WATCH: Titus Mokiao-Atimalala on Key Catches, Succeeding at UCLA
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UCLA football wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala spoke with reporters following Monday morning's practice session at the Wasserman Football Center. Mokiao-Atimalala talked about how it felt to come through with some big catches down the stretch against South Alabama, what his relationship is like with Dorian Thompson-Robinson, how he wound up transferring to UCLA from UCF, the importance his family in Hawaii places on his college education and what he expects to see out of Colorado on Saturday.
Had some catches the other day, how did it feel and how did you asses your performance afterward?
It felt good, just being able to contribute, you know, to the win that we got. It felt really good.
Feel like you're building chemistry with Dorian as we get deeper into the season?
Yeah. I’ve been spending a lot of time with him just breaking down film at his house to him coming over to my crib and just looking at plays and looking at routes and just making sure that the timing is right, so we’re working on our connection. I know him and Bobo got it going, him and Kam and Kaz got it going, so I’m just trying to work my way in there as well.
Process of you transferring to UCLA?
So, coach Chip recruited me throughout high school, I chose UCF. After hitting the portal, coach Chip was the first one to call me, saying, I mean, his words were, ‘The second time around, I’m not going to lose you,’ so I kind of took that to heart knowing they were willing to take a chance on me again and looking at the numbers they put up from the previous years, great on offense and then just knowing that you’re playing for Chip Kelly is special, so that’s something I wanted to be a part of and yeah, the transition’s been easy. A lot of Polynesian boys that I’m used to back home in Hawaii, so just having the guys all with me makes it a lot easier.
Any influence from Dillon Gabriel when he was committed to UCLA before he decided to go to Oklahoma?
No, not really. My commitment was to coach Chip and his offense and I wanted to play for Chip Kelly’s offense and I’m just glad to finally be a part of it.
Everything you thought it would be?
For sure, yes. I mean, to understand his schemes and the amount of knowledge he has and I’m still learning as we go, but it's amazing to see, you know?
How much support do you have back home in Hawaii?
A lot. Yeah. I have a lot. I mean, I’m pretty sure from the last three games my parents came to the first, my aunts and uncles came to the second and this past one we had some of the teams from back home fly out to play Cali schools, so I’ve always had someone to support me and it’s been super nice.
What would it mean to your family for you to succeed at UCLA?
I mean, it’s huge. UCLA, being the No. 1 public school, it’s something very special and my mom and dad are more worried about me getting my degree than football, so as long as I can get a degree here and do good in school, then I know I’m making my parents proud.
Family have a lot of college grads or would you be the first?
So right now I have an older brother who’s at the University of Hawaii, so he’s doing his thing over there playing football as well and I’m just doing this so me and him are going to be the first, yeah.
What have you seen from Colorado on film?
So we kind of just went over our film we haven’t really gone into theirs—later on today we’ll look into their film but I got to watch their first game against TCU and they’re a tough team to play, especially at home, so I mean, we’re excited and we’re just going to play our game and control what we can control.
Going over your own film, things you've done well and others you can improve upon?
I mean, just timing, making sure that I’m in the right spot at the right time and just making sure I understand coverages. You know, there’s some times we may think it’s a zone look but then they switch it to man, so just making we’re all on the same page as an offense.
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