LOS ANGELES — UCLA might have lost its chance at playing in a bowl game, but there’s still important outcomes at stake Saturday when the Bruins take on Fresno State.
“I think the biggest thing here is you just want to go out and have a competitive spirit,” linebacker Carson Schwesinger said at the Bruins’ Tuesday practice. “You could say there’s not much to play for, and stuff like that, but I think, with this team too, you have a lot of competitive people, so you line it up at any time, we’re going to go out there and play our hardest.”
There’s a collective desire to conclude a season laden with low points on a high one. There are also individual objectives on the line. For those with aspirations to play at the next level, it’s another chance to showcase talent and put quality reps on film. For the underclassmen hoping to step into the place of those departing, it’s another chance to prove they belong on the field and would flourish with additional snaps.
And for others, like Schwesinger, rewarding accolades are up for grabs.
On Monday, the redshirt junior was announced as one of five finalists for the Butkus Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best linebacker. Schwesinger has recorded double-digit tackles in eight of the Bruins’ last nine games, peaking with 17 in a loss at Washington on Nov. 15. He also snagged two interceptions the week before that in UCLA’s victory over Iowa.
Schwesinger’s journey to an elite, game-wrecking defensive captain is a testament to his work ethic and his discipline to be able to keep his head down and not say much, as he put it. When he does speak, it’s rarely about himself.
“It’s technically a one-person award,” he said about the Butkus Award, “but that’s a whole team award.”
One of the individuals who helped him become a finalist for the Butkus Award has a chance at his own hardware. On Tuesday, Bruins defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe was named one of the 65 nominees for the Broyles Award for the nation’s top assistant coach.
“Coach Malloe is a great guy,” defensive end Oluwafemi Oladejo said Tuesday. “Yeah, he’s a good football coach, but he’s also a life coach.”
On multiple occasions this season, Malloe has been overcome with emotion when expressing how much he wants his unit to improve. He’s now being recognized for those results.
Oladejo, who played two seasons at Cal before transferring to UCLA in late 2022, is about to play his last college football game. In his final year of eligibility, he willingly shifted down from linebacker to the defensive line and will have another chance Saturday to showcase his versatility and dominance at his somewhat new position.
With Oladejo and potentially Schwesinger, a redshirt junior, soon moving on from UCLA, their younger teammates have one final chance to prove why they should fill those vacated snaps.
Defensive lineman Devin Aupiu and linebacker Jalen Woods look like prime candidates to make that jump. Aupiu, a redshirt junior, had his best game of the season against USC on Saturday, highlighted by a strip sack of Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava. Woods had a season-high six tackles.
Related Articles
UCLA football team ramps up recruiting efforts, hosted roughly 700 for USC game
USC’s red zone offense met its match in UCLA’s shutdown secondary
Alexander: USC might have finally figured it out in latest win against rival UCLA
UCLA’s Ethan Garbers remains true to his leadership style in loss to USC
USC’s defense shuts door on UCLA in comeback win
“Last game, he played a lot of snaps and played really good,” Schwesinger said of Woods. “Same thing (this Saturday), just keep that momentum going.”
Schwesinger nodded his head when asked if he was aware of the history of success Fresno State holds in its matchup with the Bruins. The Bulldogs have won the past four games between the programs, and while that last one came a year before Schwesinger arrived in Westwood, he knows how important it would be to be part of the group that returns to the win column.
“We’re coming out ready to compete,” he said.