UCLA CB Who Broke California 100m Dash Record, Vows to Return to Track & Field After Football Season

On Wednesday, when UCLA football coach DeShaun Foster claimed Croix Stewart was their fastest player during practice, and Kanye Clark during games, CB Rodrick Pleasant had a knowing smirk plastered on his face. “That comment, I’m not even going to get into it with that comment,” he said. “But we know who’s the fastest.” Pleasant wasn’t being boastful, but he holds the California high school record for the 100-meter dash with 10.14 seconds.

In fact, the Bruins’ football players don’t even attempt to race him in their spare time. Pleasant hilariously revealed, “They don’t want no smoke.” But under that friendly banter exists Pleasant’s ambition to excel in not just one sport, but two. Reporter Benjamin Royer took to X and revealed: “Rodrick Pleasant, who was a former track star at Junipero Serra and a 2-year letter winner at Oregon, says the plan is for him to join UCLA T&F after the football season.”

Quoting the athlete, Royer further mentioned: “‘I’m taking it a step at a time and seeing how everything goes. …That’s on the back burner right now’.” Pleasant was a two-year letter winner during his time at Oregon and set a collegiate career best in the 100-meter dash at 10.16 seconds. With that, he qualified for the NCAA West Regionals earlier this year. And while track takes a backseat for now, he intends to have two seasons of football and hopefully track, too. That begs the question: Why did Foster not name Pleasant as their fastest player?

Well, the athlete who transferred from Oregon to Westwood after spring camp hasn’t been with the team long enough to have an official speed calculation. He had two tackles and a pass breakup in his UCLA debut at the Rose Bowl. On the other hand, his other teammates have their stats recorded from games and practice sessions. Foster revealed, “That’s the number one argument out there right now, is that we know how fast Rodrick is, but he’s still new here.” And on cue, Pleasant’s UCLA teammates take that as an opportunity for some banter.

Pleasant said, “They be trying to tease me, but I don’t fall into the traps.”

His move to UCLA also meant he was back home. During his high school days, UCLA had shown interest in recruiting him, but the athlete chose Oregon instead. The decision likely stemmed from the prestige of the Ducks’ program. But now that he is back home, he gets to work with his friends on the same team, and one of them is Nico Iamaleava. Both of them used to play on the same club 7-on-7 team in high school, and it goes without saying that they had been looking forward to playing together once again.

Pleasant credits the support around him for helping him adjust fast. “Great coaching. A lot of great people. Hands in. They were willing to help when I asked, and that was probably the biggest thing,” he said. He isn’t at UCLA for just major highlights. He intends to dominate in two sports and show exactly why he was California’s fastest high schooler.