{"id":297422,"date":"2026-05-03T02:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T02:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/297422\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T02:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T02:52:14","slug":"ucla-coach-bob-chesney-restores-bruins-festive-spring-game-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/297422\/","title":{"rendered":"UCLA coach Bob Chesney restores Bruins festive spring game energy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was a brotherly battle at UCLA\u2019s<\/a> spring football game on a clear Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the helm of the opposing white and blue teams, respectively, quarterbacks Nico and Madden Iamaleava<\/a> led the split halves of the Bruins squad during a well-attended end to the first spring camp under the direction of new coach Bob Chesney<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fittingly, Madden tossed the go-ahead touchdown pass from near the logo to a wide-open Kenneth Moore III, putting his blue team up 24-17, the eventual final score.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve seen him just play football,\u201d Nico said of his brother. \u201cSo it was fun seeing him out there operate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA defensive back Osiris Gilbert knocks the ball out of the hand of UCLA receiver Shane Rosenthal during the spring game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Nico\u2019s team, with play-calling help from Bruins women\u2019s basketball coach Cori Close<\/a> throughout the second half, got to fourth-and-goal situations twice as the game wound down. One ended in a missed field goal by Mateo Orosco, who had made a 57-yarder, and the other concluded with the blue team storming the field after a pass from quarterback Ty Dieffenbach was incomplete with 10 seconds left.<\/p>\n

The addition of the guest play-callers, Close and women\u2019s water polo coach Adam Wright, led to a variety of trick plays throughout the game. Multiple flea-flickers went for big yards, and offensive lineman Mike McDonald took a rushing attempt as a part of the fun atmosphere that Chesney said he wanted to foster at the game.<\/p>\n

To come up with one of the plays, Chesney said, Close messaged Rams coach Sean McVay<\/a> for advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put some of those plays in so that she would be able to execute what she wanted to. She just came up a little short and I think she did a really good job of motivating her team,\u201d Chesney said of Close\u2019s second-half calls. \u201cCoach Wright just really dialed it in and was able to strike when he had to and put that game away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just before Moore caught his first touchdown in a Bruins uniform, he was running another deep route when he ran into a referee, breaking up what may have been an explosive play.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy\u2019d you let the referee cover you?\u201d Chesney asked, posing as a reporter during Moore\u2019s interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was great defense,\u201d Moore said in response, sporting a smile. \u201cHe was so stealthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

It had been a few years since the Bruins held a traditional spring game at the Rose Bowl, with previous coaches favoring lower-profile practices that were dubbed spring showcases. This year\u2019s game also comes after the Bruins in February announced that the iconic Pasadena stadium would remain their home, at least this year, amid ongoing litigation over the university\u2019s right to potentially break its lease and play home games at SoFi Stadium.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA receiver Landon Ellis catches a touchdown pass in front of Jhase McMillan (23) and Curtis Gerrand (35) during the spring game at the Rose Bowl Saturday.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Chesney said holding a traditional spring game was like a \u201cpractice run\u201d for the upcoming season. Ahead of Saturday\u2019s game, the Bruins stayed in a hotel together and had walk-throughs on the field as well as meetings and pretty much anything else they could do to simulate a game. Chesney and many players got their first look at the Rose Bowl lit up at night during a visit Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo get a chance to walk in here and just feel this and see all of these surroundings and the things that took place in this venue is pretty special,\u201d Chesney said. \u201cWe addressed that a little bit last night as a team, and made sure we understand the respect that this place deserves and understand the attitude of gratitude that we should have for the ability to play here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defensive back Cole Martin, a Pasadena native who was on the blue team, called this spring game \u201cmagnificent\u201d when asked to compare it to last year\u2019s spring football practice finale. He specifically noted playing at the Rose Bowl as a reason for the strong atmosphere and an important experience for new UCLA players.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst time in the Rose Bowl, first touchdown as a college player, I mean, it\u2019s awesome,\u201d Martin said, looking at the freshman Moore. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t get better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walking by reporters during the game, Bob Stiles, who made a famous goal-line stop on a two-point conversion to seal UCLA\u2019s upset win over Michigan State in the 1966 Rose Bowl, concurred. \u201cThis is fun,\u201d Stiles said.<\/p>\n

Running back Anthony Woods was a standout on the white team, scoring the first touchdown of the game on a six-yard run and going for multiple big gains early.<\/p>\n

Receivers Mikey Matthews for white and Landon Ellis for blue scored the other two touchdowns on red zone crossing routes.<\/p>\n

The other 10 points, besides the four touchdowns and field goal, were given out equally for victories in side competitions in between the first and second quarters and third and fourth quarters. Both were won by blue, aiding its seven-point win.<\/p>\n

On defense, cornerback Osiris Gilbert broke up multiple passes and had a few hard hits, linebacker Samuel Omosigho earned a sack, and linebacker Malaki Soliai-Tui forced a fumble.<\/p>\n

Chesney said he was happy with his team\u2019s performance, noting penalties, like the various defensive pass interference calls, as a key area for improvement.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA coach Bob Chesney pats running back Anthony Woods on the helmet during the team\u2019s spring game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt went well,\u201d Chesney said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say unbelievable. I wouldn\u2019t say terrible. Most of the time, it was somewhere in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Nico Iamaleava, for the offense, and Martin, for the defense, said the units had things to work on, but they were proud of how much they improved during spring camp. With a bit of a break before preparation for the fall ramps up, Iamaleava\u2019s message to the team was simple: \u201cStay together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chesney echoed the sentiment, saying building on the intensity and development from the spring, rather than starting again during the summer, will be key to the Bruins succeeding during the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re back, baby,\u201d Chesney said to fans right before the fourth quarter began. \u201cWe\u2019re back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a brotherly battle at UCLA\u2019s spring football game on a clear Saturday afternoon at the Rose…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[126062,126063,44818,126066,10727,30313,17947,423,61932,48,52,51,47,50,49,126068,33528,126067,10657,126064,126065],"class_list":["post-297422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-blue-team","tag-bruins-squad","tag-chesney","tag-cole-martin","tag-few-year","tag-field-goal","tag-first-touchdown","tag-game","tag-great-defense","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-madden-iamaleava","tag-moore","tag-nico","tag-rose-bowl","tag-spring-football-game","tag-ucla-coach-bob-chesney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}