UCLA kept rolling in Week 2, knocking off San Diego State 28-10 to move to 2-0, and the Bruins’ stock report after two games is already starting to take shape. Some names are climbing fast. Others, not so much.
Up front on the defensive side, Jalen Woods and Sammy Omosigho have both made strong early statements. Omosigho was the standout last week, but Woods took center stage against SDSU.
He delivered a major interception on a screen pass that helped preserve UCLA’s momentum and set the tone for a big second half. Woods finished with nine total tackles, four solo tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss.
The passing game, meanwhile, still hasn’t found its footing behind Nico Iamaleava. Through two games, UCLA has leaned heavily on the run, leaving the air attack in a secondary role.
That hasn’t helped Iamaleava get into much of a rhythm, and it also hasn’t prevented another costly mistake. Just like in Week 1, he threw an off-balance floater to the opposite side of the field as UCLA was nearing the lead in the red zone, and it ended in an interception.
That’s the kind of play Iamaleava has to clean up fast. The Bruins’ Big Ten schedule won’t be nearly as forgiving.
At receiver, the injury situation keeps piling up, but Semaj Morgan gave UCLA a needed lift after Mikey Matthews went down. Morgan stepped in and caught six passes for 73 yards, giving the Bruins a useful answer in a room that has already been hit hard by injuries.
The depth is encouraging, but the attrition is impossible to ignore. Morgan also came through with several important plays in the 18-point win, and his role figures to matter even more if availability stays limited.
One player who hasn’t made much noise yet is Cole Martin. Through two weeks, it’s been a quiet start, and there hasn’t been much of a visible impact from him. UCLA’s secondary has mostly handled its business, but Martin’s absence from the action has stood out.
On the other side, UCLA’s defense did a good job preventing San Diego State from pushing the ball deep. The Aztecs kept trying to test the Bruins vertically, but those shots didn’t go anywhere, and Hartford played a big part in that. Starting quarterback Jayden Denegal managed just 45 passing yards, while Hartford put together a strong night with 10 total tackles, three solo tackles, and a pass deflection.
In Other News...
UCLA Snap Trends Reveal Who Bruins Already Trust Most
Through the first two weeks of the UCLA football season, the snap counts have already shown where the Bruins are most comfortable leaning. Brian Rowe has been a key part of the passing game, appearing in more than half of the offenses snaps, while the offensive line has settled into a clear rotation built around heavy usage from Schmidt and Jordan Davis. The early signs point to a unit that has found stability up front, especially in run blocking, which is often where a coaching staffs trust shows up first.
On the other side of the ball, Hartford has become just as important in the secondary, working nearly every defensive snap and helping cover for the absence of an injured teammate. Those usage patterns say a lot about how UCLA is sorting out its core pieces this early in the season, but they also raise a familiar question for any staff trying to build depth: how long can the Bruins keep asking the same players to carry so much of the load before the rest of the rotation has to answer? [Read more 🡒]
UCLA Fans Have A New Reason To Watch The 2027 Class This Week
UCLA fans checking in on the 2027 class got a nice reminder this week that the Bruins are already collecting defenders who can swing a game. Linebacker commit Mike Davis Jr. turned in a huge outing for Mater Dei, finishing with eight tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack in a tight 10-9 win over Corona Centennial, the kind of performance that shows why he has become such an intriguing part of UCLAs future.
Davis also delivered the play that changed the shape of the night, coming up with a fourth-quarter interception that helped set up Mater Deis game-winning touchdown. He was hardly the only UCLA commit making noise, either, with other pledges coming off strong recent performances as the Bruins 2027 group continues to build momentum, and there are more chances ahead with another slate of games on the calendar for those recruits this week. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA May Need More From Semaj Morgan Than Anyone Expected
UCLAs receiver room has been pushed into a constant state of adjustment this season, and the Bruins are feeling the ripple effects in every game plan. Injuries have thinned out the position group enough that opportunities have opened up for players who may not have been expected to carry much of the load this early. Among them, Michigan transfer Semaj Morgan has emerged as a useful answer, leading UCLA in receiving in the win over San Diego State and drawing praise from coach Chesney for the way he handled the moment.
The bigger question now is whether Morgans performance was a one-game lift or the start of something more necessary for this offense. With Landon Ellis, Mikey Matthews, Brian Rowe Jr. and Aidan Mizell all affected by injuries and their availability fluctuating, UCLA may have to lean on Morgan in ways it probably did not anticipate when the season began. For a unit already trying to find consistency, his role could become more central much sooner than anyone expected. [Read more 🡒]