LOS ANGELES >> UCLA football player Joshua Swift is currently on his 25th book of the year. It’s “The Creative Act: A Way of Being,” written by famed music producer Rick Rubin.

“It talks about art, but art kind of applies to everything,” Swift, a safety, said. “Even the way we express ourselves, that’s an art. Because everything leading up to it culminates to that final product. Football’s art, the weight room is art, talking right now is a form of art. It’s just how we absorb and then dish out information in creative ways.”

Swift’s time at UCLA has been a story of its own. The latest chapter? Earning the privilege of wearing No. 36. The digits are awarded to a deserving walk-on and are worn in honor of Nick Pasquale, a former player who died in 2013 when he was struck by a car.

Swift is still working to secure a scholarship but was told by coach DeShaun Foster that wearing the No. 36 is often accompanied by a scholarship. Defensive back Alex Johnson wore the digits last season and was awarded a scholarship in September of 2022.

“We wanted it to be somebody, a potential walk-on that can actually try to win a scholarship, just really exudes what being a Bruin is,” Foster told reporters when he announced the number change on Wednesday. “Discipline, respect, enthusiasm.”

Swift graduated with a degree in molecular cell and developmental biology at the end of the most recent academic year and has dedicated a lot of time to molecules and cells, researching their interactions and how they transition into different states.

He has studied changes on a microscopic level as he himself has transformed while staying the course as a walk-on at UCLA for four seasons.

“I live my dream every day,” Swift said on Thursday. “It’s not really something that clouds my mind about being a walk-on versus a scholarship player. I just love being here every day and being around the guys.”

Swift has stayed the course throughout four seasons as a Bruin. He started as a scout team player in 2020 and got into a game for the first time in 2021. He was also awarded the Nick “Pac” Pasquale Memorial Award for Special Teams Scout Player of the Year that season.

His playing time has grown since then, and the pattern will likely continue this season.

Books have been a constant for Swift, who began reading while sitting in the cold tub during treatments. A graduation photo even shows him holding “The Mindful Athlete” in one hand while cradling a football in the other arm.

Swift has taken book recommendations from defensive coordinator and former walk-on Ikaika Malloe and from athletes of other sports, like UCLA gymnast and Canadian Olympian Brooklyn Moors.

He hasn’t started a book club (yet) but knows how to dish out the recommendations.

“Swift is one of the smartest on the team for sure,” defensive back Jaylin Davies said. “I’m always seeing him reading a book. He’s recommended a lot to the whole DB group in general. If we just see him reading we ask, ‘What’s that about?’ We ask him about the quotes and stuff like that.”

Swift’s story transcends football, although the sport has served as the mechanism to get this far in life. His love of the sport and science has helped him plan out another plot point: becoming a team doctor at UCLA.

A player-led team

Strategic decisions of coaches and intentional behaviors of players are shaping UCLA football’s autonomy this season.

“We want to be a player-led team, not a coach-led team,” linebacker Kain Medrano told reporters on Wednesday.

Foster has placed the team in a hotel in Woodland Hills for fall training camp with the goal of isolating the team and forcing them to interact in a new environment.

Players are keeping track of who is first on the bus and who is first to practice. Usually that’s Foster, who shows up early to the facility to get a lift in before the day gets going. Player-led practices over the summer have also given players the opportunity to fulfill responsibilities they might not have had before.

There is punishment for leaving gear out on the field during practices and players will keep each other in check by requesting 100 up-downs if shoes or a helmet are lying on the turf.

“It is transitioning to a player-led team for sure,” defensive lineman Keanu Williams said. “And I’m happy it’s getting that way because we’re really holding each other accountable. We’re really trying to take accountability for the small things that we’re trying to do.”

Awards watch

Running back Keegan Jones was named to the Paul Hornung Award Watch List on Thursday. The award honors the most versatile player in college football. Jones has also played on special teams as a kick returner.

Quarterback Chase Griffin earned a spot on the Wuerffel Award Watch List on the same day, giving him the chance to be recognized as college football’s most impactful leader in community service.