As football season inches closer, UCLA’s defensive linemen tighten up

Redshirt junior defensive lineman Devin Aupiu runs a drill during football practice at Spaulding Field. (Aidan Sun/Assistant Photo editor)
By Aaron Doyle
Aug. 13, 2024 10:47 a.m.
Fall football camp is halfway through.
Over the past two weeks, UCLA football has dedicated the early hours of its mornings at Wasserman Football Center to prepare for the 2024 season – which will be a landmark one in the program’s history.
The Bruins have embraced the early practice times, channeling a vigor that was absent last season.
“Starting fast,” said defensive line and outside linebackers coach Tony Washington Jr. “That was a big issue coach Fost (coach DeShaun Foster) wanted to emphasize this season, hence the early practices – but the guys have taken heed to that and took pride in it.”
A quick jump out of the gates meant no time was wasted, empowering the Bruins to hone in on restructuring their defensive line. Losing both Laiatu Latu – the No. 15 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft – and twins Gabriel and Grayson Murphy from the defense left UCLA to rebuild.
The Murphy twins signed to NFL teams as free agents after contributing to UCLA’s defensive lines from 2022 to 2023.
In 2023, Latu started in all 12 games for the Bruins. He totaled 13 sacks, which led the Pac-12 and was the most of any Bruin since 2012.
Redshirt junior defensive lineman Devin Aupiu has been an essential tool in overhauling the defensive front. Chemistry between the linemen is still in the works, but with 18 days until UCLA’s season opener against Hawaiʻi, Aupiu said the team appears promising.
“We’re looking pretty good,” Aupiu said. “We have a lot of new guys in, and they are definitely getting down the technique and learning how to play with each other.”
Throughout the past three years, Aupiu has had the chance to find comfort in his role. Expected to be a key defensive asset for the Bruins this season, Aupiu said he has applied lessons from last year’s class to prepare for a more serious position.
Aupiu – who has accumulated eight tackles through 17 games as a Bruin – said he understands the diligence required to elevate to the next tier of the sport.
“A lot of us are looked at like a ragtag group just put together,” Aupiu said. “It definitely has motivational factors for us to go get it and be our own players.”
On the offensive end, one thing is for certain: Redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers is Foster’s top dog.
“Ethan is the one,” Foster said. “His leadership has grown, and he has taken on the role of being QB No. 1.”
Whether one is a scholarship athlete or not, hard work seems pivotal in UCLA’s quest for glory in its first season in the Big Ten. Foster said redshirt senior defensive back Joshua Swift exudes just that – which earned him a $10,000 check from the Nick Pasquale Foundation, presented to him before Saturday’s practice.
Like Pasquale, a walk-on for the Bruins from 2012 to 2013 who died in a car accident, Swift has proven a key member of the program.
Time is ticking with just 10 sessions remaining in the Bruins’ fall camp schedule.
And although UCLA entered camp uncertain of its defensive line’s makeup, the team’s win against the offense in Saturday’s open practice indicates that Washington might have things under control.