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Jon Gaines II returns to camp after father’s surgery as Bruins rebuild offense

UCLA football coach Chip Kelly walks across the field at a football practice. (Daily Bruin file photo)

By Sam Settleman

Aug. 10, 2022 3:05 p.m.

This post was last updated on 8/14/2022 at 6:52 p.m.

Three days out from the beginning of fall camp, Jon Gaines II picked up a call from his mother.

His father was headed into surgery for a long-awaited kidney transplant. The senior offensive lineman immediately booked a flight home to be with his family as his father recovered from the surgery.

Gaines said his father has gotten better and better every day since then, adding that the transplant will make the journey from their family’s home in Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl much easier.

“It’s a blessing, obviously,” Gaines said. “The biggest thing is my dad will be able to come out to more games – it’s my senior year.”

Three weeks into the 2021 season, redshirt senior offensive lineman Sam Marrazzo introduced the world to the story of Gaines’ father. While speaking to the media after a September practice, Marrazzo discussed how Gaines’ father had beaten kidney cancer but lost both of his kidneys in the process, requiring dialysis treatment twice a week.

Gaines spent a few days with his family last week as his dad recovered in the hospital before rejoining the Bruins for fall camp.

“When he got back, we were all over him,” Marrazzo said. “Just loving up on him cause that’s my brother right there. It’s just great to see. It’s just great to have him.”

From the coaching staff to his teammates, Gaines said he is thankful for all the appreciation he received.

“This team’s really a family,” Gaines said. “I was welcomed back with open arms, of course, and just the amount of people that really cared showed how tight-knit this group is.”

New look up front

Gaines and Marrazzo will headline a retooled, but veteran offensive line for the Bruins in 2022.

Following the departure of starting tackles Sean Rhyan and Alec Anderson to the NFL and the loss of Paul Grattan Jr., UCLA will need to replace three starting offensive linemen. Rhyan and Anderson started opposite each other on the offensive front in almost every game over the past two seasons, while Grattan started all 12 games at guard in 2021.

Coach Chip Kelly said finding replacements for his two premier tackles will require some time.

“We’re always trying to get the five best offensive linemen on the field,” Kelly said. “It will be an ongoing rotation as we get going through camp. The final thing is: Who are the best five?”

UCLA’s 2021 offensive line helped produce a rushing offense that ranked 14th in the country with 215.1 rushing yards per game. The Bruins also ranked in the top 50 nationally with 1.92 sacks allowed per contest.

With a couple of starters and a plethora of backups from that offensive line still donning the blue and gold, Marrazzo said UCLA will have plenty of depth on its offensive line despite losing three starters.

“That’s one of the great things about our o-line and our maturity right now is that everybody has played multiple positions – everybody knows the offense pretty well,” Marrazzo said. “It becomes more of a collaboration at that point than just coach dictating or telling us what to do.”

The Bruins will have many options at left and right tackle, with Kelly pointing out redshirt freshman Garrett DiGiorgio, redshirt senior Tyler Manoa, redshirt junior Raiqwon O’Neal, redshirt junior Siale Taupaki, redshirt junior Josh Carlin and redshirt sophomore Bruno Fina as players who all have gotten looks at tackle in fall camp so far.

While traditional roles assert that left tackles are stronger in pass protection and right tackles are more adept in the run game, Kelly said he’s not looking for a certain skill set to match a position, but rather versatility to play across the line.

“We’re looking for the best eight in a rotation, … and then we’ll rotate and play all eight consistently,” Kelly said. “We’ve done that since we’ve been here, but we’ve got a lot of guys who are competing and doing a good job right now.”

Gaines, Marrazzo and a couple of other linemen have plenty of game experience, but many of the other faces in the offensive line room are relatively new to UCLA’s offense. Manoa recently made the switch to the offensive line after four seasons on the defensive side of the ball, while O’Neal comes to Westwood after four years with Rutgers.

A handful of other new options at tackle have yet to see significant game action at the college level.

“The young guys are doing really well and learning the terms from the old guys,” Gaines said. “Having that dichotomy is really good for us because we set the trend of how things are, so you come in and you’ve got to pick it up, and I think that’s really good for them.”

Marrazzo said while the offensive line group still has room for growth, he’s been impressed with the progress so far.

“I couldn’t be happier where we’re going,” Marrazzo said. “We still have a long way to go, but I think we’re on the right track.”

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Sam Settleman | Sports editor
Settleman was the 2022-2023 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and gymnastics beats. He was previously an assistant editor on the gymnastics, women's soccer, women's golf, men's water polo and women's water polo beats and a contributor on the gymnastics and women's water polo beats.
Settleman was the 2022-2023 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and gymnastics beats. He was previously an assistant editor on the gymnastics, women's soccer, women's golf, men's water polo and women's water polo beats and a contributor on the gymnastics and women's water polo beats.
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