Football’s special teams unit scores in season-opening game, prepares to face LSU

The Bruins scored four touchdowns on the ground for the first time in almost two years Saturday.

Their defense gave up 10 points, tied for its best performance since 2018.

But their special teams unit did something it hadn’t done in five years.

One of UCLA football’s (1-0) six touchdowns in its 44-10 season-opening victory over Hawai’i (0-1) on Saturday came courtesy of a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. The last time the blue and gold accomplished that feat was in 2016 when linebacker DeChaun Holiday deflected a punt against Oregon State that was snagged out of the air by wide receiver Jordan Lasley and returned 23 yards to the house.

This time around, with the Bruins up 37-3 in the third quarter and the Rainbow Warriors punting from their own 18-yard line, redshirt junior linebacker Ale Kaho shot through the A-gap and swatted the punt from the air and into the end zone, where redshirt junior tight end David Priebe fell on the bouncing ball for a touchdown.

For Priebe – who said the play felt like it happened in slow motion – the touchdown marked the first score of his four-year Bruin career.

“Nobody really envisions their first college touchdown being on special teams, but I’m not complaining at all,” Priebe said.

While Priebe has three years of experience on UCLA’s special teams unit, Kaho was in the midst of his Bruin debut after transferring from Alabama in March. A former five-star recruit who was rated as the No. 1 inside linebacker in the country by 247Sports coming out of high school, Kaho primarily saw action as a special teamer for three years in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Blocking punts is nothing new for the Nevada native, who sent three punts the other way for the Crimson Tide in 2019.

“For me, it’s kind of a natural thing at this point,” Kaho said. “I was just doing my job and it ended up being a big play and a touchdown for our team, so that’s a plus.”

Kaho has already made his presence felt at Wasserman Football Center since joining the team in spring camp, according to Priebe.

“He’s one of those guys that comes out here and grinds every day with us,” Priebe said. “Since the moment he came here he’s had a great impact on this team.”

The scoop-and-score was not the only special teams unit’s success UCLA had Saturday, as sophomore kicker Luke Akers booted a career-long, 66-yard punt in the second quarter. Akers’ 45-yard average across five punts against Hawai’i would have ranked 14th in the nation last season.

Priebe said the special teams unit has benefited from experience across the board as well as from the guidance of tight ends and special teams coach Derek Sage.

“Coach Sage does a really good job of putting everybody in a good place to succeed both on the field and in the meeting rooms,” Priebe said. “The biggest thing in terms of special teams is a lot of guys have had reps on the field and had the time in the meeting room and in practice just to get exposure and get some time under their belts.”

In addition to the blocked punt, Kaho tacked on a first-quarter sack of Rainbow Warrior quarterback Chevan Cordeiro in his debut.

“My first experience in the Rose Bowl was one to remember for sure,” Kaho said.

(Un)familiar Territory

For the first time since 2017, the Bruins will take on an opponent from the Southeastern Conference.

The last time UCLA matched up against a team from the SEC, it engineered the second-biggest comeback in college football history, a 34-point turnaround in a season-opening win against Texas A&M. When No. 16 LSU makes its way to the Rose Bowl this weekend, it will be the first SEC opponent coach Chip Kelly has faced in his Bruin career.

But that’s not the case for Kaho, who spent three years in the conference and said he hopes to provide some extra tips to his teammates about the Tigers.

“I know what type of players certain players are,” Kaho said. “That’s good with helping out on the defensive side when we’re scouting people, but I think it’s more of just knowing how their team is – they’re a physical team, they’re a well-coached team, (they play) hard-nosed football.”

The last time he played LSU, Kaho’s work on special teams – including a late-game stop in kickoff coverage – earned him special teams player of the week honors as selected by Alabama’s coaching staff.

Kaho also has ample experience playing under pressure, including suiting up for the Crimson Tide in their national championship win a season ago.

“It’s similar to what I’ve been seeing in the past three years, but I’m looking at it as another game,” Kaho said. “We’re all looking at it as just another game. Try not to make it too big.”

Priebe said the Bruins have felt the big-game atmosphere since fall camp began.

“I wouldn’t say that the buzz is anything different this week,” Priebe said. “We’ve had a different buzz since camp started. Everything’s felt a little different – you can kind of taste it and feel it in the air.”