Takk McKinley was devastated.
Not with the game – UCLA (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) came out on top 45-24 over Arizona (2-3, 0-2 Pac-12) – but with his hair.
The defensive lineman lost one of his beloved dreads just hours before kickoff and dedicated the Bruin’s first Pac-12 South game of the season to his hair.
He delivered five tackles and one sack despite a lingering groin injury.
“It’s pretty much pain every play, but nothing I can do about it. When I’m on the field, I’m not about excuses, I just play through it, walk it out and try and get sacks,” McKinley said. “I’m doing it for me, for the team, for my future. At the end of the day, its great to win games, but I also want to play at the next level. So a groin is not going to stop me. I give my all and just take it from there.”
In honor of his dread, McKinley went off against Arizona, helping the team hold the Wildcats below their season averages of 35.3 points and more than 290 rushing yards over the last three games.
But the senior wasn’t the only one who had a big game last night.
From veterans to rookies, players on both ends of the ball gave the Bruins a boost.
Coming out of halftime, coach Jim Mora called on freshman Theo Howard, looking for the young receiver to spark the offense.
Howard responded, turning his second catch of the season into a touchdown to push UCLA’s lead to 21-7.
“Really my job is to come in and contribute and do my part and be a good teammate,” Howard said. “I’ve been focusing on working hard and staying ready in case they needed to put me in a situation like that.”
The freshman had limited minutes heading into the game – part of wide receivers coach Eric Yarber’s plan to foster Howard’s growth.
“I can’t just throw him out to the wolves and not let him have success,” Yarber said leading up to the Stanford game. “I want him to have confidence. Success breeds confidence. Our receivers take pride in blocking and knowing who to block and how to block and those little things take time to develop. He’s going to gradually get the experience that he needs.”
Even on the sidelines, Howard listened to redshirt senior wideout Kenneth Walker, who advised the freshman to stay ready.
“I told him to be ready and his number was being called.” Walker said. “He came in and scored and that really helped our team. He’s a polished receiver for a freshman. He’s pretty quiet and brings a lot of technique to our offense.”
And the points continued piling on.
Walker added his own score minutes later, his second of the day and the shortest one of his career.
But the wide receiver said the second half surge wasn’t because of any one player. Whether motivated by lost dreads or teammates or the coaches, the team pulled together to get the first Pac-12 South win of the year.
“It was more of a team effort and team determination.” Walker said. “We didn’t play that well the first half, but the talk coach Mora gave us at halftime really boosted our confidence. It gave us determination to go back out there and do it.”