UCLA Football Campaign Complete with Walking Culture – Daily News

Cornerbacks coach Cody Whitfield talks to his players during UCLA spring football training on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)

LOS ANGELES — The day UCLA football defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloy earned a scholarship as a player at Washington left a lasting impact on him.

“The games were in a separate locker room from the scholarship players,” Malo said. “You had to earn your dues to get there. I remember the same day they gave me the scholarship. I've always kept that deep inside me.

The walk-on culture has been and continues to be embraced at UCLA, where defensive back Kanye Clark is the most recent player to earn a scholarship, and that adds to the competitive mentality the Bruins are breeding this spring.

Clark learned of his scholarship at a team meeting in early April. A video of head coach Deshaun Foster recognizing him in that meeting was posted to UCLA's social media accounts on April 9.

I got a scholarship!

congratulations, @clark_kanye! #Do more pic.twitter.com/SwDYu4FFOv

– University of California Football (@UCLAFootball) April 9, 2024

Clark felt the same feelings that Malu felt in the early 1990s. He also called his parents, something Malo said he forgot to do.

“I was in front of the team, so I didn't want to express my feelings,” Clark told reporters. “But in the end, I was alone and I realized that the hard work had paid off. The tears came out.”

The walk-on celebration gives UCLA something to be excited about amid the newness, uncertainty and constant evaluations of spring practices. The team screamed and cheered as two full sets of third-team players were taken out during the team's 11-on-11 period during Thursday's practice.

Defensive back Josh Dixon and defensive lineman Peter Barrio have yet to sign up for scholarship offers that were repeated on defense in spring practices.

“We're looking for players who are ready to compete and people who have an edge,” Malo said. “A guy who has to work to get a scholarship, his mentality is never going to change the scholarship or not.”

That ruthlessness fits into the bigger picture of endless competition that Foster emphasized in spring practices, whether in one-on-one matchups, in drills or during team periods.

Score was kept on offense and defense during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills on Thursday. Although Malo did not confirm this, it appears that a point was awarded to which side of the ball he executed better.

Jaden Marshall's interception and quarterback Keanu Williams' pressure each earned a point for the defense, which outscored the offense 21-14, according to the practice facility's scoreboard.

“I always keep score,” said Malloy, who still wears sneakers to practice. “We don't all get trophies. I want my guys to know whether we won the day or we didn't win. And if we don't, what do we need to correct so we can win the day?”

An early look at the defense

Malloy, in his first year as UCLA's defensive coordinator, gave hints about what the Bruins' defense could look like next season when he spoke with reporters Thursday after practice.

He said that the defensive package will not change from last season, and that developing the pass rush, which did not decline much from last season, is a priority.

“We just have to create some different ways of applying pressure,” Malo said. “We're just working on that and just calling plays to call plays so we can evaluate them. When you come into camp, hopefully what you saw with the four guys rushing, we can now produce it a little bit differently.”

The transfer portal can be used to build a pass rush. The Bruins have already used the portal to add depth in the secondary with KJ Wallace II and Ramon Henderson.