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UCLA's secondary has a chance to be very good in 2026
- Story byUCLA Wire
- UCLA's secondary has a chance to be very good in 2026
Out of all of the position groups for the 2026 UCLA Bruins football team, the team's secondary might be viewed as the safest bet to have a strong season. UCLA retained their top secondary pieces from last year's squad and added more talent through the portal, giving the defensive unit a potential identity.
UCLA's secondary was pretty solid last season. The Bruins allowed the eighth-fewest passing yards in the Big Ten Conference but that number was aided by opposing offenses electing to run the ball against a weak UCLA rushing defense. UCLA gave up 190.4 rushing yards per game and often trailed significantly, which enticed opponents to keep the ball on the ground.
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When teams did throw, the Bruins had Scooter Jackson , Cole Martin , Rodrick Pleasant and senior Andre Jordan Jr. in coverage to make things difficult. This year's team will have that group returning with the exception of Jordan. To offset Jordan's loss, the group added nickelback DJ Barksdale from James Madison and safety Tao Johnson from Utah.
UCLA's success against passing doesn't just come down to the secondary, the Bruins are replacing JonJon Vaughn's Isaiah Chisom at linebacker after Vaughns graduated and Chisom transferred to Oklahoma State. UCLA brought in Sammy Omosigsho and Drew Spinogatti through the portal with Jalen Woods returning for his redshirt senior season in Westwood.
The Bruins defense will need to be balanced in order to find success in conference play this season but the secondary gives new defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler some reliable pieces at the back of his defense.
A better pass rush would also do wonders for the secondary, UCLA finished last in the Big Ten with only 10 sacks last year, JMU transfers Sahir West and Aiden Gobaira hope that their success will carry over out west for the Bruins.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA's secondary has a chance to be very good in 2026
