This post was updated Aug. 28 at 7:21 p.m.
As UCLA football gears up for its second year under coach DeShaun Foster and second season in the Big Ten, Daily Bruin Sports will preview the personnel of each of the Bruins’ position groups and predict their 2025 outlook prior to the season’s official start. Assistant Sports editor Grant Walters continues the series with a dive into the squad’s defensive linemen.
Personnel
The label “one-trick pony” is often used to insult someone or something lacking versatility.
Charging at opposing quarterbacks and dominating the trenches represent the two fundamental responsibilities of a defensive line.
But UCLA football’s defensive front excelled at just one.
The Bruin unit limited tailbacks to just 96.2 yards per game last season, good for fourth-fewest in the Big Ten and sixth-fewest in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Former Bruin nose tackle Jay Toia and redshirt junior defensive lineman Siale Taupaki helped command the interior, using their 325-plus frames to stuff the line of scrimmage. The duo played in all 12 games and combined for 48 tackles last season.
In a conference that has historically embraced ground-and-pound offensive approaches, UCLA bulked up from the inside out, stifling teams that attempted to control the pace through the ground attack.
The Dallas Cowboys selected Toia in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but Taupaki is set to return and could continue to play a leading role in the Bruins’ defensive interior. UCLA also added redshirt sophomore defensive lineman and Oklahoma transfer Ashton Sanders – who saw action in 13 games across his first two collegiate campaigns – to help address Toia’s absence.
And Sanders will join an interior corps that is returning a wealth of talent aside from Taupaki.
Redshirt seniors Keanu Williams and Gary Smith III have recovered from injuries that prematurely ended their 2024 campaigns and seem poised to replenish a defense that has few returning starters. Williams appeared primed for a breakout season after notching 14 tackles in 2023, and Smith had earned a considerable role on the defensive front before 2024, posting 39 combined tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss across the previous two seasons.
The tandem should bring the experience and veteran leadership that bolstered the defensive trenches in recent years..
Redshirt sophomore A.J. Fuimaono also increased his role on the defensive line despite earning most of his appearances on the special teams unit. The Las Vegas local was Nevada’s No. 8 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class and sports intriguing physical attributes. The 6-foot-4-inch, 311-pound defensive lineman could become a reliable option in the trenches if he continues to polish his footwork and pass-rush approach.
But one-trick ponies are also often masters of deception.
A squad’s visible strengths often mask its underlying issues. Edge rushers often define the productivity of a defensive line, especially when a sack can swing a game’s trajectory and energize an entire team.
UCLA lost edge rusher Laiatu Latu to the NFL prior to the 2024 campaign, leaving a gaping hole on the edge of the defensive front. Latu recorded a Pac-12-leading 13 sacks his senior season to spearhead a unit that racked up 49 quarterback takedowns in 2023.
And the defensive front felt his loss, notching just seven sacks last season. With considerable pressure contributions from the linebacker and secondary corps, the edge position was a point of emphasis for coach DeShaun Foster heading into his second season.
The head honcho first focused on laying a foundation for the defensive front’s success with a coaching change.
Foster hired defensive line coach Jethro Franklin last January. Franklin helmed Fresno State’s defensive line unit between 2022 and 2024, helping crown at least one All-Mountain West team selection each year.
But coaching alone can’t spark considerable change – a unit also requires the proper personnel to foster true improvement.
UCLA added a trio of edge rushers – senior Nico Davillier, redshirt senior Kechaun Bennett and redshirt junior Anthony Jones – through the portal.
Davillier recorded 23 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss last season at Arkansas, relying on his 6-foot-4-inch frame to bull rush through offensive tackles, and Jones excelled in his one-year stint at Michigan State, posting the third-most sacks on the squad. Jones – who stands at 6-foot-5 – used outside leverage to stride past opposing offensive tackles.
Bennett didn’t record a single sack at Michigan, but could bolster the depth of UCLA’s defensive front. He played in 24 total games across his last two years in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The transfer trio will join returning redshirt seniors Devin Aupiu and Jacob Busic. Aupiu flashed a tenacious defensive approach in 2024, sporting 4.5 tackles for loss and forcing one fumble. Busic transferred from Navy prior to the 2024 campaign and filled a depth role on the defensive line. The Westminster, Maryland, local recorded one sack with limited playing time but could occupy a more substantial niche heading into the 2025 season.
Predictions
Franklin may have the talent and depth to construct a formidable front seven.
The Bruins’ defensive front will need to hold its ground in an unrelenting conference that not only boasts the nation’s most talented running backs and imposing offensive lines, but has evolved to embrace air-heavy offensive schemes.
Therefore, UCLA must rediscover its pass-rushing ability while maintaining last season’s interior success that suppressed opposing ground arsenals.
Franklin appears the right man for the job.
Foster has molded a coaching staff that suits his program ambitions, and Franklin is one of the many assistants with deep Bruin ties. Franklin boasts 33 years of collegiate and professional defensive-line coaching experience, including a one-year stint at UCLA in 1999.
The defensive line is only losing a few substantial contributors from last season – particularly in Toia and outside linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo – which could allow former understudies to shine in larger roles.
Smith and Williams seem primed to disrupt opposing rushing, and Taupaki will likely build upon his impressive showing last season to spearhead the unit.
With the three transfer pass rushers, the edge appears to have the necessary depth to help offset potential injuries that result from Big Ten programs’ ultra-physical mentality.
Aupiu and Busic may anchor the pass-rushing arsenal as the returning contributors to start the season, but Jones, Davillier and Bennett will all likely earn opportunities to flash their unique skillsets.
A team’s pass rush achieves heightened production when it blends diverse skillsets to scheme varying packages against offensive lines, causing pass-protection blunders and disrupting a quarterback’s rhythm.
Certain edge rushers rely on brute strength, others flash speed that propels them past offensive tackles and some use lengthy frames to gain outside leverage to blow past pass protection.
The Bruins’ defensive front can win line-of-scrimmage battles in all three ways.
But the unit can only showcase multiple tricks if Franklin can bring together a group filled with newcomers.
There is a reason the “multi-trick pony” label doesn’t exist, and UCLA’s defensive line may redefine the reputation that precedes it heading into the 2025 campaign.
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