The Chesney train is still taking passengers.

Former James Madison linebacker Trent Hendrick transferred to UCLA on Sunday, according to On3. Hendrick received a temporary restraining order as part of a larger lawsuit in Louisiana against the NCAA, which 16 football players – including former UCLA running back TJ Harden – filed among 33 total athletes. The ruling allowed the plaintiffs to enter the transfer portal for a fifth year of eligibility with a week-long window to find a new destination.

The Louisiana decision comes less than a month after a July 31 ruling in Colorado granted athletes from the high school recruiting class of 2022 another year of NCAA competition in response to the NCAA’s new five-year eligibility rules that do not begin until students enrolling in the fall of 2027.

Hendrick played for the Dukes for the last four years, most recently winning Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year after posting 106 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles.

The Richmond, Virginia, local was integral to JMU’s starting lineup over the past few seasons, playing under now-UCLA defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler. Hendrick helped guide the Dukes’ defense to fifth in the nation in yards allowed per game at 266.6, holding opponents to just 18.4 points per game.

Hendrick will reunite with head coach Bob Chesney, Hitschler and a plethora of Dukes-turned-Bruins on the defensive side of the ball, including reigning Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Sahir West. Chesney also brought over projected starters fifth-year defensive end Aiden Gobaira and senior nickelback DJ Barksdale from JMU.

The First Team All-Sun Belt selection will likely line up alongside senior Sammy Omosigho from Oklahoma and star in a heavy seven-man front with the potential of significantly improving UCLA’s rushing defense – a unit that allowed the Big Ten’s second-most rushing yards per game in 2025.

Hendrick now has less than two weeks in Westwood before the team’s first kickoff Sept. 5 against California.