football, or any competitive football, since his senior year of high school.

In his lone season with the Dukes, he would fight all that rust off and exceed every expectation placed upon him. Gobaira would play in all 14 games of the Dukes’ season, recording 38 tackles, including 18 solo tackles. He would be third on the team in sacks with four, while also tying for second in tackles for loss with 7.5.

His lone season at James Madison was so impactful that he was selected to the Third Team All-Sun Belt as a defensive lineman. His play on the field was a big reason why James Madison had such an incredible year. Going on to win the Sun Belt Conference Championship and have an appearance in the College Football Playoff.

What Gobaira Brings to UCLA

After such a successful season as the head coach of James Madison, Bob Chesney would take the head coaching job at UCLA. UCLA was a program in shambles and needed a shakeup throughout not only the roster, but also the coaching staff.

Chesney would bring in coaches from James Madison to fill out the coaching staff at UCLA and has also brought in multiple players from the Dukes’ championship team, including Gobaira, to secure the defensive line.

UCLA’s defensive line last year was one of the worst units in college football and was the worst in the Big Ten. The Bruins last year had a conference-worst 10 sacks and 40 tackles for loss. At James Madison, Gobaira showed off the speed and physicality of the edge that was on full display throughout his high school career.

The main question that faces Gobaira heading into next year is, unfortunately, durability. After having an incredible bounce-back season with James Madison, many will want to see if he can have that same caliber of season again, in a much tougher conference than the Sun Belt.

If he plays every game for the Bruins next season and has a season equal to last year, it would be one of the best comeback stories in all of college football. A player who was forced to medically retire during his early years comes back to have an incredible bounce-back career with UCLA. That would be a headline UCLA fans could be proud of.

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