Bruin Insider Show - Season 14 Episode 03

0:00This is Matt Rogers from Lost Culture East. This is with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This is Bowen Yang from Lost Culture East. This is Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. You know when people try a new food and suddenly it's like, okay, hold on. I got a new favorite food. That's the reaction a lot of people are having when they first try Cupid Mayon. Yeah, it's the one with the red cap and the little baby on the bottle. You've probably seen it at the grocery store. And this mayo is different. Mm-hmm. Most mayonnaise uses whole eggs. Cupid only uses egg yolks, which gives it this rich umami flavor. It's smoother, deeper, almost buttery. Once people try it, they start putting it on everything. Egg sandwiches, fries, burgers, chefs use it, restaurants use it, people who really care about flavor use it, put it on just about anything. Then you'll understand Cupid, the original Japanese mayonnaise. Life from Los Angeles. This is the Brewing Insider Show. Your inside look at UCLA athletics. Bates back, looks, surveys, tucks, zigzags, heading right, heading in zone. Clutch down, Nico, E.Molly, E.M.

1:00The Brewing Insider Show is presented by Insider Accident Lawyers, former insurance lawyers now fighting for you. Keep it here for the best Brewing's talk anywhere. With behind the scenes insights, interviews with UCLA student athletes and coaches, and the latest on campus athletics news, live from Westwood. We're getting the inside scoop, paraphernalist. Now, with your inside scoop on all things, Brewing's. Here are your hosts, Nick Cope and Winco. The UCLA Brewins are often running to a 2-0 start to begin the 2026 season and Bob Chesney's tenure in Westwood. It wasn't always pretty last Saturday at the Rose Bowl, but when it was all said and done, the Brewins left little doubt in a 28-10 win over San Diego State. Now the attention turns to conference play with the Purdue Boiler Makers making the trip West to Pasadena. Welcome back to the Brewing Insider Show. Nick Cope joined as always by the former UCLA quarterback in current sideline analyst Wayne Cook. We'll break down the game against the Aztecs,

2:01look ahead to this weekend against Purdue. We'll also catch up with Bob Chesney and Center Riley Robelle will stop by as well. But before we get into all of that, do want to let you know. We are brought to you by Insider Accident Lawyers. Insured in an accident, then you need Insider Accident Lawyers, the official personal injury law firm sponsor of UCLA athletics. As former insurance lawyers, they know the true value of your injuries visit insideraccidentlawyers.com. All right, Wayne, UCLA made its triumphant return to the Rose Bowl last weekend. Not the most aesthetically pleasing game in the first half, but I'm sure the lineman loved it. We had a different story in the second half, though. UCLA finished drives three more rushing touchdowns for Wayne Knight, another dominant fourth quarter, and the defense held San Diego State to just 189 yards of offense, including only 45 passing yards. And it's because of that, that even though it was a one score game going into the final period,

3:02that I never felt like the game was really in jeopardy, it was only a matter of time before UCLA put the game away and they did. Yeah, Nick, I agree. It felt like it was just what's this gonna happen? And then we finally got, you know, in the end zone and the third. I believe, right? And then, and then from then on, I just kind of felt like UCLA came out of halftime ready to play. It took a little while to get the, you know, the 21 that they ended up within the fourth quarter, but they looked better. There's still some inconsistencies on offense. The running game has been fantastic. When you average 245 yards through two games, it's, that's incredible. The six touchdowns by Wayne Knight, Anthony Woods has been good, jet got in the end zone. So we still have those three really, really good running backs, which means the offensive lines playing really well. The passing game is still scaring me. And we know that UCLA's had some receivers banged up. Thankfully, Roe came back in the second half

4:04from kind of landing hard on his side on that big play in the first half. But remember, it was supposed to be Roe and Landon Alice. And we lost Landon Alice on that trick play in game one. And he's not on the injury list. So it looks like he's coming back. And I know he's only had one catch so far. But Landon Alice is an experienced big physical receiver that is surrounded by a lot of skinny receivers. So I love that Landon Alice, and hopefully he's back and he gets to play and be at full speed because I think he'll help the passing game. But just in general, everything feels there. The defense was elite. Like you shut down San Diego State, the quarterback through for under 50 yards. I mean, it's like elite, elite defense. But we need to figure out a way to get the passing game going moving forward because we're going to need it. There's a lot more difficult opponents in our future. Now, I think that is the takeaway from this game.

5:06The defense was outstanding. The running game continued what it did. It feels like the passing game is the missing piece here. And you said it. Hey, it hasn't come back to bite you in these first couple of games. And we'll talk to Bob Chesney. I think he might say that the passing game was fine in game one. It made plays when we needed to. But certainly, you're going to face better teams, tougher teams. That might be a little more successful in stopping your run. And so you're going to have to be able to throw the ball to relax that pressure up front so you can get back to doing what you do best and keeping things on the ground. And so that is kind of the big takeaway and what everyone's curious to see going forward, how this passing came can continue to develop. I feel like Glass half full. Nico Yamalayava, it's game two. It's two games deep with a new offensive coordinator. I mean, the guys basically had to learn three, maybe four offenses depending on how you count last season over the span of three years. A whole new group of receivers that have been in flux.

6:07I mean, I know UCLA doesn't utilize the tight ends much in the passing game, but you were down Josh Fyfer. You were down Mikey Matthews in this game. You mentioned Roe left, came back. No Ellis. Aiden Misell was out there for a quick cup of coffee and then wasn't able to continue. So you're talking about second and third stringers he was working with in this game. So a lot up in the air and you can prepare and hope you've got guys ready to go. But it's another story. Your ones are your ones for a reason. And moving forward, you're getting one of those guys back in Landon Ellis, which is a guy they can't replace. They do not have his size, his physicality and his skill set anywhere else in this depth chart. So that is going to be huge going forward. I look forward to seeing what he does for the passing game. 100% agree. And then just remember that one of the deeper spots has been, you know, Mikey Matthews, you don't want to see him get hurt. He's a vocal leader. He had a great game one. It's just a bummer to see a guy with that kind of energy

7:08go out. But Samaj Morgan was fantastic. I was going to say we've gone too long without mentioning Samaj Morgan. Well, Samaj Morgan was great in the game. And Shane Rosenthal came in and played more than he's played. And as you see, a career and did a really good job. So we have some depth there. He had a deep ball down the sidelines that even told me after the game, I got to do a better job of coming back to that one to draw the pass interference. So he's that type of player. So we're going to get a thinker and a blocker. You mentioned we're down a tight end. But those other tight ends are still out there doing their thing to help the run game. But I'm going to go back to this. Remember, it's also Nico's third year as a starter. He's got tons of experience. So he is doing a lot of little things, right? Throwing a, under throwing a ball if you're back foot for an interception, the red zone, two interceptions in the red zone. Those are things you can't do. He's got way too much experience. You've rather throw it long and over somebody's head where it's not caught, then throw it up and make an easy interception. So those are things that you get against some of these better opponents. You can't do that. But here's what's great.

8:08You've got a quarterback that we've already talked about. All the intangibles he has about toughness and the way plays and he can run and all that good stuff. There's still room for improvement. So now let's watch the first two games. Let's look at the game film. And let's start figuring it out. There's been some drop balls, but there's been some other things too. It's not all on him. And you mentioned all the receiver rotation, which makes things difficult. I've been through that as a quarterback. It's not easy. So he does need to step it up a notch, but the rest of the passing game needs to do their part two. Because with this kind of a run game, it makes it a lot easier for you to be a quarterback. So let's take advantage of it. Now this run game has been so much fun to watch. Already 10 rushing touchdowns on the ground for UCLA. Well documented. They had just eight a year ago. They've outscored opponents 42 to 10 in the fourth quarter in these first couple of games. And you mentioned earlier about all the offensive line rotation. There were 10 different offensive line in that plate in this game. You just do not see that, but that is a hallmark of Chris Smith,

9:11the offensive line coach. That is what he likes to do. And it shows up in fourth quarters. We've seen it in these two games. UCLA looks like the fresher team. You combine that on the line with your three-headed monster in the back field. And so your fresh going in the fourth quarter and the final thing I'll pause at about this is, man, Wayne Knight feels like a closer to me. He is Mariano Rivera. Fourth quarter. Let's put this game away. Shut things down and go home because he's done that twice now. Well he's one of the leaders in the entire country. And he's got great contact balance. He's good at knowing when to slow down to be patient. He's an accelerator. He can catch up all out of the back field. He is absolutely the complete package. And I saw someone online going, hey, let's start the Heisman campaign. He might need to get a little bit more as we go through the season touches. You know what I mean? He's done what he's done in very limited amount of touches,

10:12which is incredible and good for the longevity of the season. So we'll see how that evolves. And then since we're talking about running backs, every brewing out there doesn't it seem like Jalen Woods and Samuel Massigo are almost like running backs on defense. They both can run. They can't pull a defense. It's like a running back. They're absolutely incredible. I mean, these two guys have just jumped off the screen for UCLA, along with a whole bunch of other people. But I like nine and 10 right in the middle on defense. They've been fantastic. I want to get to the defense in a second. But the final note on Wayne Knight, you mentioned more touches. So he's got six touchdowns, 23 total touches. So about one every four times he's touching the ball through two games, he's finding the paint. So that's the... Real quick, Coach Shesney said after the game, he was choking around about a little bit. He's like, it's like the second or third time this year when we knew it was going to be a touchdown before we called the play. I'm like, that to me is a coach that...

11:14When you're scheming, you're game planning and you get that mad scientist grin on your face. Like, if they do this when we call this, we got them. And that also means you trust your players to execute because just because the play's there, doesn't mean that guys are going to do it. They're supposed to do so they executed and they've had a couple of touchdowns that kind of knew they were going to get. Yeah, that's been really fun to see. And then to flip it over back to the defensive side, they're creating impactful plays on that side of the ball. And I'm sure Colin Hitchler and the guys on that side probably feel like there's a couple more sacks for them in there, but, you know, 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, four takeaways and two games. That all has you top half in the big 10. And they've rallied to the ball well. You mentioned Samu, Masego and Jalen Woods leading the way, but I do feel like everybody has gone in on the action. All three levels, you've seen guys pop, whether it be Syyear West up front, Amir Washington, the linebackers of course, Tasha and James, Malik Hartford.

12:15We know the guys on the corner, Scooter, Roddrick, it's been all three levels that have played a huge role on defense so far. Yeah, listen, we could have named them all. Scott Taylor, you could throw in Cocktail, who did some good things in this game. You could see Tasha. I mean, I'm going to go to the corners and in the Swiss Army and I, GJ Birxdale had a great coverage down the middle on a deep ball. I have to admit though, that may have been the worst deep ball throwing quarterback I have ever seen in my entire life. And I'm going to make a connection because I thought the coverage by Roddrick and Scooter and DJ and all those people covering down feel were great. I thought they were great. But to any quarterback listening to this show, Nico sort of shane was better even though it was under thrown because it had the chance of him coming back and catching it or drawing a PI. The way that Dina Gaulle was throwing the ball, it was like nobody had a chance. It was like, it was absolutely ridiculous. So we're still going to get watch, proud for Purdue can throw it, right?

13:16He's pretty good. I've watched the games before we did this. And I like him. They have good running game. They're pretty big. I don't think they're the greatest team ever ever, but at the same time, they do have some talent. So UCLA will be tested. Yeah, we will dive deeper into Purdue and what they offer coming up later in the program. But coming up next, what is Bob Chesney seeing from his quarterback in this passing game as a whole? How can they make some strides moving forward? We will ask him on the other side. He's Wayne Cook. I'm Nick Cope. It's the Bruin Insider Show on the UCLA Bruins Audio Network. You are taking you inside the Bruin Huddle. Like only a Bruin Insider can. It's the Bruin Insider Show presented by Insider Aksan employers with Nick Cope and Wayne Cook. Welcome back to the Bruin Insider Show. Nick Cope, grateful to have a few moments to catch up with the head coach, Bob Chesney. Coach, appreciate your time as you join us each week

14:17on the program. How was your first experience? How did you enjoy being in the Rose Bowl for the first time? Yeah, I thought it was great. I thought it was impressed with the fans that came out and showed up, especially for no students to be around. And I still be able to have that crowd as great. And hoping for more of it when we get to Saturday night. But I thought they showed up well. I showed out well. I thought the walk-in was great. I thought there was a lot of really positives about it. And it wasn't just my first time there. A lot of our players first time as well. And I thought that everybody understood the gravity of it. We played a highlight video of what it meant to be in the Rose Bowl and a little history of it on Saturday morning. So they all understood what they were walking into. And they'd been there before. But on game day, the first actual game day, I thought it was important for them to understand. Two weeks in a row now, you guys have been able to make adjustments at halftime. Where did you guys make adjustments to have success as that game went along? Yeah, I don't know that there was major adjustments made. I think in our run game, certainly the offense aligned in the scheme that we started to employ. And the second half was a little bit different than what

15:17we were doing in the first half. And that just came from trial and error, ultimately, what we thought we could do and what we thought might work. And then what wasn't working just kind of remove it. But defensively, we just had to clean up a couple of things up front. You know, we just, you know, one guy went the wrong way one time, another guy missed the gap one time. And those things when you're playing a tight downhill A to B gap type run game, those things show up a little quicker as opposed to if it was a C or a D gap or something on the outside. So those are the things that, you know, just didn't look great right away. But when we buckled down and handled business the right way, I thought that, you know, we're able to kind of snuff out that run game. And then the past game, obviously, to end a game with 45 total passing yard speaks volumes of the coverage and the things we're doing there as well. We were talking about it on the radio broadcast. The start of that game felt like it was being played between the hashes and a phone booth. And it's really seen anything like that. And sometime it's kind of a throwback. To have the receivers in flux like that, be down a couple guys going into the game, more guys get hurt early on in the game.

16:18How did that impact what you guys were trying to do? Well, I think it impacts a lot. And you wish it didn't because you just wish when someone went down, the next guy jumps up and is just as good as the other guy. And I think we're not quite there yet. You know, to show it to have three or four guys down, you know, we needed, you know, three or four guys to step up. And I thought one that stood, you know, certainly stepped up with some of us. I thought he did an absolutely unbelievable job of making two really tightly contested catches in a drive that mattered really probably the most in the whole entire whole entire game and keep it alive, almost single handedly. He and Nico, that was reassuring to see at the end of the game, you know, that we were able to put it together when we needed to the most. So, yeah, your timing's going to be a little bit off, right? The landmarks and the spacing's going to be a little bit off. You know, they get those reps even at all, you know, throughout the week when you're down to your third or fourth different guy. Those are all questions. It's not easy to get everybody reps all the time. So when guys go down and go down early, it creates a little bit of issues. But I thought our guys did a good job. And I said it to him all week is from yesterday and even last week, at some point,

17:19it's going to be somebody that we're not expecting. You know, that's going to happen again this week. It's going to be someone we're not expecting. That's going to do something really important because they prepared properly. And that's what I'm excited to see who that is this week. And that of course can impact the quarterback in the passing game. And I know Nico said afterward that he knows he has to be better. What have you guys seen on film to where those improvements need to be made for him in this passing game? Yeah, I just think, again, how he ended it with some edge, I think, is really important. But at the same point in time, there's probably one or two things that he could have taken earlier. And that we're open and we just didn't get to whether he felt pressure. Sorry, whether he felt pressure or something else happening in there. No, those are things that he's got to be able to work all the way through the progression and fight. So the way I was thinking about it, your two games into a new offense, as we touched on, working with different guys that receive are a lot of different guys in a couple games. And so there's a lot of room for growth and a lot of room for improvement the rest of the season. Is that fair? It's very fair. Yeah, and I think across the board, the first game,

18:20I thought we did a great job. And I think we got to this one and it just got a little bit tighter. And I don't know that we just see it as clear as we needed to see it. And I think he did a good job of not taking chances. We knew it was a tight game. When it's zero, zero, the last thing you want to do is put yourself in a situation where you're taking some risk and turning the ball over and giving someone a short field. So when there's moments where he pulls it down and didn't want to throw to whatever might have been perceived to be a little bit open from us when we go back and watch the film, it's also a good thing to protect the football and understand the game you're in. And in the end, when we get to the plus side of the field, then we need third down plays and we have to get a little risky and make a play, he does just that. So I think those are all things that, you know, it's not ideally the way he wants to end a game statistically or whatever else might come with it. But at the same point in time, he managed it well. And he did a really good job of putting us in a position to obviously win the game and a tight game at that until we eventually broke it open. For sure. And what you've done in these last two games now is that running game, you've got to lean the fourth quarter. You're trying to push that clock into your favor.

19:22Both games now, you've been able to effectively run out the clock, get touchdowns when you have to imagine. The other side knows that's what you want to do. So that's pretty cool to be on that side of things and know you can lean on your running game like that. Well, I think that's what we talked about at the beginning, kid, we run the ball, can we stop the run? Can we win the turnover and x-play battle? Right? Those are the four things that you're going to try to answer as you go through because you're going to get to those moments where we have to run the ball. They know we have to run the ball. The stadium knows we've got to run the ball. And can we still run the ball? And I think we've answered that. Yes, over the last two weeks. Looking at the defensive side of things, one thing I've noticed is the amount of free rushers you guys have been able to get on, especially from the linebacker level. And obviously with the athleticism you got there, they can get to the quarterback in our hurry. What have you seen out of the ways you guys have been able to create those negative plays? Talk about explosives on offense, but also to generate those negatives on defense is the inverse. Yeah, so I think that there are some matchup things that work in our favor the past couple of weeks.

20:22But ultimately, there's also this other idea of this overload pressures and the scheme that coach Hitchfield and employees at certain moments and knows when to do it and then when to threaten it and not do it. Those things are part of what makes great coordinators great and great defense is great. And I think that our guys understand the intent of all those calls that are made to understand exactly what we're trying to do and what's setting up what. Nothing just lives independently on a call sheet all by itself. Everything is a setup for something next. And those are the things that I think our guys understand at a higher level, which puts them in situations to understand their matchups, get home on some one-on-ones or understand how that pressure but is going to hit and know when you are that free hitter. You got to do something about it. And I thought our guys have done a really good job of maximizing their opportunities. And Jalen Woods was one of those free hitters when he came off the edge, got that sack. Obviously, the interception late read that the whole way. He really seemed to pop and him and Sammy alongside. And I know you got depth behind him, but those two guys as a tandem have been really fun to watch. Yeah, they've been playing really, really hard.

21:24They're fun, they're fun to watch. They're stout in the run game. And then they get really creative in the past game and then they could cover people as well. Not only in the blitz part of it, but also the coverage piece and it's fun to watch them. Talking about special teams, one thing I have noticed is the coverage, kick and punt. You guys seem to have been there. How have you thought about your special team so far this season? Yeah, I think the first punt we have of the game, that ball comes out and as good as J9 played, if you just falls on that ball at the 6-yard line or whatever it is, it's probably a very different game at that point in time. But I thought Shane Rosenthal's a guy out there. As you look at the run. He seems to be one of the first guys there every time. Osiris is down there, is one of the first guys down there. And then you start to add in the other protection in the punt game of Donnie Palad and some of these other guys that are out there that just continue to show up. It's fun to watch them play. And they know the importance of it. That's not the role that they really want. That's not the role that they are just so excited to do,

22:25but they understand how field position wins games. And they take it as seriously as anybody else. And that's what the best guys do. If you don't love your role, well dominate it and get yourself promoted. If you do love your role, you better keep maximizing it and fighting because someone else probably wants your role as well. But it's the guys that don't love their role, complain about it, don't practice real hard, that eventually find themselves getting demoted. So I love to watch these guys just continue to understand the importance of special teams, the effort that's got to go into it. You're asking them to run 60, 70 yards down the field sometimes. And I think those are things that they just bring it every single day. It's exciting to watch. Well, they definitely understand the importance because I think in this game alone, you guys are maybe plus 20-ish in the field position battle and a tight game. Throughout four quarters, that stuff matters. It absolutely matters 100%. And I think there's two kicks that go out of bounds that kind of skew it a little bit as well. It could have even been more. So those are all things that will continue to work on and understand how they lead to points eventually. Maybe not on that drive, but when they send the ball back

23:27your other way and you get a nice return or whatever it might be, they affect the game. Did they make a game changing play that affects the game and they've done that now each of the past two weeks? All right, so Purdue coming up on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. They just had a tight game. A late comeback to force overtime came up a little bit short. What do you see in out of the boiler makers this year? Well, I think they're really good. I think that their quarterbacks really good. I think he stands in the pocket. He's poised. He has people in his face and he still delivers. And I don't know how he came and followed through on some of these balls and he's still able to get that out and then be accurate. The running back is pretty special. He's another guy that we just, for the third week in a row, have a really tough running back to deal with. He's low center of gravity, strong and his lower body runs through arm tackles all day long. He'll put his pads down, but then he also has this ability to make you miss at the last second. That stands out to really good slot receivers and two outside receivers that I think are really good. And then he gets to the defense aside. There's a phenomenal defense tackle and they're a good defensive end of shut down boundary corner.

24:30Linebackers that are physical and downhill. And then their special teams is the guy came from Virginia Tech at one point with Coach Beamer. So that whole idea of Beamer Ball and special teams raining true, there's trick kicks and fake punts and all those things throughout the course of his career. So they're a complete team. We just gotta make sure that we understand the battle that we're about to be in and prepare accordingly throughout the week. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys take on another challenge this weekend. Thanks so much for your time as always. Good catchin' up. Yeah, thanks so much. Appreciate it. All right, there you have it from the head coach, Bob Chesney. We appreciate him taking the time for us each week on the program. Coming up next, we go from coach to player, center Riley Robelle, followed Bob Chesney from J.M.U. to Westwood. We'll talk about the constant rotation going on on the offensive line and how it ultimately benefits the team. We'll also touch on his wrestling background as well as how walking on his hands has become a pre-game ritual. You're listening to the Bruin Insider Show on the UCLA Bruins' Audio Network.

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27:40Covering the Bruins on the field. You're mine. Shoot, move. There he goes. There he is, no easy task. Luckily, they do it from behind the mic. And lucky for you, they also answer your questions. Have one, tweet us, or access, or whatever the proper term is. At UCLA Athletics, hashtag Bruin Insider Show. Now, let's get you back to more of the Bruin Insider Show presented by Insider Action Employers with your hosts, Nick Kope and Wayne Cook. It's the Bruin Insider Show, Nick Kope, having a chance to catch up with your starting center, Riley Robelle joining us. Riley, thanks so much for your time. How'd you like it, man? Thank you for having me. I'm doing good. How was your first experience in the Roseball as a player? I mean, the Roseball's electric. I really have never seen anything like it before. We took a couple of tours and saw it a little bit on a visitor too, but actually touching down, playing football was a surreal experience. Every time I go out there, it's the grass that gets me.

28:43That playing surface is second to none. It's really something. They say this practice field right here is the same grass, but getting up there and actually touching it. It's not quite. It's pretty different. It's crazy. Well, you guys are on this practice grass every day. It gets a workout compared to that one at the Roseball. But that game, you guys had to really weather the storm, hang in there, but you found a way. What were the conversations like among you guys on the offensive line throughout the game as you guys work through things and ultimately found a way to pull away at the end? As the game is going, we collectively can agree. We're just chipping away. That's the message I'm giving the guys. Keep chipping, keep chipping. It's a long game. It's four quarters for a reason. And you don't need any scores. Coach, it's just like to say, the most meaningless statistic in football is the score at halftime. And regardless of it being 0-0 when it comes down to it, we would have said it's 0-0 anyway. So coming out a half, we were able to find it and finally start punching some in.

29:44But the whole game was pretty collectively agreed. Just keep chipping. We've got this. And when the flip side of the ball, your defense keeps doing what they're doing, that at least gives you guys some confidence, right? Definitely does. It's great when the defense can keep the momentum going in your direction. Keep the fans engaged a little bit. Keep them cheering. That's definitely very helpful, very useful. And then our team brings the energy itself. And I think that's a really big piece of that as well. I have to imagine if I were an offensive lineman and clearly I'm not, but to be able to close these two games out where you guys are leaning on your running game, the defense knows you want to run the ball and you guys are able to do it anyway. That's got to feel really good. Definitely feels great. If you watched the game from Jamie last year, I feel like it was a pretty similar situation. And I like that that's caring over. I like that these guys on play with. They have that same mentality. Let's do this. Please put it on our back. We'd love to carry this into the end zone. It's nice. It's contagious to be around.

30:44For sure. What's it like blocking for these running backs? And even a quarterback that can get out and scoot as well? It's fantastic. Just getting to be in there. And I have confidence that the guys behind me, they're going to find that hole. They're going to hit it as hard as they can. And they're going to take that ball to the end zone. And it makes it easy. I just get in my stance and I go, I just got to hit this guy, run him over. And I know that my back's going to do this for me. I like that. All right. So originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, football, also a wrestler. So you like to tussle with people a little bit, is the sense I get? I do. I like the physicality of things I found that's usually where I can excel as an athlete. Is that something you figured out at a young age? Or do you have to navigate through that before you found football and wrestling to be your two sports? I have a brother, a younger brother, and we're very close in age, a little less than two years. And with him, it's just always been wrestling around.

31:44So my dad signed me up when I was about six. And since then, we've just been rolling wrestling and football. Yeah. So most people may not know. But hopefully they started to get word. You were the heavyweight champ in Pennsylvania, correct? I was. Yes, I was. What do you remember about that state championship match? So my senior year, I got to wrestle a kid that I'd already wrestled probably four times earlier that year. In each match, it felt like he was trying to keep it close. So going into the last one, I was really excited to open it up. And I got to beat him like 15 to 2 and pretty handed victory. And it's that same feeling I get on the football field. I like making people break on the other side. You feel like you inflict your will. And you can kind of just do whatever for a little bit. Right there, hard out. Exactly, exactly. When it gets down to that, that's when I start to really have fun. So that's what I remember the most about my last match, for sure. I saw where you've been walking on your hands, free game. A lot of people saw that and were mesmerized by it.

32:44Does that come from the wrestling background somehow? Where does that come from? It does. A guy who is actually funny, my coach, Brian Marrow, wave, wave back. He was my youth wrestling coach at a very small club behind an antique shop in Carlaw, Pennsylvania. And that guy taught me how to walk on my hands. And then it kind of warms my wrists up. It's my shoulders going. I've been doing it before pretty much every sporting event since I was like 11. OK, I was going to ask, how old are we? So yeah, so I've been doing it for so long now that it's just like feeling I can't play without it. So definitely, you know, always going to be a part of me. So from Harrisburg to Harrisonburg going to JMU, that's a nice little set up. Your freshman year, Kurt Signetti's the head coach. And obviously people like to draw comparisons just being at JMU between coach Chesney, coach Signetti. On the outside, seems like those two guys couldn't be more different. But what do you think? Are there any similarities there?

33:45I mean, I'm kind of with everybody else. You know, they're very different people. It was two completely different coaching styles. And me personally as a player, I did not gel as well with the Signetti coaching style. And I think that there was a big, big disconnect there at the start of my career. I was leaning a lot more towards, you know, maybe rediscovering a wrestling career or something and, you know, maybe branching away from football. And right around that time, coach Chesney showed up and he kind of started talking to me in the hallway. He knew my name. I'd never played before. And I was like, wow, I can't believe this guy already knows my name. Maybe I'll stick around and see what he's about. You know, here I am. There you are. Yeah. It's a very, very cool story for me. Yeah. So a couple of years there at JMU, coach Chesney comes here to UCLA. He's like, hey, what do you think? Is that an easy yes? I mean, you know how the portal gets. There's so much stuff going on. But for me, it was just kind of like, I feel like I found my fit. I feel like I can come in every day, just be myself. And that's something unique that you don't get everywhere.

34:46So I didn't want to give that up. I definitely wanted to, you know, continue following. And I've got all the faith in the world in coach and the whole staff. So it was just like, easiest can be, you know, let's get this done. Between players and coaches, I think the number is 37 of you that came from JMU here to UCLA. And you bring that college football playoff experience. How much do you think that has helped bring this team together to have such a large group that kind of knows how things work and that you can bring everybody else along? It definitely helps. It helps a lot, you know, you can see some of these guys when some stuff starts happening that they've never seen before. That, you know, they're looking around confused. Having so many people will be able to just kind of bring things together and create this energy of like, it's okay, you know, take a breath. We've done this before. This is how it goes. Let's come with, like, come with us, follow what we do. It's made it, you know, very simple for everybody to be able to kind of fall in line and see what the culture is. And then as you can see these first two weeks,

35:46we're letting people see that like, this is real, you know, coach Jezzine's culture is real. Any preachers for a reason? And I think that the more people can see the success come, the more they'll start to, you know, follow and follow a little closer. And I think it'll continue growing this team as a unit. For you, correct me if I wrong? You played more guard than center at JMEW, correct? Yeah, I've never actually played center. I think I have maybe four snaps against Ball State, my sophomore year or something. So this was, that was a big switch for me coming over. I've played in practice and whatnot, you know, getting reps, understanding, mic points, front calls, all the stuff that comes with it. And I think that helped make the transitional a lot smoother for me when I go over here, but was definitely a big bite to chew when I first made it. What's the potential of this offensive line? It's so interesting. I don't think people have seen so many different guys playing again. You guys, I think, went fully too deep in that game against San Diego State. So I guess first part of the question, before we talk about potential,

36:46just what's it like playing in that to where you're snapping and then second, third down is coming up. Maybe it's a new set of downs, but you're coming out. Someone else is coming back in. You know, this is the coach Smith way. This is how he did it at JMEW and he's preached this since the day that I met him. You know, this is his, this is his push. I think that, I think that this is one of the most unique experiences I've ever got to have. And I couldn't believe it more. You know, I think that it's so good for our offensive line. As you can see, these past two games, when it comes to that third, fourth quarter of things, and pressure starts to weigh on everybody, not just the lineman, but everybody starting to feel that. They've played a full football game. Well, the offensive line hasn't. We've got guys coming in, taking some reps off, taking the sweat off your back a little bit, and coach Smith makes sure everybody is ready for that. It's impressive. It's not a lot of teams have 10 guys that know how to play football at that level, and luckily we do. And therefore, it would seem that Sky's the limit for you guys on the offensive line

37:47to have that kind of depth. Absolutely it is. You know, I believe in this offensive line, I think we can go very far. And I think, you know, a lot of the guys in the room feel the same way. And we all share that opinion of like, please, like, give us more, you know. The whole team has the message, give us more, you know. We've done our job. We want more. We want to do more. We want to make sure we push it to the next level. And I think that's what's going to take this team to the next level. I'm excited to watch you guys continue that growth. It's been a fun first couple of games, and excited for the rest of the journey ahead. Thanks so much for your time. And I appreciate you stopping by. Absolutely. Thank you so much. All right. Great stuff there from Riley, Robelle. You know, at 62284, he's a little undersized compared to your average college center. But boy, does he more than make up for it with his high level of athleticism. He and the rest of the offensive line will be taking on a Purdue defense that ranks top 25 in the nation in tackles for loss. What else do you need to know about the Boiler Makers for Saturday night? Wayne Cook and I will discuss coming up next. A brilliant insider show on the UCLA Bruins Audio Network.

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39:53Hey, Steve Sacks here. Your health journey is personal and your Medicare Advantage plan should be too. Alignment Health plan provides a broad network of doctors and specialists, along with a care team that's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You'll also receive a monthly spending allowance for over-the-counter items, and a fitness membership to support your overall health and well-being. Discover a plan that supports you at every stage of life. Visit AlignmentHealthPlan.com today. AlignmentHealthPlan.com UCLA and Purdue meeting for just the sixth time this weekend of the first since 1980. It's a late-night kick at the Rose Bowl 8 p.m. Wayne and I will get your pre-game coverage underway at 6.30.

40:55As always, you can listen on AM790K ABC, Sirius XM, Tunin, and UCLA Bruins.com. Wayne Purdue comes in at one-in-one. They handled Indiana State in the opener before they fell in double over time last week against Wake Forest. They're trying to snap an 18-game conference losing streak. They have not won a game in the Big Ten since the final week of the 2023 season. Head Coach Barry Odom, now in his second year, and he's got a couple of very capable guys in his backfield. Quarterback Ryan Brown, big guy, 6'4", 2", 25. He's completing 78% of his passes, and the running back, Femei EG Boy. He's their bell cow who's accounted for 270 total yards and two games. Those two guys aren't going to be expected to lead the way if Purdue is going to give UCLA a good test Saturday night. Absolutely. I just got done watching film, and Ryan Brown, I really like him. He's a big guy. He's got a good arm. He looks the part of a quarterback.

41:55He throws a nice ball. He moves. He can move. He can take off and get stuff with his legs if he needs to. If you watch number two, EG Boy is very good. This guy's a really talented back. He runs with power. I think that's one of the things that when you listen to Hitchler talk about this offense, he said that we're kind of the good news as we've played a couple with Kyle and San Diego State. We've played a couple of big backs. So I forget how he played it, but you got to come up with hard pads or big pads. He had a great phrase that I loved. But you got to come up and hit. And that's one thing that this defense has done. So I really like the match up. Make Brown uncomfortable, Nick. Make him move around a little bit. Make him uncomfortable. Coach Hitchler also talks about, hey, listen, we play a lot of man. They might come up in 10 personnel and we have to cover these guys across the board, a bunch of receivers with our guys. And we're going to play man and we're going to try to get after the quarterback. And I love the way he put it.

42:56Let's just kind of see who wins. I love that. And I think that this deep it takes on that persona when they play football. Oh, they definitely do. No question about that. And Colin Hitchler, like our guest, Ryla Robelle, a former wrestler. And so he has brought that mentality to the defense. And they have absorbed it from him. But Purdue, it's interesting. They've got some options here offensively as opposed to past seasons. I like the guys on the outside, some shifty guys in the slot. And Brown playing well. He had 10 picks a year ago, clean so far here in 2026. And so they've got that option. Do we want to spread UCLA out and attack you through the air? Or do they want to continue to lead on their running back, FMA, EG Boy? UCLA has been prepped for him. Colin Hitchler said the big 10 is a league of big linemen and downhill running backs. And UCLA has certainly been prepped for that in their first two games. And Nick, you think about it on the other side of the ball when you're thinking about Purdue. It was great by the way.

43:57It's great to see our coordinators talking to the press. Yay, everybody. You please go find me and listen because you learn so much. He talks about his relationship with Nico and the things they need to work on. He talks about dealing with the injuries and next man up. But one of the things you just mentioned, big boy football coach Kennedy also said, big guys and big dudes on the defense of front. So we're going to have to, and again, this is another thing we've talked about in previous games. The offensive line has been so good. They've got some size. They move well. He talked about how the defense of front moves well. These are things that you, if you want to keep the running game going against a big stout front seven, you've got to just keep getting better. Yeah, that defensive line for Purdue. They average around six, two, six, three, 280 pounds. A lot of size. They move well. So it's going to be a lot for UCLA to contend with when they have the ball on offense. It should be a very fun night at the Rose Bowl coming up Saturday night.

44:57Hope to see you all out there. We will get your pregame coverage started at 630 right here on AM790 KABC. It's all the time we have for this week. If you missed any part of the program, subscribe to the podcast. UCLA Bruins Audio Network wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to Bob Chesney and Riley Robelle. For Wayne Cook, I'm Nick Cope, Fours Up and Go Bruins! This has been the Bruin Insider Show. On the UCLA Bruins Audio Network, you're a weekly look inside UCLA athletics. The Bruin Insider Show was presented by Insider Accent Lawyers, former insurance lawyers now fighting for you. The preceding was a presentation of the UCLA Bruins Audio Network.