All Bruins

UCLA Football OL Jon Gaines II Accepts NFLPA Collegiate Bowl Invite

The Bruins’ dynamic veteran lineman appears bound for the pros, with his journey set to start at the Rose Bowl.

Benjamin Royer

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As his collegiate career comes to a close, one Bruin has started to lay out a roadmap to the pros.

UCLA football right guard Jon Gaines II has accepted an invitation to the 2023 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, an annual showcase for graduating players with an interest in playing professionally. The event – which takes place on Jan. 28 – is a collegiate all-star game that will be played at the Rose Bowl, giving Gaines one last opportunity to play at the Bruins’ home stadium.

Gaines has appeared in all 43 of the Bruins' games since the start of the 2019 season and has started in each of their last 28 contests. Despite having one year of eligibility left to burn, the 6-foot-4 Wisconsin native is slated to finish his time with the blue and gold at the Sun Bowl on Friday.

Gaines came to UCLA in 2018 as a three-star recruit from Marquette University High School (WI). Cal, Iowa and Purdue were among the other schools who offered Gaines coming out of high school, but he flew almost completely under the radar nationally until he signed with the Bruins. 

Despite the lack of fanfare at the prep level, Gaines immediately earned playing time on special teams and became an everyday player by his redshirt freshman year.

Gaines has primarily played right guard over the past year-and-a-half. The veteran played tackle at times as an underclassman, and he also filled in at center for then-injured Sam Marrazzo in 2021 before Duke Clemens took over. Gaines has started every contest at right guard in 2022, helping to pave the way for running back Zach Charbonnet en route to All-American honors out of the backfield.

Charbonnet put up back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and 2022, and Gaines played a major part in that production – as well as quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s pass protection. UCLA led the Pac-12 in rushing yards per game in each of the past two seasons, and they led the conference in yards per carry in 2022.

Between Gaines and left guard Atonio Mafi, the Bruins will have to replace two-thirds of their starting interior line next season. Clemens will therefore be the only holdover from 2021’s league-best front come 2023.

Former UCLA standouts Obi Eboh, Brittain Brown, and Qwuantrezz Knight all participated in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in 2022. Brown was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, while the San Francisco 49ers signed Knight as an undrafted free agent.

The East-West Shrine Bowl and Reese's Senior Bowl are the other most prominent showcases for draft-eligible players, and invites to those will be sent out and accepted in the coming weeks.

Thompson Robinson, Mafi and Jake Bobo have already accepted invites to the East-West Shrine Bowl and will compete in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 2.

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Benjamin Royer
BENJAMIN ROYER

Benjamin Royer is a contributing writer at All Bruins, in association with the FanNation and Sports Illustrated networks. Royer is a third-year student at UCLA, where he is a Sports contributor for the school's award-winning student-run newspaper, The Daily Bruin. Royer was previously the Sports Editor at The Valley Star, Los Angeles Valley College's independent newspaper, and he helped develop the Twinger Talk YouTube channel and The Double Play podcast. He is also a professional actor, previously appearing in programs on Showtime, ABC, Disney Channel, FOX and CBS.

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