UCLA football: 3 breakout candidates for the 2023 season

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 29: J. Michael Sturdivant #7 of the California Golden Bears catches a pass in front of Steve Stephens IV #7 of the Oregon Ducks during the first quarter of an NCAA football game at FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium on October 29, 2022 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

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The Chip Kelly era for UCLA football has been an absolute roller-coaster. But right now, the ride is still going up after a dip at the start of his tenure.

UCLA is in its last year of Pac-12 play before moving to the Big Ten next season and it needs some players to step up in order to push for the conference crown over teams like USC, Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Oregon State.

Which three Bruins could break out in 2023 and help push for a Pac-12 title?

Jay Toia began his college career by committing to USC as a four-star defensive lineman from Inglewood, Calif., and he even enrolled early in January of 2021. In May of 2021, he entered the transfer portal, and a month later, he committed to rival UCLA.

Obviously that didn’t make USC fans too happy, but Chip Kelly doesn’t care.

Toia has played in 16 games for the Bruins, totaling 38 tackles with three tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble. He had a productive 2022 season but I think he’s just scratching the surface. He’s going to turn into one of the best defensive linemen in the Pac-12 in 2023.

With a big 6-foot-3, 325-pound frame, Toia looks poised to wreak havoc on opposing Pac-12 offensive linemen and I think 2022 was just a taste of what he can bring to the table.

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