It started as the same unremarkable sequence that materializes dozens of times a season on UCLA’s football practice field, a coach lingering to speak with reporters and engage in the usual give and take.
Questions were asked about simplifying the defense and putting more pressure on the quarterback. Answers were given about accountability, attention to detail and putting the right defenders in position to make plays.
Then the coach started blinking tears, his voice catching, his words a chore. Everything routine about the exchange transformed into something else entirely.
“You know, I love this defense because I feel like part of them,” defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe began Tuesday, still holding it together. “They work so hard to try to give me what I want, you know, and so, on the flip side just, man, I can’t — I mean, I’ve been up since 3 o’clock on Sunday because I just don’t want to let down this team.
“These kids fight hard, man,” Malloe continued, now struggling to keep his composure, “and so I think the love for each other, that’s what keeps us going. But fundamentally, technically, that’s my job. I just got to get these kids better so we can win.”
And with that, Malloe bid farewell and headed back inside the practice facility to continue his efforts to revitalize a defense that’s been a bunch of blah since a talented cast of edge rushers departed for the NFL and the man in charge headed across town to USC.
The scene revealed the passion and commitment that made a handful of players champion Malloe as Chip Kelly’s replacement when the Bruins coach bolted for Ohio State in February. Malloe (pronounced mull-OY) happily remained in his new role as defensive coordinator once UCLA pivoted to DeShaun Foster, staying in character for someone who has spent more than a quarter of a century quietly making a name for himself.
“Once coach Kelly left,” Malloe said in the spring, “I thought that [Foster] was the best possible answer we could have.”
Finding solutions for a depleted defense would prove far more difficult. Laiatu Latu went in the first round of the NFL draft to the Indianapolis Colts. Fellow edge rusher Grayson Murphy ended up with the Miami Dolphins and his twin Gabriel Murphy with the Minnesota Vikings. Linebacker Darius Muasau went to the New York Giants.
Those weren’t the only losses. Defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn took star safety Kamari Ramsey and cornerback John Humphrey with him to USC.
That left largely a collection of transfers and career backups to man a defense that has put little pressure on the quarterback. The Bruins (1-3 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) have logged zero sacks over their last three games heading into a Saturday showdown against seventh-ranked Penn State (4-0, 1-0) at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa.
“We had four missed sacks in the last game,” Malloe said, referring to UCLA’s 34-13 loss to Oregon. “Partly it’s due to the athlete that was on the other side of the ball, but partly it’s due to not paying attention to details in terms of executing. So, again, I take full responsibility for that. You know, I gotta find a way to generate a pass rush.”
Malloe has tinkered with personnel and scheme. He moved Oluwafemi Oladejo from linebacker to edge rusher. He changed Luke Schuermann’s role from more of a run stopper to a pass rusher. He put Cherif Seye on the field as much as possible once the edge rusher had fully rounded into form from an injury.
None of it has made an appreciable difference.
UCLA ranks No. 98 nationally in total defense (398.2 yards allowed per game), No. 104 in scoring defense (an average of 30.8 points given up) and No. 133 — dead last — in third-down conversion defense (allowing opponents to succeed on 58.2% of their chances).
Striking a different tone from his boss, who has pinned the team’s shortcomings on a lack of execution, Malloe said the failures should be traced back to the coaching staff.
“The players win games,” Malloe said, “but if we’re losing that has to come back to us and all the responsibility comes back to us — from film study to how do we get better, game plan, for sure, and then most importantly, like the eye discipline, the techniques, the fundamentals, we can improve on that. I think that gives us a better chance to win.”
Surprisingly, given its massive personnel losses, UCLA’s defense hasn’t been the biggest culprit for a team averaging 14.8 points per game, the sixth-lowest figure in major college football. Against Oregon, the Bruins’ defense outscored its offense. Safety Bryan Addison stepped in front of a Dillon Gabriel pass and returned the interception 96 yards for the Bruins’ only touchdown of the game.
Meanwhile, UCLA’s offense produced two field goals and just as many turnovers.
“We kind of put them in a couple of unfortunate situations,” Foster said of his defensive players. “But I think the defense is doing a good job — guys are still playing hard. You know, the interception before the half really gave us some juice and some life and hopefully we can continue to build off that.”
Malloe, who turned 50 last summer, has a history of making the best out of whatever he has to work with. After starting his playing career as a walk-on at Washington, the safety and outside linebacker went on to help Huskies win a share of the Pac-10 title in 1995 by making a team-high five interceptions.
His coaching stops have included Texas El-Paso, Hawaii, Yale, Utah State and Portland State, outposts not exactly known as a launching point for careers. After returning to his alma mater as defensive line coach before the 2016 season and immediately helping the Huskies reach the College Football Playoff, he earned a promotion to co-defensive coordinator in 2020.
Malloe’s reputation as a player’s coach was bolstered when he brought Latu with him to Westwood before the 2022 season, serving not only as a mentor but also a surrogate father to the edge rusher who was waiting to be medically cleared after a serious neck injury.
“Oh, a huge peace of mind,” Latu’s mother, Kerry, told The Times last year when asked what it meant to have Malloe remain near her son, “because I know what kind of man coach Malloe is — he’s a family man and he’s genuine and I know he really, really cares about my son.”
Latu is among Malloe’s former players who have returned the favor, sending messages of encouragement.
“They keep telling me, ‘Just keep grinding, coach, just keep grinding,’ ” Malloe said. “But that is my work ethic. You know, you always feel like you wish you could get something — the accomplishments you want — based on your work ethic. But it doesn’t happen that way in this game, you know, it really doesn’t. You just never know how the ball falls and, for me, the only thing I do know is to try to outwork somebody else. So, that’s what I plan to do.”
Like a teacher changing his approach for a struggling student, Malloe said he would simplify the way he explained concepts and make sure the fundamentals applied to every situation. He relayed an anecdote involving his son’s baseball coach to illustrate the importance of reminders.
When his son was on first base, Malloe said, the coach always told him to run to second base whenever the ball was put in play on the ground but hold up halfway if the ball was hit into the air. Asking if the players should know that by now, the coach responded that the New York Yankees’ first base coach gave the same reminder to star shortstop Derek Jeter every time he reached first base.
“I’ve carried that with me,” Malloe said, “that I don’t think you can say it enough times.”
Plenty will need to come together for the Bruins to meet the challenge of facing a smashmouth Big Ten team like the Nittany Lions, who average 496.9 yards of offense to rank No. 11 in the nation. Among other things, Malloe said he intended to free star defensive tackle Jay Toia from the double teams he’s faced on a weekly basis so that he can make plays and ensure the Bruins’ coverage can hold up whenever it blitzes.
“We gotta put up or shut up, I will say that,” Malloe said. “We gotta show that we can play the physicality football that is expected from this school entering that conference.”
Win or lose, his players appear to be sticking with him. Watching Malloe speak from behind the small group of reporters, Addison said he appreciated the devotion to getting better.
“Coach Malloe’s just one of those coaches that’s easy to play for,” Addison said. “He’s so passionate about his players and his defense that he takes pride in what he does and what he teaches us, so to see him acting like that and seeing how passionate he is about the game, it just makes me fired up and wanting to go play for him.”