How the Bruins Are Adjusting Recruiting for the Big Ten

The UCLA coaching staff entered a situation that was going to be tough to navigate. Changing staff, changing conferences and getting acclimated to the new college football landscape with NIL and the transfer portal add an extra element of unknown. As UCLA has made the transition to its new conference, there have been some interesting adjustments the Bruins have had to make.

First off, the Bruins have had to get involved in more offensive linemen and probably higher caliber of offensive linemen than ever before. The run game travels. When it's sleeting in Columbus, Ohio in November, the high-flying air-it-out style of offense may not be best suited for the conditions.

You're flat-out going to have to run the ball at times. The Big Ten is an extremely physical league by nature, and you can get pushed around if you haven't beefed up the offensive line and made a concerted effort to establish a run game.

While UCLA hasn't received a commitment yet from any offensive linemen in this 2026 class, it is still in on a number of them. With its sights set on guys like Tommy Tofi, Johnnie Jones, Quinn Buckey and more, UCLA is showing it means business up front. If it can get that room to that next level, it will elevate the whole program.

The Bruins have also embraced the transfer portal. UCLA brought in 20 new transfers for the fall of 2025 and has the potential to add to that total after spring ball, as there tends to be a flurry of transfers after depth charts start to become more clear.

Bruins coach DeShaun Foster has taken the fight to teams like USC to fight for their recruiting turf in Southern California. USC has been dominating the recruiting battle in the area for some time now, but UCLA has been as aggressive as ever to gain some ground back on their bitter rivals and is working to fend off out-of-state programs as well.

While there is still work to be done on all fronts, the coaching staff knows it and is working diligently to turn things around. It has taken some strides but has a few more milestones it should be aiming to hit before the 2025 season kicks off this fall.

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