Can UCLA’s Bob Chesney be the next Curt Cignetti?

It’s a question that’s been asked for months given the parallels between the football coaches.

Both had been head coaches at lower levels before arriving at James Madison, where they won big. Cignetti went 11-1 in his final season with the Dukes, and Chesney guided his last team there to the College Football Playoff.

Cignetti went on to even more wild success at Indiana, taking a distressed operation to the CFP in back-to-back seasons, culminating with a national title in January.

Might Chesney be able to do the same sort of thing with the Bruins, who haven’t played in a Rose Bowl game in more than a quarter of a century?

Perhaps there’s no one with better insight into the possibility that Chesney can pull a Cignetti than UCLA defensive lineman Darold DeNgohe, who has played for both coaches.

DeNgohe began his college career under Cignetti at James Madison in 2023 before playing for Chesney in 2024 upon Cignetti’s departure for Indiana. DeNgohe transferred to Rutgers prior to last season before reuniting with Chesney in Westwood earlier this year.

In a promising sign for Bruins fans, DeNgohe said there’s some significant similarities between the coaches.

“They’re really just great winners, you know?” DeNgohe told the California Post on Saturday. “It’s one of those things where they go about it in different ways, but the end result is the same — they win, they know how to get the best out of you, they know how to go about it. I think it was just something they were born with, you know, just to be winners.

“They try to instill all those great attributes that they have into each player, try to bring the best out of you. You know, don’t let certain things slide, have great expectations for us and all of that. So, it’s definitely similar in that aspect of they have the winner’s mentality, I would say.”

Part of that is commanding the respect of their teams with a magnetic presence.

“They just control the room and take control,” DeNgohe said, “and that’s just part of that winner mindset — they can take over a room and lead an army into war and be very successful at it.”

DeNgohe has enjoyed his own unique rise after growing up playing soccer as a willowy goalkeeper in Cameroon.

When he was 9, he joined his mother in the United States after she had won a visa lottery several years earlier. But she didn’t want her only child to play football because of its inherent danger.

That changed when, as an eighth grader playing tackle in the street, there were some injuries and dented cars. His mother figured if he was going to play the game, he might as well do it on an organized level.

“She was like,” DeNgohe said, “you know what, I’m going to let you go try out, see how this thing goes.”

Eight years and about 150 added pounds later — DeNgohe said he consumed upward of 5,000 calories a day — he’s contending for a significant role on the interior of UCLA’s defensive line.

That he gets to do it while playing for Chesney again makes it even more special.

Can Chesney replicate the sort of success that Cignetti has enjoyed at Indiana?

“I mean,” DeNgohe said, “I feel like Coach Chesney has had great, immediate success everywhere he’s been.”

Here are some other observations from the third day of UCLA’s training camp:

Who popped

Diminutive running back Wayne Knight, who was limited during spring practice by an unspecified injury, broke two nice runs.

On the first, he showed tremendous burst while cutting outside. On the second, he patiently waited behind the offensive line for a hole to emerge before accelerating through it.

Knight is just beginning what should be a spirited battle to become the top running back with returners Jaivian Thomas and Anthony Woods, though all three should get significant carries.

Play of the day

Defensive back Mason Rivera snagged an interception on a pass from backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, who also happens to be Rivera’s former Cal Poly teammate.

It wasn’t the best day for UCLA’s quarterbacks during the portion of practice open to reporters as starter Nico Iamaleava also had trouble connecting with receivers on medium to deep routes and Dieffenbach overthrew Shane Rosenthal on another route.

What a sight

Chesney’s father, Bob Sr., wore a T-shirt featuring a bear with the slogan “Out of Hibernation.”

The elder Chesney will work with the defensive line as a volunteer assistant.