UCLA Football: Senior Edge Rusher Pulls Off His First Career Interception In Saturday's Win

The pass rusher is considered a sneaky-interesting NFL prospect.

Senior UCLA Bruins edge rusher Laiatu Latu continues to surprise fans late into his college career.

The 6'5", 265-pound edge rusher proved to be a critical contributor to his club almost instantly, in the first quarter of UCLA's dominant 59-7 non-conference win over the visiting North Carolina Central University Eagles. 

With 13:54 remaining in the frame (and less than a minute after Dante Moore had rocketed in a touchdown pass to wide received Kam Brown), Latu picked off a pass and ran it for 25 yards to within one yard of the Eagles' end zone.

Laiatu Latu takes the 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 down to the 1! 🙌

UCLA 7, NCCU 0
13:54 – 1st quarter

📺: P12LA
📲: https://t.co/v42BPkDwhA#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/qgKMXVGjFP

— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) September 16, 2023

That pick marked Latu's first interception ever, during a lengthy collegiate career.

In 2022, following a lengthy injury-mandated layoff, a revitalized Latu notched 12 sacks and 64 pressures, as well as a 91.0 pass rush grade.

Thus far this season, the veteran defensive lineman has already recorded seven tackles (five solo, two assists), four sacks.

Meanwhile, his team continues to burnish its place in the 2023 college football hierarchy thanks to yet another dominant double-digit two-way performance. Across its first three games of the season (all victories), UCLA is beating opponents by an average margin of 29 points. That's not a typo. On offense, true freshman quarterback Dante Moore is looking like the real deal, and he's got the pieces on both sides of the ball to help him maximize his upside early into his NCAA career.