LaiatuLatu

Laiatu Latu doesn't like being told he can't do something. After his freshman year at Washington, he was told to medically retire because of a neck injury. His determination wouldn’t allow his career to be cut short and he sought out a second opinion. He gained a new love and appreciation for the game while he was away and continued studying players like Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders, TJ Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers and former Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald. And that determination led him to have one of the best seasons ever for a defender in UCLA history. In 2023, Latu was UCLA's first-ever winner of the Lombardi Award, the Ted Hendricks Award and the Polynesian Defensive Player of the Year honor. He led the nation in tackles for loss per game (1.8) and ranked fourth nationally, second in the league, in sacks per game (1.08) average. “He’s a complete football player,” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster told the Los Angeles Daily News. “Somebody whose why is bigger than just money or something like that, and for him to come back from the type of injury that he had, that lets you know the type of dedication he has to football. Anybody that has something taken away from them, they go extra hard to get it back and him being the first-rounder that he is shows that.”