Josh Phifer could almost predict how things were going to go when UCLA landed Bob Chesney.

All the tight end had to do was listen.

If his James Madison teammates were singing the school’s fight song before the game with passion and precision – and in unison – it meant good things were likely to happen on the field. That was almost always the case last season as the Dukes made it all the way to the College Football Playoff.

Phifer has been hearing a similar tune lately, even as he’s transitioned to a new song in a new town with a new team. When the Bruins belted out their fight song with that familiar gusto late in training camp, it struck a chord.

“I was getting goosebumps,” Phifer said, “because I was like, holy s–t, it’s happening, I can feel it. … This almost feels like JMUCLA – it feels like the same thing except it’s beautiful every day, it’s 75 degrees and all that.”

The formula Chesney has unleashed heading into his debut with the Bruins against California on Saturday at Memorial Stadium is one the legion of players, coaches and staffers who followed him on this cross-country journey have come to embrace.

With football having always been a family endeavor for Chesney – whose father, grandfather and uncle all coached his teams growing up – he’s fostered a similarly harmonious vibe among the newest sons of Westwood.

Names of every teammate on a roster of 119 were memorized in the spring after each player wore a shirt bearing his last name. Names of employees in the practice facility were also committed to memory, with Alan the omelette maker trending after a video of Chesney telling his players to appreciate the chef’s service was posted on social media.

“We treat each other like family whether you’re the janitor, whether you’re the cook, it doesn’t matter,” said kicker Mateen Bhaghani, estimating that he’s learned roughly 90% of the workers’ names inside the practice facility. “Everybody’s treated the same in the building and I feel like that’s something that brought the team a lot closer.”

A pingpong table was set up in the locker room, becoming a hub of activity for players who linger before and after practices to whack balls to one another or play college football – usually as the Bruins – on a nearby Xbox.

The mood has elevated several levels from the drudgery of the DeShaun Foster era, which produced a 5-10 record and the ambiance to match.

“Last year it was like you would walk into that locker room and sometimes it would be a ghost town,” Bhaghani said, “because people would get in and get out because it wasn’t like a ‘let’s hang out’ type of deal, you know?” 

Chesney has stressed the same principles – positive attitude, urgency and relentlessness – in meetings and reinforced his message by often being the most energetic figure on the practice field, sprinting around and partaking in drills.

“Any really good organization,” Chesney said, “is not filled with people who are afraid to work, low energy, negative people – that affects everybody else and if the leader of the entire team is not putting himself in a position where he brings it every day and stays positive every single day, there’s really no hope for that team to do the same.”

Relentlessness doesn’t mean babying.

When Chesney noticed his players moseying between drills at a recent practice, he didn’t hold back.

“If you’re walking,” he yelled, “you’re weak!”

Those who followed Chesney from James Madison have seen his process work and those who are just getting to know him are willing to believe in it based on the Dukes having made the CFP.

Phifer remembered feeling initial skepticism after Chesney replaced the wildly successful Curt Cignetti at James Madison before the 2024 season. He said those doubts infiltrated the team as it fell behind Gardner-Webb, 3-0, at halftime of its home opener, leading to the Dukes getting booed inside their own stadium.

After rallying to win that game, James Madison dropped 70 points on North Carolina during a road victory in its next game. The Dukes were on their way.

“That let the players be like, OK, we can buy in,” Phifer said, “we can trust – this energy stuff works, you know what I mean?”

James Madison finished 9-4 that season before going 12-2 in 2025, including a first-round CFP game against Oregon. Chesney brought both offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler with him to Westwood, along with a handful of impact players who have mirrored their coach’s values.

“They understand,” Hitschler said of those players, “what it takes to be successful and go on a run like we had last year.”

They joined some talented returners, including quarterback Nico Iamaleava, as well as a massive influx of transfers from other schools. Will it be enough for an immediate breakthrough?

Everyone seems to like what they’re hearing, especially when it comes to the fight song.

After knowing it only casually before Chesney’s arrival, Bhaghani said it’s become reflexive.

“I can sing it right now,” Bhaghani said, “and I feel like that’s a big part of growth on this team is how everybody knows the fight song – there’s an identity here. I’d say it’s family and just brotherhood.”