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UCLA Football: How Newest Bruins in NFL Performed in Preseason

These former Bruins stood out in the preseason.

Eva Geitheim

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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Several former UCLA football players put together standout moments in the final week of the 2024 preseason. The preseason is one of the primary times for rookies or players on roster bubbles to earn a roster spot or more playing time in the regular season, which these players did with highlight performances.

RB Carson Steele

Steele, who signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent this spring, produced one of the top highlights in Friday's action. Steele stiff-armed Chicago Bears' defenders on a 31-yard scamper to the Bears' one-yard line. He capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown rush, finishing the game with four carries for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Steele spent the 2023 season with UCLA after playing two years of football for Ball State, rushing for 1,556 yards and 14 touchdowns during his last year at Ball State. He transferred to UCLA, where he led the Bruins in rushing after recording 847 yards and six touchdowns.

DE Laiatu Latu

Latu continued to show why he was the first defender off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft on Friday, easily making his way past the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive lineman to earn a sack. He has also stood out through camp, breaking past offensive linemen and putting pressure on the quarterback.

Latu entered the NFL after leading the Pac-12 with 13 sacks and finishing as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. The 23-year-old overcame a medical retirement to come back to college football as one of the best defensive prospects in the nation. A unanimous All-American, Latu recorded 23.5 sacks over two seasons at UCLA and helped the Bruins finish with a top-10 defense in 2023.

Along with the rookies, several other former Bruins stood out in the preseason this week. Former Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson went 11-20 for 115 yards and a touchdown for the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. His afternoon was highlighted by a 46-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Thrash.

Thompson-Robinson played five seasons of football in Westwood, throwing for 10,695 yards, 88 touchdowns, and 36 interceptions.

Along with DTR, former UCLA running back Demetric Felton showed off his speed as he scampered for a 40-yard touchdown run to cap off a 27-14 win for the Colts.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Communication. She has been covering college and professional sports since 2022.

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