LB Drew Spinogatti continues James Madison to UCLA transfer influx
Former James Madison linebacker Drew Spinogatti changed the bio on his social media accounts Thursday and committed to UCLA via Instagram.
Spinogatti is UCLA’s first linebacker pickup in the transfer portal and the eighth player with James Madison ties, following head coach Bob Chensey‘s staff that includes defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler and six other assistants. The Bruins now have 16 commitments overall.
The 6-foot, 228-pounder was one of more than 20 official visitors in Westwood last weekend and more than half were James Madison transfers. Spinogatti’s agent at Ethos Sports Group told BruinBlitz last week that his client was also drawing other Power 4 interest.
Tommy Gurganous, a staff writer for The Breeze student newspaper at James Madison, first picked up on the announcement.
Spinogatti’s past production
The Winter Garden, Fla., native spent just one season with the Dukes and started five of 14 games. Spinogatti collected 55 tackles to go with 7 1/2 tackles for loss, one sack, two fumble recoveries (one return for a touchdown) and three pass break-ups.
He was named Sun Belt defensive player of the week after posting career highs of 16 tackles and two PBUs in a 24-20 comeback victory over Washington State in late November.
Spinogatti, though, was already familiar with the staff after transferring from Holy Cross, where Chesney worked previously before spending the past two seasons at James Madison.
In two seasons with the Crusaders, he made 71 of his 81 total tackles during a breakout sophomore campaign in 2024. Spinogatti added 6 1/2 TFLs, a PBU and a forced fumble that season.
In all, he appeared in 22 games and made 12 starts — all as a sophomore.
UCLA linebacker situation
The Bruins lost leading tackler JonJon Vaughns to graduation and second-leading tackler Isaiah Chisom re-entered the portal after just one season with the program. The pair combined for 191 tackles in a season UCLA struggled with missed tackles.
The Bruins, though, received good news Thursday after linebacker/defensive end Scott Taylor told the Los Angeles Times that he was returning for his sophomore year in 2026. Taylor was previously noncommittal about his future on the same day of Chesney’s introductory press conference. He drew high praise as a freshman and was an immediate contributor, and now Hitschler has a versatile foundational piece for his defense.
UCLA also returns JuJu Walls who, like Taylor, is a similar hybrid who saw action as a freshman.
Spinogatti otherwise joins a depleted position group low on returning production. Long-time Bruins linebacker Jalen Woods will enter his final year after making 47 tackles over 12 games, including three starts. No other UCLA linebacker posted more than 19 tackles.
Others on the roster include Donavyn Pellot and Mone Malafu, who have both been with the program for three years. Pellot is the only one of the two to see significant action after returning from an ACL injury to appear in all 12 games and make 19 tackles as a reserve this past season.