Jayce Smalley got his Rudy moment. Next up is the expectation to regularly make big plays.
He already has gone from scout-team walk-on to part of UCLA’s outside linebacker rotation, logging a tackle for loss last weekend against Arizona State when he wrapped up tailback Eno Benjamin two yards behind the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter.
The play made him the Bruins’ version of Rudy Ruettiger, the undersized Notre Dame defensive end who recorded a sack on the final play of a game against Georgia Tech in 1975, prompting his teammates to carry him off the field.