UCLA Football: Malcolm Jones, Others Earn Scholarships

UCLA’s coaching staff gave out four scholarships to walk-on football players on Monday, according to the LA Times.

Running backs Malcolm Jones and Melvin Emesibe were among the recipients, along with wide-out Logan Sweet and fullback Tre Hale. The Bruins still have one scholarship left.

For Jones, this marks the second time that he received an athletic scholarship from UCLA. The senior running back left the program briefly with the intention to transfer. This came after failing to earn playing time in 2012, having been buried on the depth chart behind running backs Johnathan Franklin, Damien Thigpen and Jordon James. Jones announced his return to the team as a walk-on earlier this offseason.

Emesibe and Sweet were also on the team last season, but neither were consistent contributors. The lone highlight between the two was a late-game touchdown for the redshirt junior Emesibe during UCLA’s blowout of Arizona, which saw Franklin sprint from the sideline to the end zone to celebrate with Emesibe shortly after breaking the school’s all-time rushing record.

Fullback Hale earned limited playing time on special teams last season and is entering his fourth year with the program.