LOS ANGELES — UCLA’s junior cornerback John Humphrey made his first college start this past Saturday against Colorado in place of redshirt senior Azizi Hearn.
Humphrey, a Pasadena Muir High alum, was officially listed as a starter when UCLA (4-0 overall, 1-0 Pac-12) released its two-deep depth chart on Tuesday. He has served as a reserve defensive back and special teams player throughout his first two years with the Bruins.
“John has continued to get better every single year,” Coach Chip Kelly said. “He has a tremendous work ethic and you always see him out here on the field working on individual skills.”
Humphrey had five total tackles against Colorado, ranking third among UCLA defenders.
Humphrey had a tackle that resulted in a loss of yardage when Colorado’s receiver Maurice Bell was tackled 6 yards behind the line of scrimmage on the first play of a drive in the second quarter. Safety Kenny Churchwell III was responsible for tackles on the next two plays, forcing the Buffaloes to punt.
Kelly not only recognized Humphrey’s mindset toward getting better but what he presents physically, which could be valuable for the matchup against Washington (Friday at 7:30 pm PT, ESPN).
“He is a tall, long corner and plays physical for us on the perimeter,” Kelly said about his 6-foot-2-inch cornerback.
Washington’s three leading receivers (Jalen McMillan, Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk) are all listed as over 6 feet.
“(John) will come out here by himself and just go through a whole game series covering a ghost,” linebacker Carl Jones Jr. explained. “He’s really detailed and mentally preparing for every week.”
Hearn had been listed as the starter ahead of each of the first four games this season. There’s no indication that Hearn was injured against Colorado.
Linebacker Laiatu Latu remains unlisted, despite having 3.5 sacks for a loss of 29 total yards and forcing a fumble.
Linebacker Kain Medrano has been listed as a starting linebacker but hasn’t played since the season opener against Bowling Green on Sept. 3. Medrano was participating in individual position drills Tuesday.
WEEKLY HONORS
Latu was voted the Pac-12 Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week after recording three sacks and forcing a fumble against Colorado.
The linebacker transferred from Washington (4-0, 1-0) after sitting out the past two seasons and medically retiring due to a neck injury.
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Running back Zach Charbonnet was a nominee for the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award after rushing for 104 yards and tying a career high with three touchdowns on nine carries. He was also named the university’s Student-Athlete of the Week.
It was Charbonnet’s ninth career 100-yard game and is now tied for 11th on the UCLA all-time list for 100-yard rushing games with Maurice Jones-Drew, Kevin Nelson and Kermit Johnson.
ELIGIBLE
Gabriel Murphy was called for targeting early in the first quarter against Colorado and was disqualified for the game. The NCAA rules require a player to miss two quarters of a game after being disqualified. Murphy met that requirement by sitting out the second half against Colorado and will be eligible to play in the first half against Washington.
RECOGNITION
The Bruins received just three points in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. The Bruins’ received at least a single vote in every poll except for last week. The Bruins will have a chance to leave an early impression in this week’s nationally televised game, something the Bruins haven’t had all season with the first four games of the season all being aired on the Pac-12 Network.
The Bruins will play three ranked teams over the next four weeks.
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SPREADING AWARENESS
The university is doing its part to spread awareness and draw a crowd for the conference game against Washington this Friday.
UCLA has 10 digital billboards promoting Friday’s game located in Carson, Irwindale, Inglewood, and Hawthorne.
Six local Costco locations are offering a pair of tickets for UCLA sideline seat for $99. The Bruins also reached out to former season ticket holders, offering $55 tickets for $20 and $119 tickets for $40.
Complementary tickets were also offered to K-12 classrooms and youth sports organizations that previously attended a community event.
UCLA will also have a fireworks show at halftime.