UCLA Football: Bruins LB Added to Comeback Player of the Year Watchlist

Sam Garcia | Aug 7, 2024

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

There are seniors, super seniors, super-super seniors, and then there is Bruin linebacker Ale Kaho. 

Kaho is now entering his seventh collegiate football season, the fourth with UCLA. Before transferring to UCLA, the redshirt senior played three seasons with the University of Alabama, the top-ranked NCAA team for two out of the three seasons Kaho was there. This means Kaho has been a member of two different NCAA Division I programs for nearly double the time a typical student-athlete would.

A right lower-leg injury sidelined the Reno, Nevada native for the last two seasons. He was able to appear in one game last season at UCLA’s season opener against Coastal Carolina. While the Bruins found early-season success, Kaho found himself in a protective boot after getting re-injured in the game. He was reported to have missed a full week of practice following the injury and did not appear in any more games in the 2023 season.

Now, the seventh-year athlete is healthy, and his return has become highly anticipated. The UCLA football program announced on Wednesday morning via X that Kaho was placed on the 2024 College Comeback Player of the Year watch list.

Ale Kaho is on the watch for 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 🙌#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/9YFXUzFSQX

— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) August 7, 2024

Kaho is the only Bruin featured on the watch list and one of 16 Big Ten players to be included. The last time a UCLA player won the award was in 2022 when defensive lineman Laiatu Latu was a co-winner.

UCLA linebacker Ale Kaho, who has been sidelined by injuries for most of the past two seasons, is on the watch list for the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Former teammate Laiatu Latu was a co-winner of the award in 2022.

— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) August 7, 2024

Before falling to injury, Kaho did see a lot of action with the Bruins. In the 2021 season, he appeared in 11 games and started in two. He blocked a punt that was recovered for a touchdown against the University of Hawaii, the team the Bruins will open their season against. Kaho racked up a season-best seven tackles against Utah and six stops against Oregon.

While playing for Alabama, Kaho appeared on special teams and as a linebacker in 12 games. He played on both kick coverage units in the Crimson Tides’ 52-46 over Florida in the SEC championship game. Kaho also appeared in Alabama’s 2021 College Football Playoffs National Championship game.

The Big Ten will be the third collegiate conference Kaho has competed in. Before transferring to UCLA, he played in the Pac-12 in 2021 and the SEC with Alabama.

Kaho’s long-awaited return to the football field and the Bruin’s anticipated Big Ten debut will occur at the end of this month. UCLA will open the 2024 season on August 31 at the Rose Bowl against Hawaii.