Christian Pabico received a pleasant surprise when he checked in with his academic counselor about setting up his schedule for his final quarters at UCLA.
The longtime walk-on was put on scholarship a few months ago in a move that Bruins coach Chip Kelly said was designed to make sure that the senior receiver came back for his fifth year of eligibility. It turns out Pabico wasn’t going anywhere, scholarship or not.
The scholarship was a reward for years of toiling in obscurity before Pabico worked his way into the rotation last season, playing in every game and making one start.