UCLA Football Top 30 Players: No. 16

Continuing with our list of the top 30 players on the Bruins' roster, we are going to look back at the secondary.

I have already spoken about two players in DJ Barksdale and Dante Lovett Jr., who both came to UCLA through the transfer portal. Now we are going to talk about a player on the Bruins last year who had a breakout season.

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 | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Now entering his redshirt junior season, Rodrick Pleasant will be one of the starting cornerbacks along the outside with Scooter Jackson. With another year of Pleasant and Jackson in the secondary, they could become one of the better secondary duos in the Big Ten.

Rodrick Pleasant Coming out of High School

Throughout this list, we have spoken about how many of the players on UCLA’s roster have been overlooked coming out of high school. Players like DJ Barksdale were unranked coming out of high school, and players like Dante Lovett Jr. were low-ranked three-star recruits.

All have had to work their way up to be contributing players on a college team. Rodrick Pleasant was a highly touted player in the 2023 high school class coming out of Junipero Serra in Gardena, California.

Pleasant was the 92nd-ranked player in the class nationally according to the 247Sports Composite, as well as the ninth-ranked cornerback in the class and seventh-ranked player in California. Coming out of high school, Pleasant was a freak athlete and one of the fastest players in the country.

Pleasant was listed at 5-11 and 180 pounds and was a dual-sport athlete who also ran on the high school track team. Pleasant was a CIF state champion as a junior in the 100 and 200-meter dashes with a 10.30 finish and a 20.56 finish.

Pleasant also set personal records of 10.14 and 20.40, which both rank at the top of the Spring 2022 national rankings on MileSplit. As for football, Pleasant was selected to the Under Armour All-America Game and Polynesian Bowl as a senior in 2022.

With his play, he helped the Padres to the CIF Southern Section Division 3 Championship and CIF 1-A State Championship as a junior in 2021. In his senior year, Pleasant would have 30 total tackles with 26 solo tackles, seven pass deflections, and four interceptions.

Pleasant would have plenty of offers after high school. Schools such as Washington, USC, Michigan, Ole Miss, Georgia, and even UCLA sent him offers. Pleasant would stay on the West Coast, but would go out of state to Oregon to compete for a national championship.

Pleasant at Oregon

Rodrick Pleasant would commit to play for Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks for his college career. However, it was not the two years many expected, since he was seen as a college-ready player. His freshman season showed promise for the future.

Pleasant would play in seven games of the 2023 season, playing 50 snaps on defense, as well as 33 snaps on special teams. He would finish the year with four total tackles, two big solo tackles, and a pass breakup against Hawaii, while also being physical in the secondary with a forced fumble against Liberty.

With so much promise coming out of his freshman season, he would play in just four games of the season with just one tackle, with a total of 23 snaps on defense and seven on special teams. Pleasant used his redshirt season and, after the spring game in April, entered the transfer portal.

While in the transfer portal, Pleasant would have some suitors who needed help in the secondary. Pleasant would decide to come back home to California and play for DeShaun Foster and UCLA.

Pleasant at UCLA

Pleasant would commit to UCLA from the transfer portal and looks to be a full-time starter in his first year with the Bruins. In his first year, he would play very well alongside Scooter Jackson as the outside cornerbacks.

Pleasant would be a starter in all 10 games he played in. He would finish the season with 36 total tackles, with 22 being solo tackles, along with a fumble recovery and seven pass deflections, which was second on the team and 10th in the Big Ten.

With how well he played, Pleasant would be named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten at the end of the regular season. As for the Bruins, even with Pleasant playing well in the secondary, it wasn't enough for the rest of the team.

Foster, along with defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe, would be fired after losing the opening three games of the season, allowing 108 total points.

UCLA would finish that year with a 3-9 overall record and a 3-6 record in the Big Ten. With the head coach fired three games into the season, UCLA needed to find someone with experience winning and rebuild the program into a respectable Big Ten team.

UCLA would hire Bob Chesney, who just finished his second year with James Madison and, after a 9-4 season in his first year, would lead the Dukes to an 11-1 regular-season finish, a Sun Belt Conference championship, and a College Football Playoff appearance.

With Chesney bringing in a whole new staff, Pleasant would decide to return to UCLA and build on the great start he had with the Bruins last season.

What To Expect From Pleasant

Pleasant coming back to UCLA for next season was a major victory for Bob Chesney and especially new defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler. Hitschler has been a very successful assistant coach throughout his career.

While he has made trips to Cincinnati, Wisconsin, and Alabama as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, he has made an impact on each team. At each stop, each team was ranked in the top 25 nationally for defense, and at James Madison, as the full-time defensive coordinator, the Dukes ranked fifth in total defense.

Hitschler uses a lot of zone and nickel coverages, which fit perfectly with Pleasant as a player. Pleasant is still very quick and fast, able to get to his zone quickly, eliminating the area where the quarterback can throw.

In this scheme, Pleasant might just have the best college season and could potentially play himself into an NFL Draft pick.

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