UCLA’s defense, the biggest unknown on the team a year ago, is facing even more questions.
A slew of players moved on to the NFL. No full-time starters return. Success will depend on several players with promising pedigrees but limited college production becoming playmakers.
As he stepped off a team bus Wednesday afternoon in Costa Mesa amid the warmest day of training camp, the temperature reaching 82 degrees before warmup stretches, Key Lawrence did not appear to feel any sort of heat, literal or figurative. The transfer safety who has made previous college stops at Tennessee, Oklahoma and Mississippi was humming a tune, savoring every moment of this new opportunity.
A few hours later, after practice concluded, Lawrence teased a reporter about wearing a collared shirt given the temperature, though he said it felt pleasant to him.
“I’m from the South,” said Lawrence, a native of Nashville, “so this, it feels pretty good to me. I loved it, honestly. Everybody else was saying it was pretty hot; I was the one looking at them crazy. This is what I love.”
One of nine transfer defensive backs — including four who have made multiple previous college stops — Lawrence has emerged as an immediate standout for not only his exuberance but also his initiative in pulling everyone together.
Defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe identified Lawrence as a leader on the field and in meeting rooms, saying the redshirt senior was eager to help teammates learn what amounted to a new scheme for almost everyone on the defense. Among the returners, interior defensive linemen Devin Aupiu and Siale Taupaki each started seven games last season. Edge rusher Jacob Busic made five starts. No one else coming back made more than two starts.
But in a sign of improved depth, Aupiu, Taupaki and Busic could come off the bench this season upon the return of defensive tackles Gary Smith III and Keanu Williams from injury and the possible emergence of several edge rushers.
Once rated as the top high school prospect in Tennessee by 247Sports.com, Lawrence has amassed a sporting goods store’s worth of college helmets and jerseys. He played in 10 games as a true freshman at Tennessee in 2020, appearing on special teams and as reserve defensive back.
After transferring to Oklahoma, he posted his best college season as a sophomore, making 47 tackles and forcing three fumbles to become an honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference selection. Two more productive seasons in which he never earned a full-time starting role were followed by a transfer to Ole Miss, where Lawrence played in four games in 2024 before utilizing a redshirt season.
Radiating energy in everything he does, even if it’s just bopping to the 1990s R&B girl group Xscape while getting off the bus, Lawrence appeared eager to make the most of this final college chance.
“If I have some juice and some guys may not some days, especially in camp, why not pour it into somebody else so it can affect myself as well?” he said. “You know what I’m saying? Just fake it ‘til I make it, if anything. But when I get off the bus, I’m just excited to do what I do. I just love what I do, man. I’m just excited.”
The 700 Club
As he recently positioned himself underneath the bar inside UCLA’s weight room, straining under the load of eight massive plates on each side, Smith’s teammates thrust their arms into the air while chanting, “Get it up! Get it up! Get it up!”
The defensive tackle complied, squatting 700 pounds. It was a personal record and the most of any Bruin.
His teammates swarmed him in celebration while flinging fake money into the air. In a possible nod to NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, someone handed Smith a piece of paper with “700” scribbled on it to hold up for a photo.
It was a milestone in the recovery of a player who missed all of last season because of a broken ankle.
“Having the guys there to celebrate that moment with me,” Smith said, “it meant a lot.”
Having dropped 20 pounds from his 6-foot-2 frame as the result of a “clean” diet, leaving him a relatively svelte 315 pounds, Smith said he felt a significant difference.
“I feel lighter on my feet, feel explosive,” he said. “I feel twitchy again, you know, I just feel good.”
Etc.
Malloe said JonJon Vaughns, JuJu Walls, Isaiah Chisom and Donavyn Pellot were the linebackers standing out early in camp. Vaughns could replace the production of star predecessor Carson Schwesinger, Malloe said, as long as he maintained the proper belief and confidence. … A day after they were not spotted participating during the limited media viewing window, offensive linemen Courtland Ford and Reuben Unije practiced as part of the second team. Ford had both hands taped and Unije both elbows taped. The first-team offensive line consisted of tackles Garrett DiGiorgio and K.D. Arnold, center Sam Yoon and guards Julian Armella and Oluwafunto Akinshilo. … UCLA’s move to early afternoon practices this week after exclusively practicing in the mornings, Malloe said, was a schedule change implemented by coach DeShaun Foster to test players’ discipline. … Malloe said Jalen Hargrove, a veteran transfer from Rice who recently signed with UCLA, had joined his new teammates and was rounding into form with conditioning work.
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