UCLA Football: DeShaun Foster Announces Two Defensive Players Are Out For Season

The Bruins will have to manage without these players the rest of the season.

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

UCLA football head coach DeShaun Foster began his presser Monday by announcing that defensive lineman Keanu Williams and defensive back Kanye Clark are out for the remainder of the 2024 season. Neither Williams nor Clark played during the Bruins' 34-17 loss to LSU last Saturday.

"Any time you have season-ending injuries, it sucks," Foster told reporters, via UCLA Athletics on Youtube. "I feel for those guys, the positive is we get them back next season."

Williams helped the Bruins earn a 16-13 victory over Hawaii in Week 1 when he was one of five Bruins to earn a sack on quarterback Brayden Schager. He had one tackle and one sack before sustaining the season-ending injury.

The 6-foot-5 defensive lineman is in his second season at UCLA after transferring from Oregon. During the 2023 campaign, Williams appeared in all 13 games. He started 10 games and compiled 14 total tackles, 0.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery.

Williams spent his first two seasons at Oregon, the Bruins' upcoming opponent. Over two years with Oregon, Williams played in 10 combined games and finished with five total tackles and one pass deflection.

Clark has recorded one tackle and two pass deflections before he suffered a season-ending injury. A redshirt freshman, Clark appeared in five games during his true freshman season. He finished with three total tackles and one tackle for loss a season ago.

The injuries to Williams and Clark were evident during UCLA's loss to LSU. UCLA struggled on defense throughout their last two losses. They did not sack either Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke or LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, with the Indiana and LSU offensive lines controlling the line of scrimmage against UCLA's defensive line.

The secondary also struggled through both games. Both Rourke and Nussmeier threw for over 300 yards and at least three touchdowns, dicing up UCLA's pass defense however they seemingly pleased. Nussmeier succeeded in hitting his receivers on both short and deep throws down the field, including a picturesque 45-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Parker.

In total, UCLA allowed over 400 yards of offense to both Indiana and LSU, as well as over 30 points.

UCLA's defensive woes will not getting better with these injury losses, or as they prepare to face an Oregon team that averages over 460 yards of offense per game.

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