SB Nation - Jeff Baca

Spaulding Roundup: UCLA's Biggest Game Of The Season

Nestor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:58:36 -0000

Honestly if we experienced a night like Monday 2-3 years ago I would have had a very difficult time getting putting that aside and getting out of a funk. I am not naive and I am well aware that our basketball team right now has a lot of issues to work on for them to develop as a team that will put together a winning season. Yet I am not really thinking or worrying about them all that much. I am going to watch the game on Friday night to find out exactly what is going on with our young guys. However, right now the basketball team is not really at the top of of my mind. That is because right now, at this time I am just thinking about Saturday.

I haven't been this excited about UCLA football in years. ucla13_usc9 has it exactly right. I can't think of a bigger football game for this program than the one we are going to play this Saturday. Let's think about it for a second. If UCLA can manage to pull out a win this weekend, it will be sitting with a record of 6-5 and find itself at the perfect pivot point to take the next step. Of course there is the angle of getting into a bowl game and getting our young team two extra weeks of practices (that will be valuable for development of a team with so many underclassmen sprinkled all over our lineup).

To me though the most important part of getting a win this weekend will be that incredible sense of momentum. With 6 wins CRN will be able to sell the notion of "Plus 2." Think about what he accomplished on the recruiting trail with a 4-8 record last season. Now think what he might be able to do if he can show recruits not just by words but by his W-L record showing a clear sign of progress with at least 2 more wins. A victory this Saturday will get us that palpable sense of momentum we haven't experience as a program since the late 90s when number 18 was driving the Bruin offense up and down the field. Although watching Kevin Prince driving our offense up and down the field in recent weeks, I can almost ... almost ... get a little sense of that magical feeling (of wanting the Bruin defense to take care of business fast so I can watch the offense again) I used to experience almost a decade.

This game is just so huge. It sounds like our guys know it and kind of feel it. Jon Gold posted last night that the Bruins had a "rowdy practice" as they "know full well what a win over Arizona State means to the season." CRN had this to say about the mindset of his football team:

"We're a young team, and young teams are impressionable. To come off a couple of victories and still have a chance to get in the postseason - those are exciting things for our guys. It's going to take a great effort, but we're capable of it."

It's going to take a great effort for our offensive line. They have gotten better at the expense of some of the worst defenses in the conference. They know that they will have to step it up to whole another level this Saturday. Here is what Jeff Baca, the sophomore left guard had to say about the challenge he and his linemates are going to face against ASU:

"Coaches tell us we're getting better each week, and that's what we're trying to do."

The Bruins will have a much tougher task this week in the form of Arizona State, which ranks 15th nationally in total defense and 29th in scoring defense.

They are particularly tough against the run and have averaged 6.8 tackles for a loss per game.

With a defense that has such ability to get upfield, the offensive linemen are taking it as personal.

"You've got to win one-on-one battles," Baca said. "Both in pass rush and run blocking. You've got to win those. Coach has told us this is a huge game. This is our bowl-eligible game. This is fantastic for a young offensive line like we are.

"We're growing up fast, but this is a challenge."

While Baca and his team-mates are gearing up for the challenge against ASU's defensive front, Jet Ski is working hard to set aside his personal nightmares from recent games. More on him and othe notes after the jump.

We have discussed how it is imperative for JetSki to get it back together and shake any kind of focus or concentration issue he might be having that could be causing his fumble issues. Well, it sounds like the coaches haven't given up on him and he is doing everything he can to have the right attitutude about it:

"It's rough, especially when ... it's just rough," Franklin said. "It's the worst feeling ever. It's one of those feelings that is indescribable, especially as a running back.

"You've got the team counting on you, you've got the coaches, you've got the family in the stadium watching, family at home watching. It's disappointing. A lot of people are counting on you and by fumbling, you let a lot of people down."

Franklin didn't include himself on that list but he could have. His recent turnovers have left him feeling frustrated but he insists that he has to continue to look forward.

"It's something I have to learn from," he said. "It's something I have to learn from to better my career or to basically stay on the field."

Staying on the field doesn't seem to be a problem. Franklin was one of a handful of running backs getting his share of reps with the Bruins' No. 1 offense Tuesday.

Franklin is quick to push his successes and failures into the past. One of the worst things he can do is try to make up for the missed opportunities because that is when more mistakes are made.

"Regardless of what happens in a game, you have to let it go," he said. "It definitely takes time to get it out but to progress and better yourself, you have to let it go and move on. You have to. You always have to keep your head up and keep a good attitude to become a better player."

Here is to Jet Ski getting back into rhythm this weekend. The fun thing about our offense is that we still haven't seen it totally click yet. Early in the season Jet Ski was having success but at that time neither Prince nor Craft was giving him any kind aerial support by being in rhythm. Now in recent weeks we have had Prince spraying passes all over the field but not with a very productive rushing attack. If we can get Jet Ski and Prince to have their most efficient performances in the same game, our offense is going to be fun to watch. I am crossing my fingers that we get to experience it finally this weekend against ASU.

Meanwhile, over at ASU, Dennis Erickson is still being coy about who will be his QB. It looks like Szakacsy has been getting most of the reps with first time at least to start the week. From Ted Miller on WWL:

Szakacsy came off the bench and completed 13 of 22 passes for 113 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions in the 44-21 defeat. He also ran for a touchdown and used to his speed to elude heavy pressure from the Ducks.

"He'll get the most reps with the ones this week," Erickson said.

True freshman Brock Osweiler made his first career start against the Ducks, but was knocked out off the game with a shoulder injury. He had replaced senior senior Danny Sullivan, who was nursing a biceps injury. Both are expected to be available Saturday, but it appears that Erickson wants a closer look at Szakacsy, an athletic sophomore who's battled a nagging elbow problem since he arrived in Tempe.

"We've just never have seen him because he's been hurt all the time," Erickson said. "So we're going to let him take that first group quite a bit in the next few days and see where he's at."

CRN and his coaches took note of what Szakacsy did against Oregon last weekend:

"We certainly take notice of him and think he played well in the second half. He does provide different challenges, but I'm not sure that means a wholesale change in their offense. He's certainly capable of making some moves with his legs."

Samson is going to be an interesting challenge for our defense. Our guys have been vulnerable this season to QBs with mobility. Still have visions of Andrew Luck picking up key yards against us up in Palo Alto. Even Lopina when he entered the game in Pullman had success scrambling against us up in Pullman. So I hope Bullough and his coaches are doing their necessary homework.

The defense will really need to step up to the challenge on Saturday. We expected a lot out of our defense this season and frankly except for the Tennessee game they haven't really come through with a marquee performance in which they won the game for us. Well this is a huge opportunity for them to win us a game. I do think our offense will face a stiff challenge from the ASU defense. So, it will be up to our defense to unleash an all out attack against ASU's young QBs and distrupt and throttle them at the Rose Bowl.

This is going to be one of those games in which defensive turnovers, special teams play and penalties are going to be huge. I hope our guys are prepared in all facets of the game this weekend to make a statement and grab a chokehold on that sense of momentum of progress we haven't experienced as a program in almost a decade. Again, I will end with the same plea I made yesterday. If you are out in Southern California get to the Rose Bowl in Bruin Blue. Don't forget it's also Senior Day, which is only going to add to the emotion in what IMHO is the biggest game of this football season and again perhaps the most important game of this program (to date) in years.

If you are a UCLA student you have no excuse for not being at the Rose Bowl this Saturday.

GO BRUINS.

UCLA vs. Washington Report Card

Ryan Rosenblatt — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:14:43 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Kevin Craft sure didn't have this much room to throw last season. The offensive line played their best game in the CRN era.

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Let's be honest now. UCLA was far from flawless. While the effort, courage and heart that the Bruins displayed was admirable, you're not going to win many games with five giveaways. Two weeks ago, Arizona was kind enough to keep UCLA in the game before eventually winning. Today, it was UCLA who was kind enough to keep Washington in the game, but the Bruins did do enough to win and a team coming off of five straight losses isn't going to complain about the manner in which they get a W. Here are the grades for each unit, with A being exceptional, C being average and F last season's offensive line.

Quarterback

The Bruin quarterbacks were fantastic from the first toss of the game to the last. Kevin Prince put together a performance that justified all of the pre-season hype I was giving him as he put the ball in all of the right places, used his hot routes to perfection and even an audible. If he could just learn to slide, he'd be in great shape. With Prince on the bench due to injury, Kevin Craft got a shot and showed why he is a capable backup, making just about every throw. He wasn't perfect, but he was good enough and especially good when you consider the lack of snaps he's gotten of late. In his one series, Richard Brehaut proved that he still does have a ways to go. According to CRN in his post-game interview, Brehaut not only took a sack, but he also forgot to bring a guy in motion and was responsible for the illegal formation penalty when the Bruins were in the Wildcat and he did not get on the line. Overall, great day from the QB's, although the two interceptions were ill advised throws. Grade: A-

Running Back/Fullback

You have to hold onto the ball. Jonathan Franklin still hasn't figured that one out. Franklin has had a great freshman season, but fumbling the ball is the number one sin for a back and today was an example of that. Franklin made three great blitz pickups so he did some things right, but hanging onto the ball is number one. Derrick Coleman had a couple nice runs and while he still doesn't have the speed to break one, he picks up solid chunks of yards on just about every carry. Milton Knox was very good with the ball in his hands again, but that was mostly out of the Wildcat. When asked to work as a back in the base offense, he was hesitant, exhibiting why he's had issues getting on the field. Chane Moline is still an adequate blocker at best from the fullback spot, but he was tough running the ball. It was a sub-par performance overall, especially running the ball, but the blitz pickups were great all the way around. Grade: C-

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

It sure is nice to have a go-to receiver and it looks like the Bruins have one in Nelson Rosario. When a guy is 6'5'' and you know that all you have to do is get it up high, it makes things a heck of a lot easier on the quarterback so it's no surprise that Rosario has become a go-to guy. He's showing the focus and confidence he lacked earlier in the year and his second consecutive 100+ yard game is a product of that. Some excellent route running doesn't hurt either and his second quarter deep in that made the DB fall because he was caught by surprise when Rosario cut in is a perfect example of it. Terrance Austin showed some dependability and he's reading defenses better than any of the receivers, becoming a real weapon against zone defenses. Embree had a solid game, while Ketchum made an appearance. Ryan Moya made a good catch and Logan Paulsen had a big 56 yard catch, but for how much longer is the senior going to lead the team in freshman mistakes? Grade: A-

Offensive Line

The unit of the game, bar none. The growth from last season and even the beginning of this season is startling. Last season against a win-less Washington team, the Bruins gave up three sacks. Today, it was just two sacks despite 50% more pass attempts. Kai Maiava was a stud, getting side to side quickly to give the quarterbacks plenty of room to step up, while both tackles, Xavier Sua-Filo and Mike Harris, showed great feet, especially against the blitz. The guards were solid on passing plays, but the lack of surge on running plays has to be a concern for Jeff Baca and Ryan Taylor. The unit gets an A for pass blocking, but they need to be better on the run. The pass was the key to today's win though. Grade: B+

Defensive Line

A poor performance from the defensive line was the low light of the game for UCLA. It's concerning that the front four can't pressure the quarterback on their own, even occasionally and while they've done well to bottle up dive plays, they're not moving well enough side to side to stuff the runs off tackle. A lack of discipline on misdirection plays is also concerning, although they do a good job maintaining their position on the pass rush so even if they did not hit Jake Locker very often, they did keep him from getting the edge too often. At some point, someone needs to make a big play, especially if teams continually double Brian Prince. Two sacks and over six yards a rush for UW points to the defensive line. Grade: D+

Linebackers

The linebackers are fast, but sometimes too fast for their own good, especially Akeem Ayers. Over-pursuit has been a problem for the UCLA linebackers all year and reared its ugly head again today. Luckily, Reggie Carter looked to be in better health than he was last week and he was able to make up for some of the over-pursuit. Carter did a fantastic job holding the point and keeping big holes from opening up in the second level. The run defense of the UCLA linebackers was adequate at best, but they were fantastic in pass defense. They dropped back quickly to get into their space, were very quick coming up to make tackles and got to Locker when they were actually asked to blitz. Their ability to come up and make tackles after dropping into coverage showed just how much speed they have and their tackling was sure. Grade: B

Defensive Backs

Rahim Moore just manages to be in the right place at the right time. Some may call it lucky, but at some point, with how frequently he does it, Moore needs to get credit for it. Moor has eight interceptions now after picking one off the seal the win for the Bruins and he was very active all game, playing centerfield and making tackles against the run when the front seven didn't get it done. Alterraun Verner is still having issues that nobody was expected, but he's still the surest of corners for the Bruins, even if Sheldon Price made a singular great play on Moore's interception. One player who went largely unnoticed was Andrew Abbott, who did a fantastic job at nickle back. The safety position opposite Moore continues to be a trouble though as neither Tony Dye nor Glenn Love was better than mediocre. Grade: B

Special Teams

Kai Forbath is still automatic and while Jeff Locke has not showed the booming leg he did earlier on in the year, he's still be good. Austin's fumble on the kick is a concern for a guy who had been holding onto the ball, while the other candidates for the job haven't. Austin did have one big return to make up for some of his fumble. Kick coverage is still awful on a good day. Grade: C-

Coaching

Norm Chow called a great game and to the surprise of many, didn't take the foot off the pedal when Prince went down. It proved to be very successful and landed the Bruins a win. CRN's decision to go with Brehaut is questionable at best and his vow to get the freshman some meaningful snaps almost cost the Bruins a win, but the sack that took UCLA out of field goal range did not come back to haunt the team. Chuck Bullough's defense is doing just enough, but not as much as it should. He did show some more creativity and aggressiveness at the end of the game and we can only hope that he's turned a corner. The personal fouls are traced back to discipline and the coaching staff. Grade: B-

Spaulding Roundup: Shakeup In Defensive Backfield, Competition At RG & Other UCLA Practice Notes

Nestor — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:40:11 -0000

Bruins continue to prepare for their Arizona roadtrip with some tinkering with their defensive secondary. It looks like coaches are thinking about shaking up the defensive backfield a bit by trying out Glenn Love at strong safety. From the LA Times:

Strong safety Glenn Love spent most of practice with the first team. Tony Dye started all six games at strong safety.

"This week we flipped them, made sure they both got time with the ones and the twos," secondary coach Tim Hundley said. "We needed competition. We need to be more consistent and to make plays. Basically it's tackling. We're capable of doing it and we've done it, but not as consistently as we need to be."

Would be interested in hearing from the guys who might have seen the replay of Cal game on this. I am speculating here that perhaps coaches are trying out Love because of issues with clean tackling and staying within assignments from our secondary. Check out what Reggie Carter told Robert Kuwada of Bruin Report Online (article not behind subscription firewall at the time of this post):

So what did Saturday look like? They had some really big plays, but also a lot of negative yardage plays …

‘’Yeah, we watched it. Jahvid Best, he had like 108 yards and he had 93 on that one. That one was a few missed tackles, which caused that one. The other running touchdown, we were in a man coverage and the safety didn’t come over to get his man. He was supposed to be the extra fitter. That one. Then it was deep balls. They had big plays and scores, never once did they drive all the way down the field and score on us. We gave up too many big plays and we hurt our offense, we hurt our team.’’

Is there any question with the scheme, what you guys are trying to do, or is it just execution?

‘’Schematically, we were supposed to have somebody to fit every gap, to fit every run. It was just missed tackles and a guy not being where he was supposed to be. Schematically, everything was fit up to work, we just didn’t execute the scheme to perfection, how we were supposed to.’’

So perhaps sitting Dye out for a bit will allow the true sophomore to get better perspective of the defensive scheme. Another thought into this. Perhaps coaches are thinking about trying out Love at SS and then sliding over Dye to the other CB slot (Sheldon Price's slot) until Hester is fully ready.

Either way, I kind of like this move on our coaches part. It is always good to shake things up just a bit to look for potential solutions. Moreover, I don't consider this as a negative slight on Dye. Again, remember the kid is a true sophomore. The growing pains he is experiencing is a natural part of college football player's development process. I think the key is for his coaches to make sure they do what they can to give him a better understanding of their defensive schemes while also making him fight to get playing time on the field. More after the jump.

Staying with the defensive secondary, Aaron Hester was back in action in terms of getting reps against the scout team:

"It felt good getting back out there," said Hester, a 6-foot-1, 203-pound redshirt freshman. "That's what I was looking for. All I asked for was some reps so I can get a chance to prove myself."

Whether Hester will play Saturday against Arizona remains to be seen, but he said, "It is the coaches' decision. I feel I got my speed and I got my aggression, everything necessary to play."

Lake said he would watch and evaluate. Sheldon Price, a first-year freshman, has started the last three games.

"I need to see more," Lake said. "Today [Hester] got more work. He's rusty on things and we've made some adjustments. He needs to catch up in that regard."

I think some of the local reporters made a mountain out of mole hill (nothing new for these guys who are always looking for easy story lines) when Hester wasn't immediately worked into action on his first day of returning to practice. It appears that Carnell Lake was easing him into the mix and taking a "cautious approach":

"His first day was (Tuesday) for him but after being off for weeks with a broken leg, I wanted to eye him down myself to make sure that he was OK," secondary coach Carnell Lake said. "The first day back, I didn't want to do too much with him. Just do some individual drills and get off the field without setting him back."

Whether that plan was efficiently communicated to Hester might have been the reason for his displeasure Tuesday.

"Maybe I should have vocalized that for him but in my mind, a good first day was to let me evaluate him," Lake said. "I did that.

"What I really want to see is for him to keep his head in and keep working and keep competing. We've got a lot of guys out there that compete and he needs to be one of them."

I don't see what is wrong with UCLA coaches taking a cautious approach when it comes to he health of our football players. Lake's approach IMHO was perfect. It was the right thing to do on his part. It's too bad the reporters made it a big deal by playing on the quotes of a 18-19 year old sophomore. Guess not a surprise considering what we have seen from the press corp. that follows UCLA over the years.

Anyway, going back to the personnel shakeups, following Eddie Williams injury it looks like Neuheisel and Palcic are making Hasiak and Ekbatani compete for the right guard spot on our OL:

"We're competing in there," UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel said. "We've had a few guys come into my office wanting a spot. The guys want to play, want to get in there and help this team."

Hasiak particularly wants to regain the momentum he built during the summer, when he worked with the first team for much of training camp. With the emergence of sophomore Mike Harris at right guard, though, Hasiak ended up in a rotation with left guard Jeff Baca.

"Now I think I kind of got my aggressiveness back," Hasiak said. "The time in between when you're off, you kind of get too relaxed. That's what I did. I got too relaxed. But I'm getting it back. I'm real confident now; I feel I can go up against any front. I wouldn't even fret - I'm confident in my skills."

He is especially confident in his abilities lined up next to fellow true freshman Xavier Su'a-Filo, UCLA's standout left tackle.

The two behemoths played in postseason all-star games last year following their senior season, growing a friendship that has blossomed for months.

"Me and X kind of had a natural chemistry," Hasiak said. "It was something I noticed when we played in those two all-star games together. Being next to him, I'm comfortable. I know he's got my back if something's going that way; I never have to worry about him missing it."

Hasiak was in the trenches when Jet Ski exploded for that 74 yard TD sprint. From what I have seen it seems Ekbatani brings the experience and he also provides Palcic options because he is multidimensional. But I really like the nasty streak Stan seems to bring to our OL. When you mix him up with the X man and Kai Maivia, it gives us an OL life with an "attitude" we haven't had for years. So, would love to see more of Hasiak in there.

Lastly, as we are on the topic of attitude and offensive mindset Jon Gold from the Daily News has an nice profile on Kai Forbath. He sounds like a great kid who is working his reard end off to get better ... but really ... I hope we don't have to see his awesome kicks unless it is in a situation when we have to tie or win the game. Touchdowns not field goals will get us where we neet to go at the end of this season to call this year a successful one.

GO BRUINS.

More Thoughts On Goal Line Dynamics Around UCLA's Offense

Nestor — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:30:18 -0000

Photo Credit: Jim Boofer

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As you can tell the pace of this game week here on BN is a little different than the usual ones we had to start up the season. Normally by this time of the week we are completely focused on the opponent. This week has been different. Perhaps the obvious explanation is that it is very tough right now to be hopeful about stealing a win this Saturday in the desert. I am going to be watching the game. However, right now I am anticipating it with a total sense of dread with visions of either a debacle or another dispiriting loss in the hands of the Arizona Wildcats.

Another reason, I think it has been hard (at least for me) to get fired up about how our guys match up with the Wildcats is that right now I am not exactly sure what we are going to get from our team this coming Saturday. So perhaps it makes sense to keep the discussion going on what we can expect from our team. We have talked a lot about our defensive issues from last three weekends. Let's talk a little more about the offense. I will specifically try to tie up couple of thoughts I have read this week and then would love to hear what rest of you guys think.

Don't think I have seen any of you flag this yet but I thought a comment Baca made to the local reporter (in this case to Jon Gold in the Daily News) was kind of interesting:

"This offense is built to get first downs," Baca said. "We like to create drives; we're not that explosive offense that, say, an Oregon is. They make big plays. Huge plays. We put drives together and when we get in the red zone we struggle."

That comment kind of stood out to me because it seems like this year except for the Stanford and California game, our offense actually has done ok. Not steller. Just ok. They have been able to drive on the opponent and get down to the red zone. Even against Stanford and Oregon we had the chance of taking control of the game early when we were in the other's team end zone (well knocking on the door for 7 points). The outcomes of both of those contests had lot to do with the goal line dynamics of our offense. Which brings me to the second thought that I will share after the jump.

jtthirtyfour put up a great post on CRN's decisions on 4th and goal. Obviously there are reasonable disagreements on whether CRN should have gone for it in the three situations I singled out from last weekend's game. To me though BruinsRule's thoughts really resonated with me re. what kind of mindset the coaches need to have from hereon out:

Contrary to what Neuheisel said last year, punting is not winning (unless the alternative is throwing pick sixes so maybe for the 2008 Bruins it was true). Nor is kicking field goals. A field goal from inside the red zone as a net loss of 4 points that you had the opportunity to score. With all due respect to our All-American kicker, I don’t ever want to see him run out there to kick a 26-yard FG. I don’t want to see him more than twice in any game. 26-yard field goals lead to losses and exemplify failure (unless in the final 5 seconds of a game with the team tied or down 1 or 2 points). I’ve posted it before, but our biggest problem is not that we don’t score or that we give up too many scores, it’s that our opponents have a normal ratio of TDs to FG attempts (16:9), while we have an inverse ratio of TDs to FG attempts (11:18).

We are the only Pac-10 team with more FG attempts than TDs. We are tied with WSU for fewest TDs scored with 11. No other conference team has fewer than 18 TDs. Just how out of whack is our TD/FG attempt ratio? The median of the other 9 teams is 2.1 TD per FG attempt. The average is 2.2 TD to every FG attempt. Our ratio is 0.6 TDs per FG attempt.

I’ll end with one other chart. If you add up the number of TDs and FG attempts (scoring opportunities) per game for Pac-10 teams, we are in the ballpark of offensive success:

Cal: 5.83
AZ/ORE: 5.67
Stan 5.43
USC 5.33
OSU 5.17
UCLA 4.83
UW 4.71
ASU: 4.67
WSU: 3.17

Cal, leading the Pac-10, averages only one more scoring opportunity per game than we do. Cal has had, in essence 1.2 scoring opportunities to every 1 that we have had. Cal has scored 197 points to our 127, for a ratio of 1.55 to 1. If we scored TDs at the same rate as Cal does with its scoring opportunities, we would be scoring an extra 6.3 points per game.

Coach, we have a problem. We settle for too many field goals. Field goal kicking is losing. Punch it in. Do everything you can to punch it in.

Can't agree more with him on this. Of course this all comes back the point about execution:

"It's not about getting angry," Baca said. "We have the potential, we have the talent. When we get down there, on some drives, we just don't do it. One drive, we go offsides on first down. That killed our drive. We can't do those things - we don't execute our plays when we need to."

So what does that mean for our team? What can they do this week and beyond to ensure they are doing a much better job of executing and punching it in against future opponents? Is there a reasonable basis for being being hopeful that our offensive execution will improve dramatically this coming weekend giving our team an early start this weekend? Any more thoughts on the the goal line dynamics around UCLA offense that we have been witnessing during this football season?

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Bye Week Practice Notes

Nestor — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:14:46 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Jet Ski working on holding on to the rock

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Bruins continue to use the bye week to work on fundamentals and slowly work in players who went down with injuries during late summer camp. I am assuming coaches are quietly putting together their scouting report (if they haven't done it already) for Stanford but they are not talking about the Cards to reporters yet. Moreover, they are probably not going to work on installing that specific game plan until next week because they will want to make sure that it stays fresh in our players' minds, and might throw in wrinkles after what they see in the Stanford-Washington matchup.

So going back to working on basics Johnathan Franklin has been focusing on holding on to the rock. Jet Ski despite his great start has had some issues with fumbling. He almost gave the game away in Tennessee when he fumbled near our own goal-line (but was lucky enough to recover it). He then fumbled again during the fourth quarter against KSU this past week (but by that time UCLA was up by 14 points against a mediocre KSU offense). He is not going to be able to get away with making those mistakes in brutal Pac-10 matchups. Foster from the LAT reports on how Jet Ski is "working on keeping a firm grip":

"He knows the consequences of putting the ball on the ground," running backs coach Wayne Moses said. "You can't do that to your teammates, he knows that."

Franklin, who had 119 yards rushing against Kansas State, said he has to "be more aware as far as putting two hands on the ball and holding it high and tight."

Both fumbles came on runs through the line.

"It's a wake-up call," Moses said. "Once you get into traffic, you have to cover up. Once they get you and start ripping and stripping, if you don't have two hands on the ball, you're not going to hold on to it."

Again it also helps that he is being pushed by a deep stable of tailbacks as 4 guys are fighting for playing time. Hopefully his focus on this aspect of the game will pay off in the coming weeks. This is all part of the development of a first year (red-shirt freshman) running back. Well our running backs have been finding some holes to run through this season thanks to a revamped OL. Looks like the OL might be getting another boost in the near future. Find out how after the jump.

Mentioned yesterday how Coach Palcic was excited about getting Ekbatani back in his rotation. Jon Gold froom the Daily News expands on that story today:

Well, Ekbatani is back, and along with him, some of that depth.

"To get him back means more competition, more rotating, and it is killer," said sophomore left guard Jeff Baca. "He's a senior, a returning starter, the only guy who started 12 games last year, and he's a special player."

With his versatility, no position is safe.

While Ekbatani primarily rotated at guard Wednesday, Ekbatani is what Palcic truly values: an offensive lineman who can play everywhere.

"I'll fit in wherever they need me; I've played every position since I've been here, and whoever's lagging I can fit in for," said Ekbatani, who started the first six games of 2008 at right tackle before switching to starting right guard for the final half year. "It will create some good competition, get guys going."

And speaking of getting guys going, Reginald Stokes, who tore his right knee cartilage back in August and expected to miss at least half the season, is apparently making "fast recovery." He has been practicing with the team this week and took part in full-contact drills yesterday. From the LA Times:

"I’m close," said Stokes, a 6-foot-3, 266-pound junior. "I’m starting to do a little bit here and there and ease myself back."

But asked if he could play against Stanford next week, Stokes said, "As of today, yes."

While that is pretty amazing, CRN is being cautious:

Coach Rick Neuheisel said Stokes was way ahead of schedule, but was more cautious about an immediate return. Stokes was ticketed for a key role off the bench, but the Bruins have received solid play from redshirt freshman Damien Holmes.

"The trainers earlier this week were less than optimistic that he would play," Neuheisel said. "But it is in Reggie’s heart to make sure he makes it all the way back. I’m encouraged that he did well [Tuesday]. I’d be pleasantly surprised if he is at full speed and ready next week."

Either way this is great news. I personally thought after an injury like that he would just sit out this season with a medical redshirt and come back next year. I am sure CRN will do the right thing by taking the cautious approach under counsel of some of the best doctors in the country.

However, given the excitement from this past few weeks and seeing how the team is so fired up, excited behind Neuheisel, can't blame the kid for doing everything he can to get himself back in action. Who doesn't want to be part of something like this?

GO BRUINS.

Game Day Roundup: "Ready Or Not, Here We Come"

Nestor — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:37:44 -0000

If last Saturday was the most anticipated opening game in recent UCLA football history, this Saturday arguably is the most anticipated UCLA road game since the appearance in Tuscaloosa in 2001. At this point, the pressure is pretty much off our Bruins. I wrote yesterday about how national pundit(s) are overwhelming picking Tennessee to beat UCLA. The Sports Network preview (offered up by SBN) also has UCLA losing by double digits (17-30). Not to anyone's surprise Lee Corso has already picked Tennessee to win. So again, we have nothing to lose which sets it up for a possible Saturday where we can just let it lose and hopefully have some fun.

Coach Neuheisel has essentially been making the same points about enjoying the experience to his team all week:

"Do I have a choice? Ready or not, here we come," Neuheisel said. "We have to go and play and I don't want them to be nervous about it. I want them to go and enjoy the dang experience and I think we're going to do that."

CRN wants his players to embrace the excitement of playing infront of 100,000+ rabid college football fans:

"Do I have a choice? Ready or not, here we come," Neuheisel said. "We have to go and play and I don't want them to be nervous about it. I want them to go and enjoy the dang experience and I think we're going to do that."

While doing their best to focus on execution (espescially on what he terms the "practical things"):

"A lot is made of it. It's going to be no secret to our players that it's going to be loud," Neuheisel said. "I don't think making this seem like this is a mountain we have to climb is the right way. We address it. We deal with the practical things in terms of snap counts and trying to make checks as an offense."

At least from their public statements, pretty clear our guys are buying into that message.

Kevin Prince is relishing the opportunity:

"It's nerve-wracking because you want to go in there and perform well, win and really establish the UCLA program, but you can't let all that pressure get to you," Prince said. "I think it will grab a lot of people's attention if we can go in and knock them off. It's a big-time opportunity."

While Price sounds ready for the onslaught from the Volunteers:

"They're going to come in gunning for us and they're going to want revenge," UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price said. "I know I would if I was in their position, having lost to a team they weren't supposed to lose to, but we'll be ready for that."

Chris Foster from the LAT has more on how seniors such as Carter, Paulsen, and ATV are doing what they can to preach the mindset of being mature, composed so that they can minimize the self-inflicted wounds in UCLA's prior nightmarish experiences in big time road trips.

While the seniors are preaching maturity, true freshmen such as Carroll, Presley and Thigpen are going to be anxious to flash their speed and athletcism. It's pretty clear from last week's game that the coaches are going to do what they can to incorporate them into the game plan. Per the LAT CRN has been spending some extra time with Morrell Presley this week:

Neuheisel would like to get speedy freshmen Morrell Presley, Randall Carroll and Damien Thigpen entirely up to speed. All appeared in the season opener, but none played a significant role in the 33-14 victory over San Diego State.

Presley is a particularly desirable commodity because his speed and 6-foot-4, 219-pound frame can cause matchup problems.

"He just needs to be more comfortable with assignments and the nuances of the position," Neuheisel said. "He's a guy who can impact a game."

Neuheisel spent extra time this week working individually with Presley on improving his catching ability.

"They want me to think, but not think too much to where I don't know what I'm doing," Presley said. "It's hard to go from high school, being dominating and getting the ball every other play, and then go start at the bottom. When I get a chance, I have to embrace it."

Here is to Presley pouncing on it when the opportunity comes his way today. Again all he has to remember that he needs to focus on having fun and executing the game plan because the pressure is all on the other team to make an emphatic statement.

The LAT is playing usual role of concern trolling and remind UCLA that history is not on our side:

History is not on UCLA's side. The Bruins have a 6-12-3 record south of the Mason-Dixon Line, not counting bowl games.

They are 3-7-2 on the road against Southeastern Conference teams, with victories in Alabama (2001), Tennessee (1978) and Florida (1941).

Meanwhile, Jon Gold from the Daily News reached out to Cory Paus, the last Bruin QB who helped pull out that win against a team from the SEC. Paus had the following words for Kevin Prince:

"All I would tell him is stick to what you know," said Paus, who started seven games as a redshirt freshman and split time in two others. "Pay attention. Focus. Believe it. Listen to your coaches."

Again from their words this week, it sounds like they are listening (and also taking note of how everyone is counting them out):

The Bruins have a little more (emotion) now, seeing as they are eight-point underdogs against a team they beat just last season.

"I'm sure they've got that in their minds," Bosworth said. "But we have that in our minds, too, that nobody thinks we can win. Even last year, nobody thought we could win. When we did, a lot of jaws dropped. But people still doubt us."

They will, unless UCLA pulls out a tough road victory.

They will, until the team proves things have changed around Westwood and even Knoxville.

"We're all buying into this," UCLA sophomore offensive lineman Jeff Baca said. "We have to get this program back to the top, where it belongs. Hopefully, this is our season right here. This is our hype, bringing UCLA back up to the top."

And it starts with Rocky Top.

Ready or not, here we come.

GO BRUINS.

Nothing To Lose For UCLA: The Pressure Is On Lane Kiffin's Tennessee

Nestor — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:22:50 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Under Pressure

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It's been a lot of fun talking about tomorrow's game the whole week. I am pretty sure I am not the only who have enjoyed going back and forth with the Tennessee fans here on BN talking about different aspects of tomorrow night's matchup. I think the respectful and friendly banter we have had here is lot more fun and refreshing than the state SEC-Pac-10 smack talk we often see gets littered through the message boards and blogs all over the internets (and I will be honest when BN launched, I myself got sucked into it before finding it was getting boring and stale).

Anyway I will tip my hat to the passion of the Tennessee fans for their football program. That's the kind of stuff that makes college football (and basketball) so special and so much more compelling than its professional counterparts. However, I have got to say there is one aspect of the game, going into tomorrow night that could be working in UCLA;s favor. Yeah, I have already wrote this week how I just don't see UCLA pulling out a victory given our recent record and our roster full of freshmen and first time starters on offense. I don't blame the Tennessee fans who think it's reasonable to expect 10 point win. If I were them I'd be feeling the same way too (inside). However, here is the thing, these (reasonable) expectations on the part of Tennessee fans will put enormous squarely on the shoulders of Lane Kiffin and his entire football team. Hooper from RockyTopTalk writes "why UCLA is the game that matters" for Lane's Volunteers (emphasis added):

UCLA exposed Tennessee last year, if only by virtue of being the first team with the opportunity to shish Clawbob the offense. This is now the second year under Neuheisel for the Bruins, and the second year is usually the breakout year for a team, which means they theoretically have a legitimate shot at repeating last year's heartbreak. UCLA is also a westerly nonconference opponent, and a big name at that. It's always been a point of UT pride to play (and win) marquee nonconference games, and a loss here would run the record to 1-3 against the PAC-10 in four years, with the last three being losses. There is a lot riding on UCLA specifically: revenge, conference pride, and a realistic measuring stick of our new team.

But a loss to UCLA would also bring shades of Tennessee's greatest disappointment: losing early and being out of contention. Normally, this honor has belonged to the Florida Gators, where the third game loss knocks Tennessee down the polls and causes them to trail in the standings, but UCLA can bump the heartbreak up a week, with the added bonus of removing all hope leading into Florida week. We would be looking forward to a two-week losing streak to a California team and that team, with only the pelt of the newest 1-A team in hand.

A win against UCLA, however, would reverse the equation. While the Florida loss is still the most likely scenario, beating UCLA would undoubtedly show Tennessee to be improved from last year (for while it's a home game, UCLA is a better team this year than last). A solid win would place the trend squarely on the path toward relevance again, and a Florida loss would become nothing more than a bump in the road while we wait for the recruiting chimera to rebuild the program.

So in short, beating UCLA gives Lane Kiffin all the time he'll need to prove his worth, while a loss would re-open old wounds and bring back all the doubt and misery of seasons past.

And I can't agree with hooper any more. This is a MUST WIN game for Lane and the Volunteers. There is no way around it. So the pressure is going to be intense on them early on to come out and take a big lead. If they don't, that pressure is only going to get more severe and creep all over into the zeitgesit of Volunteer nation.

On other hand for our Bruins, all we are looking at this point is to come out and fight. If they come out and fight, minimize their mistakes in all aspects of the game, and can put together some scoring drives early on, keeping the defense fresh and hungry, we are only going to get more confidence. So in terms of a psychological mindset, Bruins couldn't be in a better shape heading into tomorrow's game. More after the jump.

Again the key for the Bruins will be to soak in the crazy atmosphere, but remain as calm as possible and take it all in stride:

The main goal for UCLA, though, will be to soak in the Neyland Stadium atmosphere for roughly one play. One play is all head coach Rick Neuheisel will afford his players the luxury of being overwhelmed. Any longer, and the Volunteers will pounce.

"I think it will be a factor until the game starts," sophomore offensive lineman Jeff Baca said. "Once we get that first play and everybody's focused, concentrated, locked in, we'll be ready to go. I don't think the crowd will be a factor then."

Oh, but it will.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince will surely be nervous. Redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Franklin will certainly be jittery. Sophomore wide receiver Taylor Embree wants them to be.

"If you're not pumped up to play a game like this, you don't have a pulse," Embree said. "There's such thing as being too overhyped, though. You've got to be hyped up, but at the same time remain calm."

It sounds easy but we will see if they can get it done. As I said above though, the pressure is going to be on their counterparts to go for the kill early. They are going to come out fired up and do whatever it takes to strike first and then build on it. In contrast, we have to weather the initial storm , stay focused, and do what we can to execute the game plan.

No doubt the Volunteers will be the heavy favorites because of their home turf. However, if these teams were matchuped in a neutral field, in terms of over all talent, they would be about even (perhaps Tennessee with a slight edge in experience). I am sure the coaches will hammer those facts into the mindset of our team. Plus given the reports we got out of practices this year, it seemed that our young guys are fearless with a little bit of nasty streak.

At the end of the day, this is all supposed to be fun. Here is CRN yesterday:

"I want it to be fun," Neuheisel said. "I think noise is exciting. It means people have passion and they are there to see you."

It should be fun for our team because the pressure is on the other side. The pressure is on Kiffin(s) and the Volunteers to make a statement validating their new regime. If they can't make that statement early in that game, the pressure is only going to build throughout the evening.

I still don't think we will have enough to pull out a victory tomorrow. I am pretty much in agreement with bobo_the_vol who wrote earlier this week, ou can’t fill a cupboard as empty as UCLA’s was when Neuheisel arrived in just one or two shopping trips." We have had enough discussions on that specific point during last few years on BN. So no doubt we are going to be the underdogs tomorrow night taking on a traditional SEC powerhouse infront of the whole nation. So might as well enjoy it, play with passion and all out aggression (with poise and discipline).

Let's have some fun. We got nothing to lose because the pressure is on them.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Depth Chart Notes For San Diego State

Nestor — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:00:08 -0000

Well the game week is off to a roaring start. Thanks to everyone who stepped up to show support for our gutty little Bruin. This spirit and camaraderie in this community is pretty awe inspiring. As mentioned in the comment thread even though we went past our goal, let's keep it going letting the little guy know we are all thinking about him heading into Saturday.

Speaking of Saturday here are the official notes from UCLA and San Diego State. We don't have any new updates on the fire situation beyond what we blogged yesterday. If you hear any updates today please make sure to fire it up in the fanposts, fanshots or comment threads. My gut feeling is that we will have a game. Certainly the Bruins want to play. They want to play badly. See Hasiak's comment to Jon Gold (who again is doing a great job at the Daily News):

"We'd be pretty fierce if we didn't get to play Saturday. We wouldn't have it. We'd be pissed, practicing all summer, real hard, getting ready for a team we know nothing about. Everybody would be pretty much heated. We'd be waiting for the next game, definitely."

This kid might be a true freshman but he sounds like a natural leader. I also love his fierce competitiveness. Remember we have already heard stories about how he had no problem going toe to toe with Brian Price during the training camp. He lost out the starting position for the time being to Jeff Baca (after sitting out couple days due to stinger in his shoulder). But I wouldn't count him out. Anyway ... moving on.

Also another depth chart issue got settled yesterday (at least for now). Dye is going to get the start at SS:

Tony Dye may have to wait a few days to get the official nod, but all signs point to him starting at strong safety.

Dye spent Monday's practice working with the first team, and even defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough was having a hard time keeping alive the competition between Dye and Glenn Love.

"Right now, [Dye] has been playing better," Bullough said. "Until the other guy steps up, he is leading the competition."

Dye, a redshirt freshman, has some experience as the team's nickel back. He combined that applied knowledge with some basic study skills and came to camp ready to win the job.

"I got in the film room and I got into the play book," Dye said. "I've dragged that big, old play book up to my room every night."

Can't wait to see Tony out there on Saturday. Here is the full depth chart is now out for the San Diego State game. Some of my quick thoughts:

The youth movement is obvious at the flanker/split end positions where 7 of the 8 guys are either sophomore of freshmen. Terrence Austin (who has embraced his mentor role) is the only upperclassman in that group.
Interesting to see Jeff Baca also listed as backup at LT and RT. I think it means that Palcic has probably settled on 6-7 men rotation which will include Stan Hasiak and when Hasiak is in Baca will slid into one of those tackle positions. Here is what Baca had to say about it:
"Being in this scheme is pretty universal, everybody almost has the same job," Baca said. "That helps a lot, switching positions. The gap zone part of it, I wouldn't say it's easier, but if you just play your gaps, you're good."
Guess another way to look at despite the infusion of young talents at OL, we are going to need more blue chippers so that kids like Baca doesn't have to back up multiple positions.
Looks like Dalton Hilliard is officially part of the DB crew listed behind Moore and Ware at the FS spot.
It will be interesting to see how the coaches use Presley. He is currently listed at the 5th spot at TE (where there is a log jam). I am guessing he might be linning up as a receiver sometime on Saturday?
Not a shocker (since we have gone over this endlessly during last few weeks). We are thin in the defensive front-7.

Meanwhile, San Diego State also released it's depth chart (PDF) for our game. What stuck out to me was their size on defense. Remember they are going to playing that 3-3-5. Their front-3 stack up like this: LDE B.J. Williams at 240, DT Ernie Lawson at 270, and RDE Jonathan Soto at 260. So the Bruins will definitely have size advantage up front. The question will be whether our offense which is going to feature so many new staters will be able to handle the chaos of 3-3-5.

As mentioned yesterday, the Aztecs are going to be flying all over defense. Their LBs/DBs are going to guess a number of times and they will get it right every now and then. I can definitely see situations where their defense will come up with big plays. The key is going to be how our offense will react. It will come down to our OL imposing its will on their defensive front and opening it up for our tailbacks. The game will also present an opportunity to show what kind of game mobility Kevin Prince has. I think there will be some occasions where he might have to roll out a bit to avert pressure and locate the open targets.

In other words, T.J. Simers can BS all he wants. The fact is that given the Bruins are going to be facing a pretty unpredictable defense with so many new starters on Saturday this game is not a gimme. I sure hope the players are focused and ready to go. They sure sound excited. Hope it will translate into smart and aggressive football on Saturday.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: UCLA Scrimmage Wrap-up & Other Football Notes

Nestor — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:20:49 -0000

So let's start with the scrimmage which was held at Spaulding instead of the Rose Bowl due to heat and fire related concerns in Southern California. Looks like the offense got off to a sloppy start tight after with two straight penalty calls (delay of game and then an offside by OL Eddie Williams). However, the guys recovered and ended up having a decent outing. From the LA Times:

There were improvements. "We scored a touchdown, that's an improvement," offensive coordinator Norm Chow said.

But there were enough problems to prompt Coach Rick Neuheisel to say that the offense is on schedule, but, "I think guys realize we are not game-ready yet. I think that's a call to arms over the weekend while they get a little rest."

The first-team offense had a respectable 45 yards rushing in 11 carries, with tailback Johnathan Franklin getting 34 yards. But it came against UCLA's second-team defense, which had three converted offensive linemen and a walk-on freshman as a front four.

Quarterback Kevin Prince had a wobbly day. He completed nine of 13 passes for 73 yards but was hardly sharp. He also had a screen pass intercepted.

"I thought he was better [than in last week's scrimmage], but there were still a couple balls he should have let go," Neuheisel said.

Prince directed a 50-yard scoring drive, completing all three of his passes for 48 yards. Milton Knox scored on a two-yard run

You can check out the full stats courtesy of Jon Gold in the Daily News blog. Per that post Prince was 8 of 12 for 69 yards. Also noteworthy, per LAT's blogpost, "Morrell Presley, playing on the second team, had a 15-yard touchdown reception and also had a 21-yard reception that set up Knox’s touchdown run." That's not a bad way for Morrell to come back after he had a quiet scrimmage last weekend. We are going to need him right away in the first game, especially considering Ketchum might be out due to a hamstring injury.

Another stat that stuck out to me was how at least 4 running backs got 5 carries or more (Franklin, Knox, Thigpen and Sheppard). Looks like coaches are living up to their word about trying out the tailback committee for now until someone emerges as the regular back on game days. I am hoping this means we get to see a nice rotation of Coleman, Franklin, Knox and perhaps even Thigpen against San Diego State.

Bruins still have a long way to go though. They will have to work out their kinks wrt to penalty related issues. "Communication" is going to be an issue this season, at least for a few games sicne we are going to have a brand new OL playing together first time at UCLA. More on those guys after the jump.

Seems like at OL, Mike Harris made most out of the opportunity he received this week to practice with the first team. Palcic might be going with Harris in the starting five along with Hasiak against San Diego State. From the Daily News:

After practicing with the second offensive unit for much of the preseason, redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Mike Harris is scheduled to start at right tackle, with Stanley Hasiak at left guard and now Jeff Baca backing up both.

Offensive line coach Bob Palcic, though, said he and Neuheisel still needed to review the scrimmage tape and then would decide on official starters by Monday.

"I'm going to make one final meeting with coach Neuheisel to see which direction we're going," Palcic said. "Harris or Baca at tackle and Baca or Hasiak at left guard. We'll make the decision this weekend.

"We wanted to give them all an opportunity. That was the purpose of the scrimmage, and it's whoever played best in the scrimmage. I gave them all work with the ones, and whoever played best in the scrimmage will start next Saturday."

That sounds pretty fair. For his part, Mike sounds confident:

"I feel like it's my spot, and I'm going to do whatever it takes. Last year, I was a freshman, new at things, but I feel prepared for this upcoming season. I'm excited and ready to get this offense rolling again. I think it was my whole body of work; I was injured in spring ball, but I came ready in this summer camp. Every day I went hard, and the coaches saw that they can count on me."
Harris, who started five games last season, believes his familiarity gives him the edge over some of UCLA's younger players, though he is potentially unseating Jeff Baca, who started eight games last season.
"I think my experience is a big factor. I know what to expect, especially starting against USC last year. I know what it takes to be successful. It will take a lot of hard work and a lot of limiting mental errors."

I am assuming we will see the official depth chart sometime early next week after the coaches have gone over the tapes from yesterday's scrimmage. We will get a better idea on starting line up and rotation as we really start focusing on the Aztecs.

Lastly, have to end this round up with a sad note. From Jon Gold in the DN:

Foster Louis Bosworth Jr., the grandfather of Korey and Kyle Bosworth, passed away yesterday in Texas. The Bosworths will remain with the family for a few days, and are expected to return for practice on Sunday.

Their GrandDad was "instrumental" in Korey and Kyle's lives (per Gold's post). Obviously thoughts and prayers from the entire BN goes out to Kyle, Korey and their family.

GO BRUINS.

2009 UCLA Football Post-Camp Grades: OL

Ryan Rosenblatt — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:00:11 -0000

All eyes are on the big uglies who could take a MASSIVE step forward and be average. Photo Credit: E. Corpuz

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We've taken a look at three positions so far. There was the quarterbacks, the receivers/tight ends and the running backs, but now it's time for the most interesting of the units by far. The offensive line was the worst unit last year, probably has the biggest upgrade in talent this year and is just as inexperienced as the rest of the offense. That inexperienced is then magnified ten fold because experience is paramount on the offensive line. I still believe though that it's always talent over experience, although I wouldn't mind both.

Offensive Line

Our hopes, our dreams, our nightmares. All three three can adequately describe a UCLA fan's thoughts about this offensive line. One thing I will guarantee you is that the line will be much improved. The other thing I can guarantee you is that there is little depth so praying to whatever god, inanimate object or reality TV star you choose wouldn't be the worst idea. I've begun to sense a common theme with this UCLA team and it is never more present than with the offensive line. There is inexperience to go around. Let's consider our starters. At left tackle, we have Xavuer Su'a-Filo, a true freshman. At left guard we have Stanley Hasiak, another true freshman. At least there's some experience at center with Kai Maiva, who's a redshirt sophomore. Uh oh. If redshirt sophomore is experience is experience then we're in trouble. It's okay though because at right guard we have a junior. Sure, it's Eddie Williams, a JC transfer who has never played a down of D-1 football, but this is 2009 UCLA football where we take any "experience" we can get. Plus, next to him we have Jeff Baca who is a sophomore, but did get significant playing time last year.

The best part about this offensive line is that there are really low expectations. I mean, it would take true talent to be worse than last year's offensive line and just in training camp you can already tell that this offensive line is better. I'm not even going to get into physical talent, maturity or potential to get into this offensive line's improvement. This offense line has an attitude that surpasses anything the Bruins had last year. Going against a good defensive line and a monster in Brian Price each day in practice is a solid excuse to struggle, but struggling was not acceptable for this group of offensive linemen. They expected to put a hat on hat and push the defensive line back. They expected Kevin Prince to have a nice pocket each and every time he stepped back to throw. When that didn't happen, there was never an excuse, but rather anger at themselves. This offensive line expects excellence and they expect it this year, even if it virtually unattainable. The fact is that this offensive line is built for the future, but they believe the future is now and that is as good of an attitude as they can have. They're mean, they're tough and they're going to knock you around. Well, maybe not, but they sure believe so.

Now getting into the physical tools and you're amazed at what you see on the left side of the line. Su'a-Filo is an absolute monster of a man, but moves gracefully. He has such quick feet that he isn't even beaten off the edge by blitzing linebackers much. his technique and balance needs to get better as he was beaten by spin moves and twists at times, but that will come with reps. The tools are there in spades and you can see the smile on offensive line coach Bob Palcic's face when he puts it together for a play. He knows he's got something special in Su'a-Filo. For all his skills though, he may not be better than the man next to him, Hasiak. Hasiak is a more astute run blocker who gets good drive and can deal defensive tackles pretty well. His use of leverage is superior to any offensive lineman that UCLA has recruited in at least five years. He also struggled with twists and blitz pick ups, but it will come with reps, just like Su'a-Filo.

Williams is far more developed than either freshman. His JC coaches taught him well and while he had some issues dealing with the speed of a D-1 defense, he did better dealing with it as camp went on. For a guy with his type of feet I expected better pass blocking, but he was adequate. He did well run blocking though and was exceptional when asked to pull or get his hat on a linebacker. To his right will be the uber-versatile Baca who has played all over the line despite having not even begun his sophomore year yet. Baca was arguably the sole bright spot on the offensive line last year and he has put on some muscle since his freshman campaign. He has quick feet and does well dealing with ends trying to come off the end, but is not yet as strong as he needs to be so power moves give him trouble, as does getting any drive in the running game.

The Bruins have little depth on the offensive line. Losing Micah Kia for the year is a real killer, not just from a playing perspective, but he has established himself as an emotional leader for the unit. Mike Harris will have to show the ability to play multiple positions to deal with the lack of depth, as will Nick Ekbatani when he gets healthy. While it would be best if Nick Abele could redshirt, the freshman who caught Palcic's eye early on could be forced into action with an early season injury.

Grade: C- There is a serious chance that this unit could be average this year, which would be a remarkable step forward. It's closer to a D+ then it is a C, but I always lean towards talent over experience. The putridity of last year's offensive line cannot be overstated, but the same could be said for the potential of this year's offensive line. The line has serious depth problems though and is ripe with inexperience, but that's the state of UCLA football in 2009. Inexperience reigns so at least we're consistent.

Poll

What would you grade the UCLA offensive line?

A

10 votes

B

80 votes

C

207 votes

D

78 votes

F

14 votes

389 votes | Poll has closed