How freshman WR Kwazi Gilmer became UCLA’s go-to guy

A recount might be in order.

Kwazi Gilmer is certainly outperforming his player rating on EA Sports College Football ‘25.

“Definitely high 80s now,” the UCLA freshman wide receiver said Tuesday of where his rating should stand now on the video game, “but I mean, that’ll come soon.”

Gilmer’s stock continues to go up, up, up after the biggest Saturday of his career. After beating two defensive backs on a deep angle route midway through the third quarter, he snagged a 48-yard touchdown pass that provided the winning margin during the Bruins’ 27-20 victory over Nebraska.

Gilmer finished the game with a team-high 88 receiving yards on three catches, continuing an unlikely rise from newcomer at the deepest position on the team to leading the Bruins’ wide receivers with 213 yards on 16 catches this season. On Monday, he was selected the Big Ten’s freshman of the week.

“He’s phenomenal,” UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers said Saturday. “For being 18 years old, the maturity and confidence that that guy has on the football field is really unheard of, you know? He’s becoming a guy that I can really, really trust and then really have a lot of faith in.

“I mean, any time the ball’s up in the air, I 100% believe Kwazi’s going to come down with it. He’s a great route runner and the best thing about him is he always plays fast and he plays with speed.”

Bruins coach DeShaun Foster credited Gilmer’s early arrival for spring practice, a willingness to prove himself on special teams and a motor that requires continual monitoring by the coaching staff to prevent redlining.

“He’s a guy that you have to pull back,” Foster said, “like, ‘OK, Kwazi, turn it down a little bit.’”

There have been times in practice when Gilmer’s biorhythm monitors prompted coaches to make him take a couple of plays off. Stopping him in games has been another matter.

“When you’ve got opportunity to strike,” Gilmer said, “you gotta take advantage of it.”

Did you see that?

Bodies had collided. The play was over. Bryan Addison still didn’t know exactly what had happened.

The UCLA safety had crashed into Nebraska slot receiver Jacory Barney Jr. in the final minute Saturday while going for a pass that could put the Cornhuskers on the verge of a colossal comeback.

Addison looked back after the impact to see the ball floating in the air. He didn’t realize the wild sequence that followed until he saw Bruins fans celebrating and teammates running down the sideline alongside cornerback Kaylin Moore.

How long did it take for Addison to realize that Moore had made the interception?

“I would say a good, like, five seconds,” Addison said Tuesday of a wild play that required the ball to bounce off Barney’s knee before Moore secured it with a last-second lunge at UCLA’s 13-yard line.

Addison didn’t see a replay until a friend shared footage after the game. The important thing was that it secured the Bruins’ second consecutive win going into their homecoming game against Iowa on Friday evening at the Rose Bowl.

“That was probably one of the craziest plays I’ve ever seen,” Addison said. “Just kind of being around the ball like that and seeing it pop around from a knee to an elbow to a hand, it’s kind of just life changing.”

It also made the defensive backs even in a way. Addison had taken a possible interception away from Moore during UCLA’s game against Penn State earlier this season, so Addison said Moore’s making the big play Saturday “kind of made me feel better.”

Guilty as charged

Upon further review, Foster did not dispute the three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against his team that helped Nebraska score each of its touchdowns Saturday.

The first was against linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo for flashing the team’s fourth-down hand signal toward the Nebraska sideline, which was considered taunting. The second was against linebacker Ale Kaho for pushing a Cornhuskers player in retaliation for a teammate getting shoved. The third was against defensive tackle Sitiveni Havili Kaufusi for picking a Nebraska player off a pile of bodies that included a UCLA player underneath it.

Three days later, Foster said he had addressed the issue with his team and did not expect any repeat offenses.

“A lot of that stuff really wasn’t malicious like I thought it was during the game,” Foster said, “so I was just proud that it was some stuff that we can correct.”

Etc.

Foster said the coaching staff told players where they could vote Tuesday and was encouraged to learn that a majority of the team had already cast ballots. “I was pretty excited,” Foster said, “that these guys are actually taking the opportunity to make change.” … UCLA will wear throwback uniforms from the 1960s featuring light blue tops and gold pants during the game against the Hawkeyes. “Those are sick jerseys,” Gilmer said, “I’m not gonna lie.”