James Madison transfer EDGE Aiden Gobaira headed to UCLA
It will be a James Madison reunion at UCLA for transfer edge rusher Aiden Gobaira, head coach Bob Chesney and a host of assistants.
The 6-foot-4, 254-pound lineman visited Westwood over the weekend with a host of other Dukes players who hit the portal and committed to the Bruins on Monday.
Gobaira is currently ranked the 20th-best edge rusher in the evolving On3 Industry transfer portal rankings.
The Bruins are up to six transfer commitments including James Madison teammates and offensive linemen Riley Robell and JD Rayner, in addition to cornerback Dante Lovett Jr. (Virginia Tech), safety Ta’Shawn James (Iowa State) and edge rusher Ryan McCulloch (California).
Gobaira revived career at JMU
As a redshirt junior, Gobaira played one season at James Madison in a return to football activities after initially medically retiring while at Notre Dame. He played in all 14 games and made one start, collecting 38 tackles (7 1/2 for a loss) and four sacks en route to All-Sun Belt third-team honors.
Gobaira, a Fairfax, Va., native, spent his first two years at Notre Dame and redshirted as a freshman in 2022. He tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus before the 2023 season and the one-time four-star high school recruit left the program in spring 2024 without appearing in a game.
In 2022, UCLA had success reviving the career of transfer edge rusher Laiatu Latu, who returned from a neck injury suffered while at Washington. Latu was an immediate star and the school’s first-ever Lombardi Award winner in addition to the Ted Hendricks Award and Polynesian player of the year recipient after two seasons in Westwood. Latu was the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
Familiar faces in Westwood
Gobaira will be coached by his James Madison defensive line coach, Sam Daniels, who is now the defensive ends coach for the Bruins and will look to replicate this past season’s success.
The James Madison defense produced 36 sacks and 87 tackles for a loss last season, finishing 28th and 33rd, respectively. In comparison, UCLA collected just 10 sacks and 40 TFLs, which both ranked last among 134 FBS teams.
Daniels is part of a new-look UCLA staff that also includes ex-Dukes coaches Colin Hitschler (defensive coordinator), Eddie Whitley Jr. (defensive backs) and Anthony DiMichele (safeties) on the defensive side of the ball. In all, seven assistants followed Chesney from James Madison to UCLA.