Senior Spotlight: Bruins' Receivers, Tight Ends

The UCLA Bruins will honor all of their seniors on Saturday afternoon for their final game of the season against Fresno State. The pass catching playermakers have been integral all season and mean a lot to this team.

Oct 19, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; UCLA Bruins tight end Moliki Matavao (88) gains yards after catch as Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Desmond Igbinosun (4) during the second half at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (4-7) will be celebrating the hard work and effort that each and every one of their seniors has put in this season and over the years of service that they dedicated to the Bruins program.

The wide receivers and tight ends are some of the most important players within a team, especially when looking to score points in big moments. There are just two senior receivers and four tight ends that will be playing their final collegiate game on Saturday afternoon.

Wide Receivers

Redshirt senior wideout Logan Loya has been a key piece in the Bruins' offense all year long and has been for the past two seasons. He has not seen the same type of production in 2024 that he did a year ago but has contributed when they needed him most.

Loya's season-high performance came on Homecoming this year in a 20-17 win over Iowa. He posted 94 receiving yards on five catches and a touchdown. He comes into this week with four touchdown receptions and 308 receiving yards on 27 catches. He will surely get several targets this week.

The only other receiver playing their final game is redshirt senior Devanti Dillard, who has been with the program since 2020 but has not seen any action in the past two seasons. The Fontana, Calif. native has seen action in four career games spanning from 2021-'22.

Tight Ends

There are a handful of tight ends that will be honored this week and most of them should see a decent amount of snaps against the Bulldogs.

The star tight end all year for the Bruins that has some NFL potential is true senior Moliki Matavao. Even without extremely impressive numbers, Matavao has been fairly consistent, missing just one game a few weeks ago and contributing in big ways when he is given the ball.

Matavao transferred from Oregon before the 2023 and has gotten better each and every year.

The Henderson, Nev. native had a season-high 104 receiving yards on six catches in a shootout win over Rutgers that sparked the Bruins' three-game conference winning streak. In his career, Matavao has gathered 878 receiving yards on 66 receptions with six touchdown grabs.

Redshirt Bryce Pierre is the other senior tight end that has seen a solid amount of time with the Bruins after he transferred last offseason from Arizona State where he saw limited action with just 17 receptions for 139 yards in nine total games.

In his first and final season with the Bruins, Pierre has been featured in seven games, earning 11 catches for just 94 yards. He last played against the Hawkeyes on Homecoming and will surely get a few targets this week in his final collegiate game.

Michael Churich and Hudson Habermehl are two tight ends that have not played a snap yet this season or logged any stats. Churich has appeared in 10 games over the course of his career with the Bruins that dates back to 2019.

Habermehl is in his third season with the Bruins and has spent his entire collegiate career in Westwood. He has not recorded any stats this season, but over the past two seasons, he garnered 315 receiving yards on 24 receptions with five touchdowns.

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