All Bruins UCLA Football Players of the Game: Week 2 vs. Alabama State
The Bruins got it done against the Hornets without their stars, setting up a few new faces to break out on the gridiron.
UCLA football (2-0) returned to the Rose Bowl with a wire-to-wire 45-7 victory over Alabama State (2-1) on Saturday. Taking a look at each unit individually, here are the three student-athletes who have earned the All Bruins UCLA Football Players of the Game awards.
Offensive Player of the Game: RB TJ Harden
It's tough to pick which running back deserves this award, since all the reserves who got touches with Zach Charbonnet missing were all incredible effective.
Christian Grubb showed off some serious speed, Keegan Jones made a few solid grabs out of the backfield, Colson Yankoff broke a bunch of tackles and Deshun Murrell did a nice job sealing the win.
Harden was the most consistent and efficient, though, racking up 56 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Outside of his one rush that went for no gain, Harden's other carries went for 15, 7, 13, 8 and 7 yards.
A lot of credit can be given to the offensive line, which did a great job opening up holes for Harden and others. Watching Harden demonstrate good vision was promising, and given that he's the third-string guy on the depth chart, his success could prove to be more meaningful moving forward than his teammates'.
Harden led UCLA in rushing yards in the second game of his true freshman year. That means a lot, both for this year and the upcoming post-Charbonnet era in Westwood. He outplayed the current backup, Jones, and he has made a case to get more touches as soon as next week.
To have a young, 6-foot-2 truck like Harden waiting in the wings is never a bad thing, and Saturday marked what could be the first of many solid outings for the Inglewood High School (CA) product.
Defensive Player of the Game: DL Laiatu Latu
Ever since Latu committed to the Bruins last December, questions about his health and availability have dominated the conversation around him.
Latu was forced into medical retirement at Washington, only to transfer to UCLA in the offseason once the team's doctors cleared him to return to the game. The pass rusher missed most of spring camp, then finally got back on the field for real this fall.
The transfer was present in the season opener, but really broke out Saturday.
Latu had 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks in his entire career with the Huskies. Against Alabama State alone, Latu racked up 2.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, also adding his first career forced fumble.
And even when he wasn't making plays in the backfield, Latu was just disrupting the Hornets' timing. Latu had a quarterback hit and three tackles, standing out as the most dominant player on either side of the ball all day long.
Playing alongside the Murphy twins makes Latu even more dangerous, since the tackles have largely been occupied with the North Texas transfers. Latu can move all over the line, and his dynamism gives his advantages against tackles and guards, depending on the situation.
Latu put his blend of length, power and impeccable timing on display Saturday, and he has already proven why he was such a coveted target in the transfer portal.
Special Teams Player of the Game: K/P Nicholas Barr-Mira
After a nightmare season opener, Barr-Mira settled in well Saturday against the Hornets.
Barr-Mira is now two games into his first season doing double duty. In game one, he had his first career punt blocked and went 1-for-3 on field goals.
In game two, Barr-Mira drilled the only field goal he attempted, and he got both of his punts off cleanly. Drilling a 19-yarder and punting the ball twice is admittedly a low bar to clear for a Power Five kicker, but given the special teams implosion for a week ago, simply checking off boxes is a welcome improvement.
Barr-Mira was consistent as a punter, with his attempts going 36 and 37 yards, and the second one was placed just inside the 20. He also hit all five of his extra point attempts, improving to 11-for-11 on the season.
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