Five Bruins Named to Preseason All-Pac-12 Football Team
July 18, 2023 | Football
The Pac-12 Conference announced Tuesday its preseason All-Pac-12 team, featuring four UCLA football representatives. Media members who cover the Pac-12 determined the teams.
Earning First Team designation were defensive standouts Laiatu Latu and Darius Muasau. Securing a spot on the Second Team was newcomer running back Carson Steele. The Honorable Mention list included offensive linemen Duke Clemens and Garrett DiGiorgio.
Latu proved to be a disruptor in his first season as a Bruin, racking up 36 total tackles and team highs of 10.5 sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss (TFLs) and three forced fumbles. His 0.81 sacks-per-game rate was second in the conference and eighth nationally. Latu was tabbed Pac-12 Player of the Week after logging 3.0 sacks and 3.5 TFLs in UCLA's 45-17 win at Colorado. He went on to earn First Team All-Conference acclaim and was tabbed a winner of the College Football Comeback Player of the Year Award.
Muasau also shined in his initial campaign at UCLA, piling up a team-best 91 total tackles. He broke the 10-tackle mark three times, including a 14-stop performance in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. Muasau intercepted passes versus Pac-12 foes Stanford and Utah and added a fumble recovery against the Utes. He was a Second Team All-Conference pick by the league's coaches.
Steele joins the Bruins from Ball State, where he eclipsed 100 yards rushing 12 times, including nine such performances in 2022. He finished his sophomore year with 1,556 yards on the ground and carried the ball across the goal line 14 times. Steele logged 28 rushes for 198 yards and three touchdowns at Toledo. He finished top-10 nationally in rushing yards (ninth) and rushing yards per game (129.7 โ eighth), earning First Team All-Mid-American Conference recognition.
Clemens and DiGiorgio are returning starters from a unit that has helped ball carriers average more than 200 yards on the ground each of the past three seasons. In 2022, UCLA ranked sixth nationally in rushing offense (237.2 yards per game) and totaled at least 200 rushing yards in nine games. The offensive line was recognized as one of the country's best in 2022 when it was lauded as a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award.
Pac-12 Football Media Day takes place Friday in Las Vegas, where Clemens and Latu are set to represent their team alongside head coach Chip Kelly. All-day coverage on Pac-12 Network kicks off at 8 a.m. PT, with the Bruins set to take the main stage at 3:55 p.m. Coverage will also be available to watch Pac-12 Now (app or Pac-12.com) and Pac-12 Insider.
