Utah Left Tackle Caleb Lomu Looking Forward To The UCLA Game
Aug 26, 2025, 3:55 PM | Updated: Aug 27, 2025, 9:52 am
SALT LAKE CITY— Utah football is just days away from its season-opening contest against the UCLA Bruins, and Caleb Lomu is prepared to finally hit the field this season.
After a stellar Freshman All-American campaign, Lomu is firmly on the radar of the NFL, but also the opposition he’ll face this season.
Expectations are high for him, yet he’s focused on earning everything and holding up his end for the rest of his offensive line unit.
Caleb Lomu is looking forward to the UCLA game
After the long offseason and camp of competing against the same color jerseys, Lomu and all the others are looking forward to finally competing against someone else. The opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl against the UCLA Bruins is an exciting opportunity in Lomu’s eyes.
“It’s definitely an awesome feeling to be able to finally take out all that we’ve learned and been working for on another team,” Lomu said of finally preparing for the UCLA Bruins. “It’s a great feeling.”
The Utes will take on a defense that presents a tough challenge. The Bruins were a top ten defense defending the run last season. Fortunately for the offensive line, the Utah defense also prides itself on stopping the run, which makes practice quite valuable.
“It’s awesome going against our defense, because they’re so good and prepare us for any team,” he shared. “It’s just going to be awesome to finally play against someone else.”
It’s about all five guys, not any one individual
Lomu enjoyed a strong debut campaign last season as Utah’s left tackle. As a result, he garnered positive reviews for his play. However, it’ll be important for him to continue on an upward trajectory, and Lomu feels equipped to do just that this season.
“I feel super prepared from this fall, spring, summer, everything,” Lomu explained. “I grew a lot, but as an O-line, we grew a lot.”
Lomu shied away from talking about his development too much. He was more mindful of the improved confidence the linemen have in one another.
𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊‼️🚨
🆚 UCLA
🏟️ The Rose Bowl
⏰ SAT 08.30 | 9:00PM MT
📺 FOX
📻 ESPN 700 / 92.1 FM#GoUtes | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/jLtK6vim58— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 25, 2025
“O-line’s not just one guy, it’s all five of us, and all five of us working together,” he said. “Having the confidence of the guys I’m playing next to, knowing that they’ll be there if I need them, makes me feel more confident.”
All five linemen need to work together and have confidence in one another. That sort of mindset is vital to success in the trenches.
“We’re all back together now, so we’re coming in confident,” he said before elaborating. “We know each other, and we’ve all played multiple games next to each other.”
Lomu likes the progress of the offense as a whole
Given the change in offensive scheme, it’s been a process of preparing for this weekend’s game; however, Lomu feels good about where his guys are at.
“We had all spring with the new offense, and all fall camp, we’re coming in very prepared,” he said. “We feel very comfortable as an O-unit.”
Not only is there a new scheme, but nearly half of the roster is comprised of new faces. Lomu shared that the team bond is quite strong after the offseason.
“We’ve come very close, together as a team,” Lomu said. “It feels like we’re a very close team. We all trust each other and know that we can go out there and play.”
