SB Nation - Datone Jones

Early Defensive Reflections On 2009 Regular Season

Nestor — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:58:27 -0000

Shifting attention back to football, I want to pick up our discussion from the team's performance in the last game. We talked about offense earlier in the week, let's focus a little on our defense. I went ahead and looked up the numbers of our defense from 2009 season and compared it numbers from 2008 when Dewayne Walker was in charge. Here is how they shape up:

Got the numbers from NCAA's website (2009 and 2008).

When you look at those numbers keep few factors in mind:

We faced an Oregon team that came into Rose Bowl without Masoli (Ugh).
The game against Stanford our defense at least on scoreboard looked all right, but if you delve into boxscore a bit and watched the game, you will remember Stanford dominated the time of possession the entire game. Our defense got thoroughly manhandled in the first half and they looked a little better in the second due to a combination of Stanford letting off the gas pedal a bit and also due to some adjustments on our part
On the positive side this year the defense didn't have annual Dewayne Walker special meltdowns like the 0-59 disaster we had in Provo.

Still looking at those numbers, it appears Chuck Bullough despite all the criticisms (and I believe many of them are on point) did a servicable job of replacing Dewayne Walker. He can actually make credible arguments that his defense actually performed better under him this year than it did under Walker the previous year. Given those numbers, I would have to think he will come back for next season, when he will truly have to prove his coaching mettle without veterans such as ATV, Price, Jerzy, and Reggie Carter. That said, despite the solid performance against Southern Cal, I have some lingering concerns about our defense. More after the jump.

The performance against Southern Cal to me was essentially a replay of the performance against Oregon State. Remember we actually played pretty solid defense against an explosive Beavers offense up in Corvallis. Except for the TD we gave up in Wild-Beaver formation (which I don't understand why we weren't prepared for), our D had the Rodgers brothers bottled up for most of the day. It just all fell apart in that last drive. Yes, if ATV had executed that pick-6, the season would turn out to be even better. However, what happened to our defense after that dropped interception is disconcerting to me.

Same thing happened to our defense during that last TD drive (of course I am not referring to the cheap shot) Trojans put together a 9 play drive, when they sliced and diced right through our secondary in 4:11 long minutes, marching 73 yards for the game clinching TD. What was the common theme here which we saw in the Oregon State (and few other games this season)? It was the cushion our DBs were giving to opponent WRs. Matt Barkley had no problem completing those short, medium range passes, carving up our secondary. It's the same thing Sean Canfield did to our guys in that last drive. We saw in horror Kevin Riley beating ATV number of times at the Rose Bowl, when he was giving up 8-9 yard cushion to Cal receivers.

I didn't get what Bullough was thinking in all those instances. Particularly against the Trojans and Beavers, when our defense had solid outing through most of the game, bringing in pressure from different directions, and generally stuffing the run. I didn't understand the urge to play vanilla, conservative defensive schemes with games on the line, going away from strategy that had been working all day. I am assuming that's a question Bullough and our coaches including CRN have been reflecting on during these past few days.

Watching our defense this season, I also got the sense that Bullough's scheme as heavily crticized as they were by us and others throughout the season, could turn out to be more effective if he gets few more explosive athletes in his disposal in next couple of years, and get the current corp of underclassmen to physically develop in next two years. Sheldon Price had a rough first year (although he showed some signs of improvement). He needs to get stronger so he can provide better run support. Hopefully we will get a healthy year out of Aaron Hester next season. I think our secondary under Moore and Dye's leadership is going to be all right.

The real question right now is at our front-7. Coaches are going to count on Datone Jones to anchor a line that will deeply miss the presence of Price and Jerzy. Joining Jones will be David Carter, Luta Tepa, and Keenan Graham. Those who have been going to practices this year are very high on Graham. Coaches are also hitting the recruiting trail hard to pick up few more DLs as observers are speculating Bruins can bring in as many as 8 DLs in this LBs. As for LB, anxious to see what kids like Isiah Bowens and Todd Golper can bring to the table next year. In terms of experience, I think it will be players like Westgate and Sloane joining Ayers in the front-7, but no doubt the recruits from this past two years are going to get their shots.

My main wish next year though is for Bullough to grow some more confidence so that he has the courage to try out different things in different games. I was encoraged towards the end of the season when the tried different looks with Akeem Ayers in Washington and Arizona State games, discovering how effective he can be as a hybrid DE/LB. He needs to experiment like that a little more, doing his best to make sure we get the best possible combination of force/athleticism on the field.

Anyway, we will have more to discuss on this topic in both short and long term here on BN after we figure out our bowl prospects. If we have a bowl game that will give us an opportunity to discuss it in the context of preparation for next opponent. If not then focus will shift towards recruiting. I really hope we get to see these guys one more time on the field this year though. I get the sense that our defense is itching to get out there for one more game this season to close it out on even better note.

GO BRUINS.

Sunday Reflections: Resilient Bruins Keep Battling Away

Nestor — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:29:43 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Dear Coach Neuehisel: How About Sticking With Those Home Jerseys Rest Of This Season?

Browse more photos »

Let's hit the reset button again this am. For last few weeks we have seen the UCLA beat reporters working hard to weave the storyline about how Rick Neuheisel is losing control of the UCLA football program. We have had the LA Times making a big deal out of a frustrated true freshman's twitter post. We have had Trojan alum posing as OC Register reporter running wild with unverified face book musings of a frustrated parent's as some kind of legitmate news story. Piling on top of those nonsense Rick Neuheisel and our football program have had to deal with routine classless attacks from LAT's TJ Slimers on a weekly basis.

If the UCLA football program were truly "falling apart", it would have quit a long time ago and got blown apart in Arizona or in Oregon, and walk around like zombies at the Rose Bowl during their home coming game yesterday. Yet game after game, we see these guys battling away. While the defensive tentativeness, silly penalties often make me want to throw my remote into the TV screen, these guys keep fighting back every game. They almost pulled it out last weekend when ATV had a chance to put the Bruins ahead in a heart pumping win. They got it done yesterday when Sheldon Price, who has been deservedly criticized all season long, played a huge part in the game clinching interception. Price and Moore's efforts yesterday were the hallmark of a football team, that not only appear resilient, but united under Neuheisel's leadership in Westwood:

"It's called teamwork, man, and teamwork makes the dream work," Moore said. "That two-minute drill, we do that in practice all the time. That's the camaraderie we have with one another. I mean, Sheldon ran up to me and was like, `I love you, man. I love you, Rahim.' As a team, we've been through so much, to pull out this win is a blessing."

CRN offered up the following comment on UCLA's comeback after falling behind by a score of 14-23 without our starting QB:

"To keep coming back, to keep fighting like that, is easy to preach, it's harder to get done."

And than brings me to CRN's comments on Kevin Craft:

"He's been maligned," Coach Rick Neuheisel said of Craft in a television interview afterward, "but he keeps coming back, and that's what sports is all about."

Let's get something straight first. UCLA is now Kevin Prince's team (when he is healthy). Prince showed in the first half yesterday why Ryan and others were so hyped up about him coming into this season. Moreover, Brehaut's performance during that firs half series (more on that below) also vindicated Norm Chow and other observers who were steadfast in their conviction that Brehaut isn't ready to step up this season.

As fro Craft he had a solid day as a backup. He managed the game really well and allowed Chow to stick with his regular offense. However, at the same time there were spots when Craft showed why Prince is the starting QB for this football team. He missed an open Moya on 3rd and goal. His pass to Austin was slightly under thrown. Still it felt really good to see him get the win. Just like Sheldon Prince Kevin Craft is the picture of resiliency of this football program and proof how the players in this team have bought into CRN's leadership, despite some of nonsense the local reporters have tried to blow up out of proportion this season. More after the jump.

Going back to Brehaut it CRN is making sure the kid keeps his chin up:

"I got to hold onto the ball," said Brehaut, who also fumbled in his last play against Oregon State in the previous game. "I got to have a better thought in my mind. I have to take off running, I just can't hold onto the ball like that. Coach Neuheisel told me to keep my chin up, that he is still behind me."

Neuheisel, while not blaming Brehaut entirely, said, "Competition at this level requires a great deal of concentration and a great deal of preparation. . . . I told him I still had high hopes for him, and was still going to get him more playing time, but this is harder than he thinks it is right now in terms of preparing."

Brehaut will have his time before he is done in Westwood. I think the key for him right now is to take his cues from Craft and stay plugged in with the offense every which way he can. This means total concentration not just during practices but during every film sessions and meeting with Chow and Neuheisel when they are going over the offense.

As for other positives from yesterday let's start with the offense. Ryan laid out below how Nelson Rosario has emerged as a go to receiver in our rotation. Let's hope takes advantage of his confidence to maintain his concentration and focus. His emergence is also important for another reason. CRN can also offer him up as the clear example of what happens when a young player locks in with focus to kids such as Pressley and Carroll.

We now need a RB to step up. JetSki has fumbling issues. I wonder if some of this has to do with health. He hasn't been the same since he screwed up his ankle against Cal few weeks ago. Perhaps he is thinking too much when he is out there. He still does a solid job in terms of blitz pickup but he has to protect the ball. Obviously loved watching the Wildcat package with Milton Knox. Hopefully he gets into the mix even more in the remaining games. He looks a little unsure as a RB during regular formation but perhaps that will change if he gets more carries. Oh and welcome back Mr. Coleman.

I am not going to spend more time giving credit to the OL. They are clearly coming along and point to obvious sign of improvement from this past season. Anyone out there who wants to blather about this team not improving from last season, just has to look at our OL and the kind of time it is providing our QBs. They need to get better at run blocking but I am not too worried about it. Under Palcic's coaching it is going to happen over time.

My big complaint from the offense is unfortunately the seniors. We need Logan Paulsen to wisen up. He had a huge play yesterday but once again he committed stupid penalties that hurt the team. Seems like he has hurt the team with one dumb penalty for 3 straight weeks. It just shouldn't happen from someone who is looked up as one of the senior leaders in this team.

Moving over to the defense. While Price and Moore were the obvious stars from the defensive side, lot of issues remain. Washington's offense racked up 5.95 yards per play against Bullough's defense. While Bullough did mix in some blitzes later in the game (which yielded results) they looked throughly confused and on their heels at the outset. Chis Polk ran for 132 yards in 15 carries against our front 7 tearing them up every time he was touching the ball. Polk almost made it look too easy and I have to wonder why Sarkasian (the so called young offensive genius) didn't stick with the running game to bloody up our defense.

The huge problem right now with our base 4-3 is that our front-4 is not generating much pressure on their own. Brian Price is a monster but he is not getting much help from the other three guys. So it's a matter of deciding when to bring in our LBs or SS to rattle the opposing QB. That depends on Bullough thoroughly scouting the offensive schemes and the tendencies of the opposing QBs. Once again I was surprised why we waited long to bring pressure on Locker who clearly looked uncomfortable when he got a little heat. In fact one of his "sacks" was pretty much Jim Evertesque when he went down sensing Datone Jones around him.

As for ATV he got burned couple of times yesterday. I think that has to do with his health. He has been dealing with a dislocated toe he suffered few weeks ago. While he is all right, he is clearly not 100 percent. Same goes for Reggie Carter who even though played a decent game yesterday doesn't look 100 percent either. So, I think it goes back to Chuck Bullough making sure his defense doesn't look predictable when they come out of the game.

That brings me up to the topic of James Washington, the commentator. I am kind of sick and tired of the cheap shots that I often see hurled towards James here on BN and other places. People need to cut that nonsense out. I understand that James's voice, words choice are often not perfect for TV. I think he knows that too. Well many would say that about the Big Red during his early years of broadcasting career.

I can sense in listening to James that he is making an effort to get better. If you listen to him very closely, he offers some incredibly valuable insights based on his observations from practice. Particularly he is frank and candid. Multiple times yesterday he called out Chuck Bullough for not scheming aggressively and not bringing pressure to rattle Jake Locker. That doesn't happen from vanilla, boiler plate commentators who are afraid to offer up criticisms of coaches because of fear of losing access.

Listening to him, I get to hear an impassioned Bruin who loves everything about blue and gold, and who is offering his exact words he would offer up to young defensive back in blue and gold. James is doing all right and in many ways I find him as enjoyable as listening as Petros Papadakis when commenting on Pac-10 football games. So let's cut the cheap shots out against James Washington and reserve them for morons like David Norrie who is somehow ashamed to let out his UCLA colors while offering up commentary.

Anyway, back to our game. The season is clearly alive. However, right now on BN we need to make this week all about Washington State. We can't afford to get caught up in bowl projections because all of that will be moot if we don't get it done in Palouse which has always been a brutal place for our Bruins. I hope our fanbase and our team will be locked into next weekend's game like it's an NCAA tourney game. We need it badly. We will have to wait to see the word on Kevin Prince. The word from yesterday was that he was being treated for concussion like syndrome. Prince was feeling all right and was gracious towards Donald Butler:

Prince, who sat out four weeks this season because of a fractured jaw, said, "I remember diving and then I was on the ground and not feeling too good. I'm feeling all right now. As far as I know, it was a perfectly legal hit."

Hopefully he will be ready to go at practices and pick up on the same rhythm and total command he was in of our offense. It looked like things have slowed down for him a little as he was going to his secondary receivers.

Lastly, speaking of gracious, CRN had this to say after the game:

UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel stepped to the microphone as he does after every home game, and for the first time in weeks, he was welcomed with cheers.

His voice cracked, his hair messed, Neuheisel made a plea to all those who have jumped ship as one loss became five.

"For those of you who jumped off the bandwagon, I understand," Neuheisel yelled to UCLA's embattled fans. "I'm just asking you to get back on."

I think he is being too kind. I don't really want bandwagoning losers supporting our team, especially those who are openly talking about "throwing ... away" that last regular season game. We don't need those kind of "Bruins" here on BN.

If we can get Prince to come out in the same form and take care of business, we are going to find ourselves in pretty good shape on the eve of our last home game of the season. For now though, we just need to worry about Washington State and hope the team keeps building on the resilient spirit they have shown the entire season. Meanwhile, let's enjoy the ride.

GO BRUINS.

BN Game Day Roundup: Bounce Back Saturday?

Nestor — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:40:12 -0000

You know you have had a productive game week here on BN, when going through the morning papers on game day, it appears we had already exhausted discussion all angles and story lines heading into this afternoon's kickoff. Again we don't have any new themes to introduce this morning as Bruins prepare for another big and incredibly difficult Pac-10 matchup this afternoon at the Rose Bowl. We have talked about the Ducks' injury issues all week. I think they are going to be just fine even with the injuries given the depth they have built up in that program thanks to the stable leadership of Mike Bellotti which appears to be humming along just fine another Chip Kelly. The question on everyone's mind here on BN is whether our program and our boys, who are in the middle of a long and painful rebuilding process will be able to bounce back after a tough loss?

The OC Register's game day write up sets it up:

The Bruins have their own demons to get rid of as they try to right their ship after a disappointing loss at Stanford last Saturday. After that game, they sat throughout their locker room at Stanford Stadium looking like a team that wasn't sure what had just happened.

But after enduring an eight-loss season in 2008, the Bruins are smart enough to know that one setback isn't enough to trigger panic.

They used the week to regroup, refocus and regain the same pride that started to build after winning three consecutive games to start the season.

"After we lost Saturday, we had practices and we're trying to bounce back," said defensive end Datone Jones. "That's our motto, to bounce back.

"This is going to be a big test for UCLA football. Can we bounce back in a big game? We just have to go out there and execute."

Well a huge key to bouncing back will be the performance of Kevin Prince. Again, we all know the story line here. We have discussed it to death and have followed his updates including his daily diet following his injury almost on a day to day basis. Still here is the report from the Press Enterprise today:

"He's eager and he's very willing," Neuheisel said of Prince, whose replacement, Kevin Craft, combined to throw for one touchdown and 390 yards in a win over Kansas State the loss at Stanford.

Prince's teammates seem eager to get him back on the field.

"I love Kevin Prince, man," linebacker Reggie Carter said. "And I missed the Fresh Prince of Bel Air!"

What will the UCLA beat writers do when Reggie Carter moves on to the NFL. Who is going to be their next quote machine? lol Back to Prince, the key to his come back will not just center on how he reacts to the front line pressure of a tough Duck's defense. He is going to need a lot of help from his offensive line, that will have to give him time to find his receivers and open up holes for our backs. Hopefully the coaches will also help him out by putting together a game plan, which will look to take advantage of athleticism of some of your youngsters, which we have seen in spurts in first four game of the seasons. More after the jump.

Speaking of the Ducks defense, Ken Woody from the Register-Guard goes over couple of factors that migh help Duck's defense cover up the inexperiences of their defensive backs, a position that has been ravaged by injury in recent weeks:

Being able to rush the quarterback with four defensive linemen helps, because the secondary can play zone coverages that spread the responsibility for pass routes among all defenders.

One of Oregon’s top areas of improvement in the wins over California and Washington State was the rush of the Ducks’ front four, led by Kenny Rowe, who has quietly climbed the ladder in Pac-10 defensive stats. The contain has also been excellent, keeping the quarterback pinned between the tackles, which limits the time he has to throw and eliminates the secondary threat of scrambling.

Second, the free safety can play deep and be in a position to help the corner on routes across the middle, or long throws down the sideline.

UO safety John Boyett, a redshirt freshman, has played brilliantly in relief of T.J. Ward. Check to see if the Bruins go after the young Oregon corners, a possibility given the Ducks’ stout run defense, particularly on first down. When the ball is thrown deep, see if Boyett is in the vicinity, helping out his comrades who are stuck "on an island."

We have discussed one possible way for the Bruin offense to adjust to the Ducks pressure, which would be adding more dimension to their running attack by stretching the field and going outside. That also goes back to the idea of using the speed and athletcism of players such as Thigpen, Knox, Carroll, and Presley by getting them lose outside via reverses, bubble screens and quick toss to stretch out the field. We will see what Chow cooks up today.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, everyone is waiting to find out how the Bruin defense handle's Oregon's explosive spread offense (which should be potent even without Masoli under capable Nate Costa). From the LA Times:

"This offense makes you have to play," Carter said. "This week we stressed playing sound football and doing your job. If we're not doing our jobs, it can be real tough. They will hit seams if you're in the wrong gap."

Carter has seen the result of that. Masoli rushed for 170 yards against UCLA last season.

Costa gives the Bruins a different look. He gained 26 yards in six carries against Washington State, but completed seven of nine passes for 80 yards.

Still, UCLA defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough is stressing the same philosophy no matter who is running the spread.

"It makes you play assignment football," Bullough said. "Your assignment is to be in the right gap. If you get out of that gap, that's when they hit you. They want to get you in one-on-one solo tackle situations. So you have to tackle well. Play assignment football and make your solo tackles."

However, as jtthirtyfour pointed here Bruins will need to do a little more than just play assignment football. Our defense will need to mix it up a little and be prepare to switch their assignments, depending on how Oregon makes in game adjustments. This was an issue last weekend when the Bruin defense didn't seem to make the necessary adjustments early on allowing the Stanford offense to dominate until it was too late towards end of the third quarter. Moreover, as we have discussed all week (or actually the entire season), it will be imperative for the Bruin defense to set the tone and make a statement early on.

For more on the game here are the writeups from the LA Times, the Daily News, and SI.com. Also, it looks like at least one writer in Oregon thinks the team in blue has a chance to prevail this afternoon at the Rose Bowl. Hope he is right. Here is to a bounce back Saturday in BN. We will put up a pre game thread in about an hour and our game thread will go up around 12:00 pm PST.

GO BRUINS.

2009 UCLA Football Post-Camp Grades: DL

Ryan Rosenblatt — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:38:15 -0000

The entire offense has been graded and it doesn't look so bad. The results won't lead you to believe that we'll have an explosive offense and that's because we won't, but you can see mediocrity across the board for the most part and after last season, I'll take mediocrity. The quarterbacks got a C+, the receivers and tight ends an A, the running backs and fullbacks a B+ and the offensive line a C-. Not so bad. Now we go to to the defensive side where there is elite talent at the top in some spots, but little to no depth in just as many spots.

Defensive Line

Any defensive line that has Brian Price in the middle is going to make its fair share of plays, but one player alone cannot make every play and its the play of the other three along the defensive line that brings a shred of doubt into the mind of UCLA fans. You know what you're going to get from Price. The massive, agile, strong and tough junior defensive tackle from Crenshaw High School will be double teamed, but hold at the point of contact, shed his man and get on the ball carrier against the run. Against the pass, he will command double teams, but will be able to create a push up the middle to create an uncomfortable situation for the opposing quarterback as his pocket collapses. If they're double teaming Price though, opposing teams clearly respect him enough to avoid running at him regularly and will assign as many necessary to block him in the passing game. That means the other three guys along the front four will have to make plays because the opportunities will be there.

As we head into the season, the other starting defensive tackle position is held by Jerzy Siewierski, a senior who has played better than expected this camp and has given the coaching staff some comfort in the level of play next to Price. Siewierski has shown improved strength that has allowed him to hold the point much better and create problems for the offense. In the passing game, he hasn't quite gotten to the level where he's bringing down the quarterback, but he's moving the pocket and causing confusion in the backfield so the opposing quarterbacks are often moving into the path of other defensive players. The top two of the UCLA defensive tackles looks strong, but behind them there are serious questions.

Jess Ward was having a good camp, but his knee injury leaves his play in doubt for 2009. Whether he can regain the form he showed in camp before his injury will be one of UCLA's biggest questions heading into the season. Reggie Stokes is another guy who was having a good camp, especially with his intensity and motor before falling victim to injury. His injury is more serious than Ward and he may be back by midseason, but only in a best-case scneario. If Ward and Stokes are still injured or does not regain his form, the even more responsibility will fall to David Carter, who had a sensational camp to go from near afterthought to trust member of the defensive tackle rotation. Carter showed a better motor than he had before and was able to establish leverage on a more regular basis despite being 6'5''. Carter should be a force in the running game with his size and improved handwork that allows him to shed blocks well, but the next step for him will be to pressure the quarterback.

The depth at defensive tackle is so poor right now that a pair of offensive linemen, Sean Sheller and Connor Bradford were moved to the position to give the Bruins some depth in camp. Andy Keane and Justin Mann are ahead of the two converted offensive linemen on the depth chart, but are closer to those two converts than they are to the rest of the tackles. Both really struggled in camp and will be called upon this season so they have limited time to make vast improvements.

The end position is another position that is rather strong at the top, although not as strong as at tackle, but with little depth, although a little better than tackle. Starting at ends is one guy with plenty of experience and another with plenty of talent. The one with plenty of experience, Korey Bosworth, is a redshirt senior and does have some talent to go with that experience. He led the Bruins in sacks last year and was second in tackles for loss so much is expected of him in his final year at UCLA. He will provide the Bruins an outstanding end and after a strong camp in which he was often on the quarterback off the edge, the only concern is when teams choose to run right at him. The super talented end is Datone Jones. What he lacks in experience (he's a sophomore), he makes up for in athletic ability, which he has in spades.The question for Jones is how he handles himself not in one-on-one situations, but when he's asked to twist or stunt. In one-on-one situations in camp, Jones was a terror as he used his speed to get off the edge and while he wasn't great against the run, he was able to get into the backfield with some regularity. When asked to work more within the team structure, he often got lost and dominated. When backs picked him out of the backfield, he was often slow to react and taken out. When tight ends rubbed him on the line, he was knocked backwards. He'll need to deal with those if he's to be a trusted every down end, but that could come with experience.

Damien Holmes will also be used off the end and while he doesn't have great physical tools, he has a never ending motor. Time and time again, Holmes would be originally outplayed by an offensive lineman, but would eventually make his way downfield, across field or into the backfield late in a play to make a tackle. Against the run, Holmes was often outmatched in the strength department, but used great handwork to shed blocks and get in position to make a tackle. He's a crafty guy with a great attitude that allows him to play above his tools. With so little depth, Stokes could slide over to end when he returns from injury and little talked about Ian Davis could get time, Davis doesn't quite have the strength to play on the defensive lins o he would be vulnerable against the run, but he has some wheels so if he were to be used only in passing downs, the Bruins might be able to get away with it. Otherwise Iuta Tepa, a freshman who would probably be best served redshirting, may be forced into action.

Grade: B- The starters on this defensive line would be worthy of a B+ or even A- with the quality all the way across and player who can dominate a game like Brian Price, but the depth is a major concern. If the defensive line can all stay healthy, this unit can be close to an A, but this is D-1 football, no unit stays healthy for an entire year and the depth on this unit will be tested, unfortunately.

Poll

What would you grade the UCLA defensive line?

A

94 votes

B

148 votes

C

24 votes

D

5 votes

F

2 votes

273 votes | Poll has closed

Defensive Line Reset: Coaches Dealing With Depth Concerns

Nestor — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:06:09 -0000

Now that we have gone through the LBing position let’s shift our attention to the defensive frontline. Before we even get through the depth chart we have got some brand new shift in personnel in light of injuries to back up tackles Reggie Stokes and Jess Ward. If you didn't read through the injury post, Reggie Stokes is out indefinitely because of a torn cartilage while Jess Ward is probably going to be out 2-3 weeks with a sprained MCL. As a result coaches made some immediate changes yesterday moving OL Sean Sheller and Connor Bradford to defense. Here is the reset from the LA Times:

"Part of it was in the event of an emergency, and part of it was we have the luxury of time to take a look," UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel said about the Sheller and Bradford moves.

Ward, who has played in 24 games, was expected to be the team's No. 3 defensive tackle. Sheller will play defensive tackle.

"Hopefully, we can bring him up to speed so he can play 15, 20 snaps for us," defensive line coach Todd Howard said.

Will be interested from hearing from the practice goers in the coming days how Sheller and Bradford are performing with their new unit. So basically, just like the situation at LB the same themes are also in play on the defensive frontline where we have solid talent at the starting positions, but have depth related concerns that will stretch beyond this season.

Obviously, the guy who will be anchoring this unit will be superstar Junior Brian Price (6-2, 300). We don’t need to go through what Brian can do over here at BN. He is on pretty much every pre season award watch list. If the kid can stay healthy (knocking on wood) through his junior year and continue to develop the way he has first two years, he would have a strong shot at that award along with having the opportunity to be a first round NFL pick next season. Yeah, I know. We would all like for him to come back for one more year after this season. But I am not going to hold my breath and instead am planning to enjoy watching number 92’s every snap his junior year in Westwood. As Reggie Carter noted to the LA Times there are not many OLs in the country, who has the ability to block Brian:

"I would like to see someone block Brian Price for a while," Carter said at the Pacific 10 Conference’s media day. "I have never seen that."

Ted Miller from ESPN's Pac-10 blog wrote how Brian is on a mission in 2009:

"Every player thinks about one day playing there (NFL) but I'm just thinking about this season," he said.

In a revelation that will surprise no one, Price said he and his teammates are not big fans of last season, when the Bruins went 4-8. The defense was generally good, but the numbers were hardly spectacular because the woeful offense provided little help.

"That's all we talked about this summer -- 4-8," he said. "We've got to get UCLA back."

Now Brian should be able to wreak havoc in the opponent’s backfield if he gets some help from his team-mates on the frontline. And right now the way that line is shaping up, it has the look of emerging as a solid one at least among the starting group. More on them after the jump.

Last year Brian had a great partner in senior Brigham Harwell who had a solid career at UCLA. Now that Harwell is gone it will be Jerzy Siewierski’s - 6-2/296 monster’s – turn to step up. Jerzy has all the potential in the world. Both Foster in his writeup and captainqtp in his upgrade-downgrade series mentioned Coach Howard’s reference to his athletic prowess of having the ability to dunk a basketball. That seems like a fairly scary proposition. If he can exert his own version of pressure down in the trenches, it will be incredibly helpful to Brian Price, who I am sure might be drawing double teams if he develops along his projected potential. So Jerzy’s contribution this year will be key. More on Brian and Jerzy’s team-mates on the defensive frontline after the jump.

Price and Jerzy will be flanked by two solid athletes in Korey Bosworth and Datone Jones. Coach Howard in his pre camp interview with Bruin Report Online (BRO) sounded excited about both of these youngsters:

On what he saw in Bosworth that translated to the d-line, to end:

"He just could run, and he was flexible. When you get guys like that, that’s your recipe. How do you not play guys like that? How do you not play guys like that? You don’t want guys that you look at on film who aren’t hustling, don’t look like they love football, they aren’t hustling, they’re walking. And then you’ve got a guy like Boz? This is all you need. You don’t talk about what he can’t do. This is all you need to do. If he can run, and his aggression and his attitude are like this on the football field, you let those guys play. They’re going to win more than they lose. I just like guys that like to fly around. You may not know what to do, but you can at least chase the ball like it’s a piece of meat and you haven’t had anything to eat."

On Jones and his future at UCLA:

"He’s hungry. He does what you ask him to do. If I were to tell Datone, ‘Hey, man, when you get up in the morning do 10 jumping jacks,’ he would get up and do 10 jumping jacks. That’s the kind of guy that he is. He’s a hungry player and I think he has a chance to be better than any end I’ve coached since I’ve been here. That kind of lets you know what I think of him."

On what Jones has to do to become that dominant player:

"Just get the experience. We’ll see this year what he’s going to be. I mean, you can talk about potential all you want. Until we see this year how he approaches the games and how he produces, that’s going to tell you. Damien Holmes is not far behind. He might not be as gifted as Datone is, but he listens. He studies. He understands what’s going on."

So after the starting lineup up Bosworth, Price, Siewierski, and Jones, depth becomes a question mark for the Bruins. Few weeks ago the LA Times noted how the coaches were going to look to Jess Ward and little used David Carter for depth. Obviously now David Carter is going to be a key figure in this depth chart. From the LA Times:

[T]he weight of the defensive tackle depth falls mainly on David Carter, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound junior.

Carter was converted from defensive end during the off-season with UCLA needing more bodies inside. That concern was heightened when Brandon Warner, a transfer from Compton College, didn't get into UCLA because of transcript issues. The move required Carter to gain 30 pounds.

"When you're on edge, a lot time you're the contain guy, you have to be athletic," Howard said. "Inside, you're going against more beef."

Carter was more than willing and began to rework his game.

"It definitely involves different techniques," Carter said. "You have to move your feet differently and learn how to play with the big boys."

Bradford will play defensive end, which is also down in numbers.

Per Coach Howard few weeks ago Holmes "made big strides since last fall." So he is going to be counted on to back up the DE position.

Coach Howard in his BRO interview also indicated he was going to closely monitor how incoming freshman Keenan Graham (who ran a 4.56) performs in the special teams. His plan was also to keep an eye on Iuta Tepa.

Our main hope right now is for these kids to stay healthy because we don’t have a lot of depth. If they can stay healthy, I feel good about these guys feeding off the drive and hunger of Brian Price, who has certainly proved himself both on and off the field in his total dedication of being a Bruin.

I also think the first game of the season is going to be telling (I am not going to look ahead to the Tennessee game … no way). We will have to see how this unit comes out and sets the tone on against the Aztec rushing attack and the pressure they are able to generate on the QB from the get go. If they come out and make a statement in that very first game, I think it will serve as a building block for rest of the season.

These guys will have their hands full all year long going up against lightning quick, game breakers in a number of Pac-10 squads. While the line has been steady last few years under Walker, they have had rough times against teams with quick backs and receivers. Moreover, they haven’t been able to generate the kind of pressure on QBs Davis and Hickman were able to do couple of years ago. So it will be up to Jerzy, Bosworth and Jones and rest of the guys in the depth chart to rise to Price’s level at least in terms of effort and determination, so that we can see the kind of intensity we experienced during 13-9, not just for big games but for every game through the coming season. We are going to need that if the team wants to take the next step by going bowling this season

We will wrap our look through the defense by going over the defensive backs rosters in the next few days.

GO BRUINS.

Going Back And Forth @ Spaulding

Nestor — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:00:10 -0000

In my Saturday's roundup I noted how the young UCLA OL had some good moments against the usually effective DL on Friday. It was somewhat of a rare occurrence (in the context of recent history at Spaulding) as the DL who is used to dominating their offensive counterparts got a taste of physicality from the Bruin OL. Well Brian Price felt challenged and said this after Friday's practice:

"We'll come out tomorrow with a vengeance."

Well look what happened the next day. Here is how the Saturday morning practice went out in Spaulding per Erik Bohl of the Daily News:

Price, Jerzy Siewierski, Datone Jones, Korey Bosworth, Reggie Carter, Akeem Ayers and the rest of the defense made things tough on a developing offensive line, collapsing the pocket on quarterback Kevin Prince or forcing the redshirt freshman to throw on the run on several occasions.

And most of the passes Prince completed were screens to running backs or short underneath routes to receivers Taylor Embree, Terrence Austin and Gavin Ketchum.

In the last two 10-minute offensive series in the controlled scrimmage, Aaron Ware and Sean Westgate intercepted tipped passes and Brandon Sermons recovered a fumble.

And regardless of whether it was Christian Ramirez or Johnathan Franklin there wasn't much room for the tailbacks to run against the first-string unit.

"If you let teams run on you, you can't win," said Carter, a fifth-year senior linebacker who is on the preseason watch list for the Lott Trophy. "It's disrespect as a man if someone lines up in front of you and runs all over you. We have to stop the run first."

Coach Neuheisel was more than happy about the defensive pressure Price and co. put on the Bruin offense:

"it's all part of the ebs and flows of the offense and defense," Neuheisel said. "The defense has dominated around here for a long time, but in order for us to develop offensive consistency we can't have the defense start taking days off to give the offense a false confidence."

There is also another aspect of practices out in Spaulding CRN seems to be enjoying from first week of camp.

It sounds like he is enjoying the intensity and competition during these practices:

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel has emphasized he wants more intensity at practices.

Having center Jake Dean and defensive tackle Justin Mann rolling around in a heated wrestling match might not have been exactly what he had in mind, however. The first of two practice sessions Saturday ended with the players having to be separated.

Gotta say he sounds little more upbeat than the practices last year when he often sounded downright disgusted and disappointed with the intensity he was getting from his players.

We haven't heard coaches talking about this kind of back and forth between our offense and defense at practices in last 2-3 years as the defense has been overwhelmingly dominating our offense shutting it down on all facets of the game. It will be interesting to see how the offensive guys respond this coming week after tasting a little bit of success against Price and co. They have certainly gotten their attention and now it will be offense's turn to show whether it can come back and respond to the defense's stand out performance from the weekend.

GO BRUINS.

The Wait Is Over For Bruin Football: Practice Starts Today

Nestor — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:00:14 -0000

So it all starts today. As mentioned over the weekend the season gets started today with a "Media Day" in the morning and then first practice (which is open to public) at 3:30 pm PST. I am sure we are going to be reading stories from the Media Day and first practice starting tomorrow starting later this evening and with our usual roundup in the AM. Already there are few notes up on the official site that should get all of us ready for the camp.

Following the tweeter feed yesterday it was pretty clear the players were coming back to Westwood yesterday. Everyone of them sound excited and fired up (Case in point here is Taylor Embree). Here are the details from the official site:

On Sunday afternoon, the veteran UCLA football players reported to camp. The first team meeting is scheduled for tonight. On Saturday afternoon, the newcomers reported to camp and went through a series of orientation meetings on Sunday.

Monday's schedule includes position meetings in the morning and a short walkthrough. The players will participate in Media Day at noon and at the same time shoot portrait photos for television broadcasts and other material for the Rose Bowl video board.

The first practice is scheduled for 3:00 pm. For the first few days, head coach Rick Neuheisel and the coaches will split the team into two groups so the players can receive more one-on-one coaching from the staff. The first group will begin practice at 3:00 pm. The entire team will work on special teams for 20 minutes at 4:20 pm and then the second group will practice from 4:40 - 6:00 pm.

I hope some of you get to make it out there either today or sometime in the coming weeks. Just reading through the position overviews it becomes clear how intense the competition is going to be this year. We just need to have the players stay healthy. More details after the jump.

Note "several" of the walkons are not reporting for camp until after the first game or the start of school. Also, it looks like Jayson Allmond is another scholarship freshman who is not going to report because he is waiting for issues related to NCAA Clearinghouse issues to be resolved. Perhaps Brian Price can give him a call and tell the kid to hang in there.

The official site also posted whole bunch of pre-season notes. There were few details I found to be interesting and worth sharing. First here are the players we are going to have this season who missed entire if not most of last season due to injury and other issues:

WHO WAS MISSING -- The following players, who will return to the team for 2009, were listed in the 2008 pre-season two-deep or figured to play a prominent role, if available for action last season: Offense --- TE Logan Paulsen - missed 11 g to injury; OL Jeff Baca - missed 3 g to injury; OL Darius Savage - missed 2 g to injury; OL - Sean Sheller - missed all 12 g to injury; OL - Mike Harris - missed 7 g to injury; RB - Christian Ramirez - missed all 12 g due to academic eligibility issues; FB Trevor Theriot - missed 9 g to injury; Defense --- Kyle Bosworth - missed 10g to injury; DL - Jess Ward - missed 5 g due to injury; DL Reginald Stokes - missed 1 g due to injury.

So here is these guys staying healthy in 2009. All those injuries meant UCLA had a lot of cubbies getting action this past season:

YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE -- UCLA played a total of 22 freshmen (11 redshirt and 11 true freshmen) in the 2008 season. Sixteen of the twenty scholarship players included in that group are scheduled to return in 2009. Of that group of sixteen returning players, 11 have starting experience (Defense --- So. Rahim Moore, S - 12 g; So.R Steve Sloan, LB - 9 g; So. R Akeem Ayers, LB - 3 g; So. Datone Jones, DL - 2 g; So. Tony Dye, S - 1g; Offense --- So. Cory Harkey, TE - 7 g; So. Taylor Embree, WR - 8 g; So. Jeff Baca, OL - 8 g; So.R Nate Chandler, TE - 2 g; So. Derrick Coleman, RB - 1 g; So.R Mike Harris, OL - 5 g).

Needless to say it will be exciting to see how these guys can improve on this year. Also, a total of 29 players saw action for the first time in 2009:

FIRST ACTION -- A total of 29 players (17 offensive and 12 defensive) saw their first action as a Bruin during the 2008 season (11 true freshmen - seven offensive and four defensive players (LB Sean Westgate, S Rahim Moore, TE Cory Harkey, WR Taylor Embree, S Tony Dye, WR Antwan Moutra, WR Nelson Rosario, RB Aundre Dean, RB Derrick Coleman, OL Jeff Baca, DL Datone Jones); 11 redshirt freshmen - five defensive and six offensive players (DB Courtney Viney, LB Steve Sloan, LB Akeem Ayers, DB Glenn Love, OL/TE Nate Chandler, RB Raymond Carter, DL Justin Edison, WR Ryal Jagd, QB Chris Forcier, TE Glenn Rauscher, OT Mike Harris), six redshirt sophomores - three offensive and three defensive players (OL Brandon Bennett, LB Mike Schmitt, DL Reginald Stokes, OL Sonny Tevaga, OL Jake Dean, DB Garrett Rubio), one redshirt junior (QB Kevin Craft).

Of course some of those guys such as Carter, Dean and Craft are either no longer with us or will probably not get much action this coming year. However, I think those numbers show how Neuheisel will not hesitate to put in his young guys in there if they are competing hard out at Spaulding and doing what the coaches are asking them to do.

Lastly, the pre-season notes also has some interesting numbers on freshman QBs record at UCLA during last 20 years:

*2002 (8-5, T 4th Pac-10) -- Matt Moore (Fr.) game 8 win over Stanford; Drew Olson (Fr.) game 9 win at Washington; game 10 win at Arizona; game 11 loss to USC; game 12 loss to Wash. State; game 13 bowl win over New Mexico.
*1999 (4-7, 9th Pac-10) -- Cory Paus (Fr.R) game 3 win over Fresno St.; game 5 loss at Ariz. State; game 6 win over Oregon; game 7 loss to Cal; game 8 loss at Ore. State; game 9 loss to Arizona; game 10 win over Washington; Ryan McCann (Fr. R) game 11 loss at USC.
*1995 (7-5, T 5th Pac-10) -- Cade McNown (Fr.) game 3 loss to Oregon; game 5 win over Fresno St.; game 6 win over Arizona; game 7 win at Stanford; game 8 win over Cal; game 9 loss at Ariz. State; game 10 loss to Washington; game 11 win at USC; game 12 bowl loss to Kansas.
*1992 (6-5, 8th Pac-10) -- Rob Walker (Fr. R) game 2 win at BYU; game 3 win over San Diego State; game 4 loss at Arizona; game 5 loss to Stanford; game 10 win at Oregon; Ryan Fien (Fr.) game 7 loss to Arizona State.
*1990 (5-6, T 6th Pac-10) -- Tommy Maddox (Fr. R) game 3 loss at Michigan; game 4 win at Wash. State; game 5 loss to Arizona; game 6 win over San Diego State; game 7 loss at Cal; game 8 win over Oregon State; game 9 loss at Oregon; game 10 win at Washington; game 11 loss to USC.
*1989 (3-7-1, 9th Pac-10) -- Bret Johnson (Fr. R) started all 11 games. game 1 loss to Tenn.; game 2 win over San Diego State; game 3 loss to Michigan; game 4 win over Cal; game 5 win over Ariz. State; game 6 loss at Arizona; game 7 loss at Oregon State; game 8 loss to Washington; game 9 loss at Stanford; game 10 loss to Oregon; game 11 tie at USC.

You can sense that Cade McNown was kind of an anomaly and even he had a roller coaster first two years. Bret Johnson, Rob Walker, and Ryan Fien were total disasters (well Johnson was just a disgrace).

Anyway, those numbers above are fairly sobering and should be datapoints we all take into account before deluding ourselves with visions of grandeur that takes over average college football fans around this time of the year. I still think Prince will be an upgrade from what we saw last year. However, given how legends like McNown struggled during their first year in college we should keep our expectations in check.

GO BRUINS.

2009 Expectations: The NY Times Joins The Emerging Consensus Re. Upcoming UCLA Season

Nestor — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:32:25 -0000

Looks like there is not going to be much of a debate concerning the expectations for the upcoming UCLA football season. So far this season we have seen the following expectations/predictions (we have debated and discussed the nuances of those points endlessly over last few years) for the 2009 UCLA football season:

Adam Maya from the OC Register predicted UCLA's "best/worst-case scenario" ranged from"5-7 to 7-5." He concluded UCLA will finish "finish .500 (6-6) and earn a bowl bid."
Ted Miller of WWL also thinks UCLA could be the "surprise" team of the Pac. However, he is being lot more realistic listing UCLA as the 7th best team in the conference. Miller also went on to project a 6-6 regular season.
As noted previously, Lindy's has UCLA ranked No. 48 nationally and No. 6 in the Pac-10. Athlon has the Bruins No. 51 overall and No. 6 in the Pac-10.

In terms of upside, WWL's Bruce Feldman is bullish on the Bruins pegging UCLA as one of the potential most improved teams of 2009. Similarly, Phill Steele has an optmisitic projection of UCLA as one of the potential "most improved team" of 2009 that could "return to the post season." Still the consenseus right now is that realistically UCLA should be looking at 6-6/bowl season for this upcoming year, which would be a step up from this past season.

It looks the New York Times agrees with that emerging consensus expectations of a 6 win regular season:

Season breakdown & prediction: I believe U.C.L.A. will reach bowl eligibility, but I don’t think this team has any chance of cracking the top half of the Pac-10. Not that the Bruins won’t get there eventually, but this team would have to make a radical improvement on offense to be taken as a serious contender in the conference, and all signs entering the summer pointed towards U.C.L.A. still needing some work on this side of the ball. One fact in the team’s favor: the roster is positively littered with young talent. This is especially the case on offense, where a plethora of underclassmen will have ample opportunity to make their presence felt at the skill positions. Still, the offense has me concerned. Will the defense be good enough to propel U.C.L.A. to, say, eight wins? It’ll be good, but not that good. Neuheisel is building a program here, and if the past two recruiting classes are any indication, help is on the way. But I’m crazy about this team’s chances at cracking the top four in the Pac-10. Instead, I’ve got the Bruins just about tied with Arizona and Stanford for fifth in the conference: 6-6, 4-5.

That was from Paul Meyerberg on the New York Times's blog - "the Quad" - where he has UCLA checking in at number 52 (which is consistent with the discussions we have seen above). For more on the preview come along after the jump.

Paul's UCLA breakdown is fairly detailed as he has the following on players to watch for this upcoming season:

Players to watch: The Bruins will have a new starting quarterback in 2009, as the redshirt freshman Kevin Prince beat out the incumbent starter, the senior Kevin Craft, with a solid, though unspectacular spring. Craft will likely be the backup, though he’ll battle the true freshman Richard Brehaut for that position. Craft struggled last fall, throwing a school-record 20 interceptions against seven touchdowns; six of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns. I gained a lot of respect for the way Craft dealt with his ineffectiveness, but for U.C.L.A. to become a capable offensive unit, the team must get much better play from its quarterback. The Bruins have a nice mix of experience and young talent on its receiving corps, a group led by the senior Terrance Austin. His breakout junior campaign included a team-best 53 receptions for 460 yards, as well as a school-record 1,878 all-purpose yards. Most of this yardage came on kick returns (1,109 yards), but Austin also added 90 yards rushing on only 13 attempts for a team-leading 9.0 yards per carry. Joining him at receiver are the sophomores Tyler Embree, who set school freshman records for receptions (40) and receiving yards (531, best on the team) and Nelson Rosario, the junior Dominique Johnson (34 for 373 yards) and the senior Gavin Ketchum. The Bruins also go two-deep at tight end, as the 2008 second-team all-conference senior Ryan Moya (38 receptions for 364 yards and 3 scores) will be joined by Logan Paulsen, the 2006-7 starter who missed all but one game last fall. The offensive line is due for an improvement, if only because the wide majority of the group returns with a year’s experience in the system. The senior right guard Nick Ekbaktani, the only lineman to start all 12 games last fall, leads the way. The unit also receives a nice boost from the sophomore center Kai Maiava, a transfer from Colorado who earned freshman all-American honors in 2007. He sat out last fall and will compete with the junior Jake Dean (seven starts in 2008) for the starting spot in the middle. The sophomore Jeff Baca will move inside to guard after making seven starts at left tackle as a rookie, likely leaving the left tackle job in the hands of the junior Sean Sheller, who missed all of last season due to a knee injury.

If there is any optimism regarding U.C.L.A.’s chances at reaching a solid bowl game in 2009, it is because of a talented defense. This group will do a lot of the heavy lifting for the Bruins, especially in the early going. It’s a good thing, therefore, that U.C.L.A. has talent at every level of the defense, from the line through the secondary. The front four will feature one of the nation’s best interior linemen in the junior tackle Brian Price, a first-team all-conference selection last fall after notching 35 tackles (a team-leading 14 for loss) and 4.5 sacks. Price has been a stalwart in the middle since early in his freshman season, and will be even better as a junior. He’s terrific. Lining up next to Price, and replacing Harwell, is the junior Reginald Stokes, who started five of the last seven games down the stretch last fall. Also competing for the starting role, though certainly at worst a part of the tackle rotation, is the sophomore Datone Jones. At end, the senior Korey Bosworth’s first season as a full-time starter saw him lead the team with seven sacks; he finished second to Price with 11 tackles for loss. The team will welcome back his twin brother, the senior weakside linebacker Kyle Bosworth, back to full health after missing all but two games a season ago. In 2007, Bosworth finished fifth on the team with 74 tackles. (Quick aside: My favorite movie featuring their uncle Brian Bosworth is "Stone Cold," where he plays a loose-cannon police officer who infiltrates a biker gang.) The leader of the linebacker corps is the senior Reggie Carter, who paced the team with 83 stops a season ago. Twenty of those tackles came against B.Y.U., the most by a Bruin in a single game since 1989. Rounding out the starting group is the sophomore Akeem Ayers, who had 40 tackles and 4 sacks as a freshman. One area where Neuheisel and his staff have done a very good job in recruiting is in the secondary. U.C.L.A. has surrounded the senior cornerback Alterraun Verner — one of the nation’s best — with a number of athletic freshmen and sophomores, giving this unit the potential to be the second-best in the Pac-10. Any group that has a player of Verner’s caliber is bound to be pretty good. As a junior, he ranked second on the team in tackles with 73 and led the nation with 18 pass breakups. Much like Price, Verner will challenge for all-American honors in 2009. The other returning starter in the secondary is the sophomore free safety Rahim Moore, who last fall became the first true freshman to start every game on defense for the Bruins since 2001. On the season, Moore tied Norris for the team lead with three interceptions. The second starting corner spot will come down to the redshirt freshman Aaron Hester and the sophomore Courtney Viney. As mentioned, this group is very talented, thanks largely to the solid job U.C.L.A. has done in bringing in young playmakers over the past two recruiting cycles.

He lists RB as the "position battle to watch" which is right. However, as we have said over and over again the difference this year between a 4-8/5-7 season and a bowl one will be how much improved our OL is from the disastrous effort of this past season. You can read the whole preview over here.

Reading the season previews this year, I think this is probably as close to consensus narrative I have seen around UCLA football pre-season expectations as the one we saw heading into Dorrell's (mercifully) final season when after four years of excuse making we were all expecting a Pac-10 championship season.

As we have said over and over again, this year in many ways will be like Howland's second season at UCLA when we all considering just getting into the NCAA dance a positive marker for the program, after it completely tanked under the previous regime. Similarly this year, if we can somehow scrap and claw into a bowl game, we will see it as a turnaround after the cratering the program experience last year from the listless leadership from previous regime(s).

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: UCLA Football News & Notes

Nestor — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:57:34 -0000

While spring football game was over couple of weeks ago more spring practice related news and notes keep trickling out of WWL. Ted Miller did a "UCLA spring wrap-up" on his Pac-10 blog which posed the following questions for this coming Fall:

1. Is there any hope for the O-line? The line was awful this spring just as it was last fall. There's plenty of experience with six returnees who started at least five games in 2008, though two sat out spring practices with injuries. And there's plenty of incoming possibilities, with touted freshmen and JC transfers arriving in the fall to offer alternatives. It feels like the Bruins' bowl hopes rest almost entirely on whether this unit can find some answers.

2. D-line depth: The Bruins starting crew of tackles Price and Jerzy Siewierski and ends Korey Bosworth and Datone Jones form one of the better foursomes in the Pac-10, but depth, especially at tackle, needs to develop. An injury or two here and things get pretty thin.

3. Playmakers on offense: If the offensive line figures things out, and Prince comes through, then somebody has to do something with the football in the passing game. During spring practices, the performance of the receivers was mediocre to bad, though true freshman hybrid tight end/receiver Morrell Presley lived up to his hype. If the veterans don't step up, then a strong incoming freshman class -- including speedster Randall Carroll -- is going to move up quickly.

Well Randall Carroll was in the news this weekend in a big way. In case you missed it because the post has scrolled down in last 48 hours Carroll ran the the fastest 100 meter time in California in last 17 years over this weekend. Here is a video (HT CPBBruinFan at Bruin Roar) evidence of Carroll's speed:

May 2, 2009 Track Preliminaries-Randall Carroll (via bishopamatlancer)

Randall ran the third-fastest legal 100 time in state history (he also won the 200 in 2011). We haven't had speed like this in our program in a long time. If he CRN and Chow are able to utilize that speed this coming Fall, look out.

Also, speaking of scrolled down, jtthirtyfour flagged a great piece from WWL's Ivan Maisel on ATV. For those of us who follow the program on day to day basis there isn't any breaking news in the story. However, I did found some quotes from the piece interesting include ATV's take on how he applies his intense interst in math on the playing field:

Verner said there might be parallels between some math work and measuring the flight of the ball through the secondary while on a dead sprint toward a receiver who has you by three inches and 20 pounds. His head coach sees the connection.

"We say all the time that football is a game of leverage and angles. If that doesn't come straight from the math homework assignments, I don't know what does," Neuheisel said. "He's just got great instincts. He's a hard worker. Math requires a lot of diligence, in terms of staying on top of things, being aware of formulas. Alterraun has done a great job of studying offenses. … He is very instinctive. He has great anticipation, and that comes from the study that he puts forth."

More from Neuheisel on his senior superstar/leader of the team:

"He is a unique individual and he is as advertised," Neuheisel said. "He is just a model citizen, a great leader, a great role model for the young kids in the secondary as well as the kids on the team. And I think a legitimate NFL prospect. It's fun to be around him. He will hopefully flourish as a senior."

For those who went to the spring game you know ATV didn't waste any time to make his mark. He intercepted a Prince pass in the very past series. If you want to see more highlights from this spring game (in case you are as desperate for football highlights as I am), check out the spring game highlights from the official site. I still wish they would consider putting them on YouTube, Vimeo or some other video player with embed options. I think that would help them to get the word out even more and gin up more excitement around the program.

GO BRUINS.