Pac-12 Week 10 Awards: Jon Gaines II Wins Offensive Lineman of the Week

One of the Bruins’ most experienced linemen has earned some recognition for his latest performance.

The Pac-12 announced its weekly honors Monday, and No. 9 UCLA football (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) offensive guard Jon Gaines II won the Offensive Lineman of the Week award following his performance in the 50-36 win over Arizona State on Saturday. Receiver Kazmeir Allen was nominated for Offensive Player of the Week, while linebacker Darius Muasau was nominated for Defensive Player of the Week and cornerback Jaylin Davies was nominated for Freshman of the Week, but none of them were able to win.

Gaines started at right guard for the ninth time this season against the Sun Devils, leading the way for an offense that racked up 571 total yards. 403 of those yards came on the ground – the most by a UCLA team since 2010.

The Bruins were able to hit that mark on just 42 carries, giving them 9.6 yards per carry on the night.

Allen was UCLA's starting running back and lead producer coming out of the backfield in Tempe, with Doak Walker Award candidate Zach Charbonnet out for the game. Allen returned to his old position and went for 137 yards on 11 carries, including one that went 75 yards for a touchdown.

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson registered a career high in rushing yards with 120 on 10 carries, scampering into the end zone twice. Running back Keegan Jones had the most productive performance of his career, rushing for 98 yards on 12 attempts.

If Jones had picked up two more yards on the ground, UCLA would have boasted three 100-yard rushers in one game for the first time since 1969.

Gaines and the rest of the offensive front can take a healthy share of the credit for that performance, given how dominant they were at the line of scrimmage.

That isn’t anything new for Gaines, who has appeared in 41 consecutive games for UCLA dating back to the end of the 2018 season. Under Gaines’ protection, Thompson-Robinson has become one of the most prominent quarterbacks in program history. Current NFL running backs Joshua Kelley, Demetric Felton and Brittain Brown all also made names for themselves bursting through holes opened up by Gaines before turning pro.

This is Gaines’ first time taking home Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the week, though, and he becomes the first Bruin to win it this season. UCLA had two players win the award in 2021 – right tackle Alec Anderson and left guard Paul Grattan Jr., who both moved on from the program in the offseason.

This marks the fifth time UCLA has had a player win an individual weekly honor this year. Kicker/punter Nicholas Barr-Mira took home Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week following the Bruins' win over South Alabama on Sept. 17, while Latu won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for his three-sack outing against Colorado on Sept. 24.

Thompson-Robinson won back-to-back Offensive Player of the Week honors earlier in the season, doing so after the Bruins' victories over Washington and Utah in Weeks 5 and 6, respectively.

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