Every inch of Kwazi Gilmer’s 6-foot-2 frame has been bubbling with potential. UCLA football is finally getting to reap the benefits.
The true freshman was the Bruins’ leading receiver in Saturday’s loss to LSU, bolting into open spaces and leaping for two catches that amounted to 61 yards.
“When Kwazi graduated from here, I really felt like he was college ready,” Sierra Canyon School head coach Jon Ellinghouse said. “Physically, he has a great build and is strong. He’s a real refined receiver and I’m not surprised.”
UCLA (1-2 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) tapped into Gilmer’s potential while relying on some tried-and-true tools in an offensive effort that used something old and something new to create something Bruin blue in front of a heat-soaked Death Valley crowd of 100,315.
Nineteen players were listed as “out” on the Bruins’ injury report including Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, but quarterback Ethan Garbers still recorded a career-high 281 passing yards in UCLA’s 34-17 loss to LSU (3-1, 1-0 SEC). That could mean better outcomes are on the horizon.
“In the first half, we had something good going and we’ve got to work to sustain that for four quarters,” Garbers told reporters after the game. “We cannot just not score any points in the second half; it’s not going to be great. But we have just got to keep working and building on what we had today.”
In addition to Gilmer’s breakout performance, redshirt sophomore tight end Jack Pederson hauled in a 20-yard pass from Garbers for his first collegiate touchdown and redshirt freshman Carter Shaw had a 9-yard rush that would help UCLA convert on second down a play later.
“When you have players like that, it’s good to see them make plays, especially in this type of an environment,” head coach DeShaun Foster said of Gilmer and Shaw. “Two freshmen in there are able to play in front of 100,000. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do for the rest of the season.”
Logan Loya was a go-to receiver for the Bruins last season with 59 receptions for 655 yards and five touchdowns but had a relatively quiet start to the 2024 season. That changed on Saturday.
Loya caught his first touchdown pass of the season with two seconds to go until halftime to tie the game at 17-17, tracing his jersey number — also 17 — afterward as part of his signature celebration. He finished the game with 46 yards on four catches.
“I think just our mindset was better,” Garbers said. “The whole week we had been talking about how there was no pressure on us to go out there and perform. We just needed to play free and play with no pressure. It seemed like it worked.”
UCLA’s offense has been less than complementary with the passing game out-producing the run game. The Bruins are averaging 231.67 passing yards per game compared to 60.3 rushing yards.
The ground game contributed 78 yards on Saturday as Jalen Berger continued to work his way into the mix with T.J. Harden and Keegan Jones.
“The stats might not say exactly what it did, but the run game helped us,” Foster said. “It kept us ahead of the chains. The only time that we were really behind the chains were with penalties, holding, stuff like that. So, the run game is getting there.”
Harden and Jones can also excel out of the backfield — the former had 21 receiving yards against LSU and the latter recorded 50 receiving yards. Receiver Rico Flores, Jr. is also carving a space for himself as a target not just because of his skills, but also his attitude.
Player potential is slowly turning into results in the passing game. UCLA will continue to look for the right combination when it returns to the Rose Bowl on Sept. 28 for an 8 p.m. kickoff against Oregon.
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