Call it a strip. Call it a fumble recovery. Or even call it a steal.
Coach Jim Mora called senior defensive lineman Takk McKinley’s play against the Utes at the Rose Bowl “Super Bowl-like”.
“It was kind of like the play (Denver Broncos’ linebacker) Von Miller made,” Mora said. “The kid is just a heck of a football player. I don’t know where that performance would rank, but I can’t think of a whole lot that were better.”
McKinley stripped the ball away as he sacked Utah quarterback Troy Williams in the first quarter, one of three sacks in the game, and UCLA would capitalize on the turnover to take a 21-14 lead.
“That was just a ridiculous play,” said senior linebacker Jayon Brown. “He’s dangerous on the field and he knows it.”
But the defensive lineman doesn’t bring just highlight reel plays to the field.
He also adds energy and leadership to empower and boost both the offense and defense, according to Brown and defensive backs Jaleel Wadood, Fabian Moreau and Randall Goforth.
McKinley, who has been hampered with a groin injury since the season opener against Texas A&M, has been battling to stay on the field and keep the Bruins in the game.
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The senior leads the conference in sacks with seven in three games and is fourth on the team with 33 total tackles.
“I hate to take him off the field, but he needs some rest,” said defensive coordinator Tom Bradley after the loss to Utah. “I hate to have him off the field because he’s so important to the defense.”
The “war daddy,” as Mora calls him, often limps off the field before running right back out to compete alongside his teammates.
“He’s like, ‘I can’t go.’ Then he gets on the sideline and he’s like, ‘I gotta go, I gotta go,'” Mora said. “He’s everything you want in a player in terms of mindset and attitude and toughness and killer instinct.”
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Mora said that McKinley’s NFL stock was likely to go up this season because of his play and that the defensive lineman was reminiscent of former UCLA standout Datone Jones, now a linebacker with the Green Bay Packers.
Jones is bigger while McKinley is more explosive, but both were “equally versatile.”
For now, the senior is more focused on the Bruins’ loss and three-game losing streak than on his own play and a possible NFL future.
“Yes, I had a good game, but I still want to win,” McKinley said in the postgame press conference. “It’s frustrating in general. If I had a bad game and we won, I’d be excited. But it sucks to be this close every time but we’re on the losing end of it.”