NEW YORK – Seniors Malik Hartford and Ryan McCulloch of the UCLA football team were named to the 2026 Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List. College Sports Communicators, in association with The Associated Press and the Fiesta Sports Foundation, released the 94-player watch list Thursday afternoon.
Since 2018, the award has recognized college football student-athletes who have overcome injury, illness or other circumstances. At the conclusion of each season, a panel of college football writers, editors and sports information directors selects three student-athletes as Comeback Player of the Year Award winners. The recipients are honored at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
Former Bruin defensive end Laiatu Latu was one of three winners of the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year after returning to the field following two seasons away due to injury. In his junior season, Latu played in all 12 games for UCLA and led the team with 9.5 sacks and 11.0 tackles for loss while adding 33 tackles, five quarterback hits, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He finished the regular season tied for 11th nationally and second in the Pac-12 with 0.79 sacks per game while also ranking second in the conference with 0.25 forced fumbles per game.
Hartford, a 6-foot-2 defensive back from Cincinnati, transferred to UCLA ahead of the 2026 season after spending his first three collegiate seasons at Ohio State, where he was part of the Buckeyes' 2024 national championship team. In 27 games with two starts at Ohio State, Hartford totaled 20 tackles and three pass breakups. He missed most of the 2025 season due to injury. Hartford was a four-star recruit out of Lakota West High School in West Chester Township, Ohio.
McCulloch, a 6-foot-2 outside linebacker from Arcadia, California, played in 26 games over three seasons at California from 2023-25. He totaled 38 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and one fumble recovery while playing under current UCLA linebackers coach Vic So'oto. McCulloch suffered a season-ending injury in 2025. In his most recent full season in 2024, he appeared in 10 games and recorded career highs in tackles (18), tackles for loss (4.5) and sacks (3.0).
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