3 Most Irreplaceable UCLA Football Players for 2026

There are several critical players on the UCLA football team in 2026 who will play vital roles in the Bruins' future success. From starters to reserves to special teamers to gadget players and everyone in between, they will all have some kind of impact.

However, some are more impactful than others. That's not meant as a slight to the lesser players. It's just the reality of where UCLA is in the process of building its roster. And the fact is, only a few players on each team can really be considered stars, and even fewer of those are truly irreplaceable.

Here are a few Bruins who seem irreplaceable entering the 2026-27 football season.

QB Nico Iamaleava

We'll start with the most obvious, and that's starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The coaching staff has made it clear that UCLA plans to invest in him and utilize his talents. His time as the starting quarterback at Tennessee, during which he helped the Volunteers reach the College Football Playoff, raised the bar for his expectations, but he was unable to replicate that production in his first season with the Bruins.

Still, there's a reason his potential is constantly the topic of conversation, while no one talks about the other UCLA quarterbacks. It's because the rest of the depth chart is terrifying.

There are two redshirt freshmen and a redshirt junior currently behind him. The redshirt junior is former Pitt and Cal Poly quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, who transferred into the program this offseason. While he has the most experience of the three backups, he still only had just over 1,000 yards in his only season as a starter in college, and the move back to Power Four football will not be easy.

The others are Iamaleava's younger brother, Madden, and Colton Gumino. Madden Iamaleava has the higher ceiling and expectations of the two, but neither has attempted a collegiate pass.

RB Wayne Knight

The jury is still out on the impact Knight will have as he transfers into and adjusts to the Big Ten, but he's by far and away UCLA's top running back entering the season. No one else on the roster has put up anywhere near the numbers he has on the ground, and while the group is deeper than it has been in recent years, it's also filled with many unknowns.

Sure, the running game may be okay if Knight struggles and isn't quite the same player as he was at James Madison last season, but he's the only one who has displayed a game-changing ability so far in his college career.

DE Sahir West

There's plenty of pressure on Sahir West, and although he's only entering his second season of college football, the sophomore may be UCLA's most important defender because of the skill set he brings as a pass-rusher. The Bruins finished last season with the fewest sacks in the country, recording just 10 through 12 games.

That's not going to cut it in the Big Ten, but West is their key acquisition in that department. He had seven sacks and a forced fumble as a freshman at JMU and began this season on the watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy -- given to the defensive player deemed to have the biggest impact on the game in the nation.

Beyond West, UCLA is rather thin at the defensive end position. His pass-rushing numbers are by far the best on the team already, and they'll still struggle some even with him in the lineup if they can't find a comparable running mate on the other side of the line. And if that's the case, just imagine how abysmal it would be without him.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/ucla as 3 Most Irreplaceable UCLA Football Players for 2026.

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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 5:00 AM.