UCLA 2025 Football Positional Power Rankings: Defensive Tackle

A good sign that the UCLA Bruins football season is approaching is media days. On the days leading up to Big Ten Media Days, let's start a new series.

In this era of college football, it's often hard for the casual fan to keep up with which players play at which position. Through the transfer portal, recruiting, and various other factors, it's often unclear who sits atop the depth chart in various positions.

With that being said, let's go ahead and rank each player at each of UCLA's positions for the upcoming season -- moving on to the trenches led by two tenured Bruins, defensive tackle.

1. Siale Taupaki, Graduate Senior

Taupaki wasn't initially expected to return to UCLA after using what many thought was all of his years of eligibility, but he's returning to Westwood for his final year and will head the Bruins' defensive line.

Over the course of his 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons, Taupaki was on UCLA's offensive line, if he ever played at all. Last season, though, he moved back to the defensive line and played in all 12 games, starting in seven, and finished with 23 tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks. He headlines UCLA's trenches following the departure of Jay Toia.

2. Keanu Williams, Redshirt Senior

Williams returns to UCLA after missing most of the 2024 season with an injury. He started the first two games of last season and was primed for an impactful year following his first season in Westwood in 2023.

In 2023, his redshirt sophomore season and first season after transferring from Oregon, he played in all 13 games and started 10 of them, finishing with 14 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. This season, his final year of eligibility, he's slated to start alongside Siale Taupaki in the trenches.

3. Gary Smith III, Redshirt Senior

Smith is returning to the Bruins this season in hopes of showing promise after missing all of last season with an injury. The former Duke Blue Devil transferred to UCLA in 2022 and appeared in 10 games in 2023, finishing with 21 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Smith is expected to be a big contributor on the line behind Taupaki and Keanu Williams, who is also returning from injury.

4. Ashton Sanders, Redshirt Sophomore

Sanders transferred to UCLA from Oklahoma along with offensive lineman Eugene Brooks, another massive addition for the Bruins in the portal. Sanders is currently slated behind Taupaki and Williams on the defensive line, but with three years of eligibility remaining, he could find himself a starting spot a lot easier than he would have with the Sooners.

5. A.J. Fuimaono, Redshirt Sophomore

Fuimaono is entering his third season with the Bruins as a redshirt sophomore. Last season, he appeared in all 12 games as a backup on the defensive line and mostly on the special teams. In 2023, he played in one game against North Carolina Central and utilized his redshirt. He saw action in the first string early in spring camp, but is still projected to be a backup.

6. Tyler Partlow, Freshman

Partlow is one of two freshman defensive linemen coming into Westwood this season. As a three-star out of the class of 2025, Partlow committed to UCLA in June of 2024 out of Middle Village (New York) St. Thomas More.

According to David Woods of Bruin Report Online, Partlow appeared to be injured in spring practices along with Williams, who is coming off a season-ending injury of his own last season. Partlow, along with freshman defensive lineman counterpart Robert James III, is not expected to play this season and will likely redshirt.

7. Robert James III, Freshman

James made headlines by committing to UCLA at seemingly the very last second. The class of 2025 product pledged to the Bruins on June 10 and will be joining the squad this season, though he isn't projected to play and will likely be redshirted.