Throughout spring camp, UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu was fully dressed but limited to individual drills while the rest of his teammates were full participants in 11-on-11 contact drills.

There also was additional work with teammates throughout the summer, especially on weekends, to get himself ready to be a full practice participant in the fall.

What would be considered a setback and rigorous work for most was a welcomed change for the redshirt junior.

Football was back in his life.

Latu, a transfer from Washington, was forced to medically retire after a neck injury suffered in a fall practice that required surgery before the 2020 season.

“I just took a hit during practice,” Latu recalled while speaking to reporters Tuesday for the first time since transferring in the offseason. “My body was still good. I didn’t lose any strength or nothing like that.”

Then-Washington coach Jimmy Lake told reporters in spring 2021 that the program consulted with five specialists before making the decision. However, Latu was intent on continuing his career.

UCLA head coach Chip Kelly originally recruited Latu as a high school prospect out of Sacramento before ultimately losing out to Washington. In the offseason, Kelly brought in outside linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Ikaika Malloe, who was at Washington from 2016-21 and had a relationship with Latu. It was just a matter of finding a doctor to clear him, which Latu eventually found.