Over 4,000 Division I football players have entered the transfer portal, and with the window officially opening Jan. 2 and closing Jan. 16, many new faces will join the Bob Chesney train in Westwood, and several will depart the Bruin program for good. Daily Bruin Sports editor Connor Dullinger tracks which players have left the team, those who have joined it and names to watch out for in the second transfer portal update of 2026.

[Related: UCLA football faces come and go in transfer portal trade-off]

Who is new?

Wednesday marked the second wave of Chesney’s transfer recruitment effort.

And the new UCLA football head coach wasted no time in bolstering the already formidable transfer class he helped build in Westwood.

Two of Chesney’s biggest additions came on the offensive side of the ball.

Wayne Knight – a Second Team All-American all-purpose player for USA Today, Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and On3 – will join the UCLA backfield after running for 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns through 14 games as a Duke.

Knight set the single-season record at James Madison for all-purpose yards, garnering 2,039, and ranked third in the nation in all-purpose yards per game, seventh in yards per carry and No. 15 in rushing yards per game.

The former Duke tailback will immediately fortify a UCLA running game that ranked No. 12 in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game with 139.7 per contest.

Joining Knight are four receivers: Aidan Mizell, Leland Smith, Semaj Morgan and Landon Ellis, who immediately round out UCLA’s pass-catching department.

With junior wide receiver Mikey Matthews making up the only starting receiver to remain on the roster – with Titus Mokiao-Atimalala graduating and Kwazi Gilmer and Rico Flores Jr. entering the transfer portal – Chesney went from having an otherwise empty wide receiver room to having five options in just one day.

Leading the pack will most likely be Mizell, a four-star transfer prospect and the highest-ranked addition so far, who played just seven games for Florida this season, garnering 19 receptions for 177 yards and one score.

A new environment, in a less crowded pass-catching department, may be the solution Mizell needs to reach the next level.

After Mizell, Smith and Ellis rank as the team’s next most prominent receiver additions. Smith finished the 2025 campaign with 43 receptions, 688 receiving yards and three touchdowns in his first season at San Jose State, leading him to an All-Mountain West honorable mention honor.

Ellis, like Smith, has shown the ability to contribute effectively to the team’s passing game. Ellis hauled in 36 catches for 624 receiving yards and five touchdowns, earning him Third Team All-Sun Belt honors.

While Mizell lacks the statistics to prove he will be a starting option for Chesney, his raw talent and athleticism, coupled with his transfer grade designation, will most likely earn him the No. 1 spot in offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy’s offense.

And Smith’s and Ellis’ production at their previous stops will most likely garner them the No. 2 and No. 3 options for redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Chesney’s last addition at wideout was former Michigan receiver Semaj Morgan.

The size and frame of Smith, Mizell and Ellis will most likely mean that the trio will maintain the team’s outside receiver option, while Morgan and Matthews will compete for the squad’s starting slot option.

Morgan – who stands at five feet, 10 inches tall and 174 pounds – spent three seasons at Ann Arbor, where he racked up 566 yards and four scores. While Matthews’ familiarity with Iamaleava may bode well for the starting spot, Morgan’s experience and resume at Michigan may give him the edge.

The last premier addition to the Bruins comes in the form of nickel cornerback DJ Barksdale. The former JMU defensive back and Third Team All-Sun Belt Selection will be an immediate upgrade to the Bruins’ already stout secondary.

Barksdale totalled 36 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, two interceptions and 12 pass breakups through 14 starts this season. Barksdale started 12 games at nickel and two at outside corner, providing defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler with the versatility to move him around the field and the defense to show opposing teams multiple looks.

Outside of the Bruins’ splashes at receiver and cornerback, Chesney also landed Iowa State running back Dylan Lee and JMU linebacker Drew Spinogatti. Lee played 11 games in the 2025 season, mainly in a backup role, but saw flashes of what he could add in a full-time role, registering 81 yards and a score on 13 carries against South Dakota State.

While Spinogatti is an unranked transfer, he was pretty efficient at JMU, garnering 55 tackles, two fumble recoveries, 7.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack through 14 appearances and two starts at middle linebacker. His addition is particularly important, given the loss of both starting inside linebackers from 2025 in JonJon Vaughns and Isaiah Chisom.

Who is gone?

While the only notable addition to the transfer portal since the first portal update is junior punter Will Karoll, expect more names to enter in the coming days.

Knight’s addition to Chesney’s roster comes as somewhat of a surprise, as running backs junior Jaivian Thomas and redshirt junior Anthony Woods remain on the roster and have yet to enter the transfer portal.

Thomas ran for 626 yards and seven touchdowns on 6.3 yards per carry at California before transferring to UCLA, but he struggled to replicate that production in the 2025 season, rushing for just 294 yards on 3.6 yards per attempt.

Considering Knight will most likely start as RB1 and has a similar skillset to Thomas, it is probable that Thomas’ tenure in Westwood will come to a close shortly. And while Woods’ skillset is different than Knight’s – providing the Bruins a bigger pass-catching, and late-down tailback – the additional transfer of Lee makes the running back room more than crowded.

The addition of Barksdale would make it seem that nickel cornerback Scooter Jackson’s departure is all but certain, but it is reported that the junior will return to Westwood for his senior campaign.

If Jackson remains at UCLA, it would all but solidify a formidable secondary for Hitschler and Chesney’s staff. Barksdale and Jackson both play nickel, but with Barksdale’s versatility and Jackson’s seemingly likely return to Westwood, it seems as if there will be room for both options to start come the 2026 season.

Chesney has given the Bruins one of their most productive transfer portal periods in recent memory, and with over a week remaining in the lone portal window, his work may not be done.

Expect the new Bruin head honcho to finalize the interior of the defensive line, the left side of the offensive front, both spots at inside linebacker and tight end.