BOOM! UCLA lands ex-James Madison LB from transfer portal.

Trent Hendrick, who also strongly considered California and Virginia Tech, becomes the 11th ex-JMU player to follow a large chunk of the staff to UCLA. Hendrick’s representative, Zach Hoban, told Bruin Report Online after the news broke that his client boarded a flight to Los Angeles on Sunday morning.

While familiarity with the staff and defensive system were major factors, the Bruins also had to withstand bigger name, image and likeness offers and at least close the gap this week.
Immediate help

Hendrick, who was listed at 6-foot and 234 pounds last season, started 32 of 49 games for the Dukes over four years. In 2025, he collected 106 tackles — seven for a loss — with three sacks, three pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles.

In the winter, UCLA brought in Oklahoma transfer linebacker Sammy Omosigho and ex-JMU teammate Drew Spinogatti. Inside linebacker was a position of need this offseason after the loss of the team’s two starters. JonJon Vaughns exhausted his eligibility and Isaiah Chisom transferred to Oklahoma State.

Jalen Woods is UCLA’s most experienced returner at the position, with three of his four career starts coming last season and 39 career appearances over his previous four years.
Hendrick’s path to UCLA

Two court rulings within the past month put the wheels in motion.

While the NCAA won an appeal of the initial ruling in Colorado that was supposed to make all 2022 high school graduates eligible for a fifth year of sports in college, Hendrick was one of 16 football players who were granted a separate TRO on Wednesday by a judge in Louisiana.

Even had the Colorado ruling been upheld, it was limited and did not allow Hendrick and others to enter the transfer portal to leave for another school after the judge issued a clarification. As of Sunday, the NCAA has not filed an appeal to the Louisiana ruling.

UCLA football getting transfer linebacker Trent Hendrick for the upcoming season is a difference-making addition.

Hendrick is the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year from 2025. For James Madison, he amassed 106 tackles on the season, with seven for loss, to go along with three sacks, three pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles. He started 32 of 49 games for the Dukes over four years.

The 6-0, 230-pounder was a force on the field. If you didn’t know anything about the James Madison Dukes last season and just happened to tune into a game, you probably would have noticed the impact Hendrick made on the game first.

Without Hendrick, at linebacker UCLA would be relying heavily, first, on Oklahoma transfer Sammy Omosigho, who has looked good in spring and apparently fall camp. He, though, will be stepping into a new role as the No. 1 linebacker on the depth chart. Then there is Jalen Woods, who has had a decent if not remarkable career in four seasons at UCLA. There is Donavyn Pellot, a fourth year who has yet to distinguish himself on the Bruin roster, and undersized but scrappy JMU transfer Drew Spinogatti. While that is a bit questionable, the depth is moreso.

Adding Hendrick, a proven, productive player who just about any higher-level P4 team would love to plug in, changes that unit. Once he’s acclimated, he’ll almost certainly move into the starting lineup alongside Omosigho. Now, with those two, it generates some confidence in UCLA’s two starters, with their playing accomplishments and experience. Woods, Spinogatti and Pellot, then offer solid depth.

Probably even more important than his talent is his experience in the role of a starting linebacker, and the experience of playing in Colin Hitschler’s defense. As soon as he lands in L.A. (we’ve received word Hendrick boarded a flight for Los Angeles this morning), he’ll have 100% comfort level with the scheme and his role.

So you now move the linebacker group into the realm of “good” when assessing UCLA’s defense. Add that to the projected good secondary and edges, there is only the interior DL that is still uncertain. There is some talent there, it’s just unproven. Even if the interior DL is just solid, at the most, the rest of the defense has enough talent now to change the outlook of UCLA’s defense this season.

This a game-changer. Hendrick is a game-changer, potentially, for UCLA’s defense and for the outlook of UCLA football for the season.

It’s another development for Bob Chesney and this UCLA coaching staff in a string of very impressive developments since they took over the UCLA football offices in December. We have it on good authority it was very competitive to land Hendrick, and the staff found the NIL resources to get it done. James Madison linebacker Trent Hendrick has committed to UCLA, his agent Zach Hoban tells On3’s Pete Nakos. Hendrick is one of the 16 football players who were granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA last week in Louisiana, returning for the 2026-27 college season with a fifth year of eligibility.

Trent Hendrick was in NFL minicamp with the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns. He spent the last four seasons at James Madison and won the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year award in 2025 after posting 106 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and three pass breakups.

Jalen Woods is UCLA’s most experienced returner at the position, with three of his four career starts coming last season and 39 career appearances over his previous four years.

UCLA football getting transfer linebacker Trent Hendrick for the upcoming season is a difference-making addition.

Hendrick is the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year from 2025. For James Madison, he amassed 106 tackles on the season, with seven for loss, to go along with three sacks, three pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles. He started 32 of 49 games for the Dukes over four years.

The 6-0, 230-pounder was a force on the field. If you didn’t know anything about the James Madison Dukes last season and just happened to tune into a game, you probably would have noticed the impact Hendrick made on the game first.

Without Hendrick, at linebacker UCLA would be relying heavily, first, on Oklahoma transfer Sammy Omosigho, who has looked good in spring and apparently fall camp. He, though, will be stepping into a new role as the No. 1 linebacker on the depth chart. Then there is Jalen Woods, who has had a decent if not remarkable career in four seasons at UCLA. There is Donavyn Pellot, a fourth year who has yet to distinguish himself on the Bruin roster, and undersized but scrappy JMU transfer Drew Spinogatti. While that is a bit questionable, the depth is moreso.

Adding Hendrick, a proven, productive player who just about any higher-level P4 team would love to plug in, changes that unit. Once he’s acclimated, he’ll almost certainly move into the starting lineup alongside Omosigho. Now, with those two, it generates some confidence in UCLA’s two starters, with their playing accomplishments and experience. Woods, Spinogatti and Pellot, then offer solid depth.

Probably even more important than his talent is his experience in the role of a starting linebacker, and the experience of playing in Colin Hitschler’s defense. As soon as he lands in L.A. (we’ve received word Hendrick boarded a flight for Los Angeles this morning), he’ll have 100% comfort level with the scheme and his role.

So you now move the linebacker group into the realm of “good” when assessing UCLA’s defense. Add that to the projected good secondary and edges, there is only the interior DL that is still uncertain. There is some talent there, it’s just unproven. Even if the interior DL is just solid, at the most, the rest of the defense has enough talent now to change the outlook of UCLA’s defense this season.

This a game-changer. Hendrick is a game-changer, potentially, for UCLA’s defense and for the outlook of UCLA football for the season.

It’s another development for Bob Chesney and this UCLA coaching staff in a string of very impressive developments since they took over the UCLA football offices in December. We have it on good authority it was very competitive to land Hendrick, and the staff found the NIL resources to get it done.

• This topic was modified 3 hours, 20 minutes ago by ATLBRUIN.
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