SB Nation - Atiyyah Henderson

Spaulding Roundup: Fire/Weather Updates, Borges' Balance & Other Bruin Notes

Nestor — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:54:49 -0000

We should find out sometime today whether we will have a game to play this Saturday. I started my morning by checking the AQMD website. It looks like the air quality around Pasadena is still in the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" category. However, the AQI value keeps dropping. It is around 117 as of right now. It was around 135 yesterday afternoon and actually somewhere around 340 2-3 days ago. FWIW per the 10 day forecast on weather.com, the temperature projection for Pasadena area is trending downward (oh oh ... this weather forecasting gig seems to be just as easy as writing columns for the LA Times). Also, note this game is scheduled for late afternoon/early evening. We are not scheduled for a noon time kickoff. Remember the Michigan game from few years ago when everyone baked for few hours in the hot Pasadena sun in near 100 degree temperature? It can't be that bad on Satuday. Can it?

Anyway, it seems to be getting better. For purely selfish Bruin reasons, I want this game to be on. However, we will leave it up to the pros to make the right decision that is in the best interest of the greater Los Angeles. On to notes around this game.

We have talked a lot about how Prince and co. will handle Rocky Long's 3-3-5 defense. Don't forget about the other former Bruin coordinator who was here during the good times of that 20 game winning streak. Borges is leading Brady Hoke's offense down in San Diego and he is going coming in with a balanced approach on offense:

Like the Chargers, who had nearly a 50-50 run-pass ratio last year, Borges wants to be equally strong running and throwing. Last year, the SDSU quarterback usually lined up in a shotgun formation and passed the ball on 63 percent of its plays. This year, SDSU has emphasized a power running game. It's nothing like his offense at Portland State, where he ran the ball far less often.

By being able to pound the ball on runs, SDSU and new head coach Brady Hoke hope to avoid the "finesse" reputation the 49ers earned with frequent short passes underneath defensive coverage.

"We have to think aggressively," Borges said. "Coach Hoke is a tough guy who wants a tough defense and a tough offense. I'm the same way, but by the same token, we know we're not going to live every game by trying to run everybody over. So there has to be a certain part of finesse to our offense too."

He says the perfect offense has a delicate balance between "physicality" and "finesse." The goal is to run and pass well enough that the defense can't gang up on either. That way, the defense won't know what's coming and might be caught lead-footed on fake handoffs.

The task for Borges is to be able to do many things well in order to increase his unpredictability. The risk is trying to do too many things and not being very good at any of them. More importantly, none of it matters if the offensive line isn't good enough to give time and room for the quarterback and running back.

"The main base of everything is the line," Lindley said. "That's where it starts."

Hmm. That approach doesn't sound much different than the discussions we have had wrt to UCLA offense for last two years. More on the SDSU offense and other notes after the jump.

You think Kevin Prince is going to be under a lot of pressure. I think we can say the same about Ryan Lindley. The sophomore QB might have to carry the Aztecs offense on Saturday. With their starting tailback out, they might be looking at a running back rotation featuring a freshman tailback:

Freshman running back Anthony Miller has a chance to start at tailback for San Diego State in Saturday's season opener at UCLA. Head coach Brady Hoke said yesterday he's one of three candidates to get the call, including juniors Brandon Sullivan and Davon Brown.

Hoke said SDSU could have a rotation of three backs, with the starter being the "bell cow" of the group unless another back gets hot and earns more carries.

Miller's status as a possible starter signals that he at least will be part of that rotation while senior tailback Atiyyah Henderson remains sidelined with a fractured bone in his back. It also shows Miller has emerged among the three true freshman running backs. The other two — Walter Kazee and Ronnie Hillman — also are expected to travel to the opener and play this year.

Miller "probably at this time is the most polished of the younger guys," Hoke said. "He's not the fastest of them, but he is a tough runner with the ball. For a bigger guy, he has the ability to make a shadow cut and has good balance."

Two things might work in Miller's favor for the starting job against UCLA: Sullivan has been limited in practice recently because "bumps and bruises." Miller and Sullivan also are considered the team's two best "power" backs — big players who can drag or run over defenders. SDSU has been emphasizing the power running game all preseason.

Having a power back "is a position we need right now in this offense," quarterback Ryan Lindley

I am sure Price, Jerzy, Jones, Bosworths, Carer and Ayers have been taking notes over Sullivan and Miller. The problem is they probably don't have any game tapes on Miller, who was at Dallas Carter High School in Texas last year. Then again going up against someone like Derrick Coleman at practice every day might also serve as pretty good preparation for getting ready for a big, brusiing power running back.

Speaking of practices, despite the tough weather conditions, apparently UCLA had a solid practice out at Spaulding yesterday:

"I have a routine of what we call the perfect Thursday," Neuheisel said. "For the first game of the year, I always plan two Thursday practices. This was my best first Thursday practice. Hopefully (today) will be indicative of where we are. I just thought that concentration was good and guys were on it and into it."
Surprising, because a cloud hung over their heads Wednesday.

A cloud of ash.

While not nearly toxic as the air directly over the Los Angeles fire, Neuheisel made mention of the poor practice conditions during the hot, muggy day.

The players knew about the possibility of a postponement of Saturday's season opener against San Diego State at the Rose Bowl. They played throughout practice wondering if they were even preparing for the right team.

Still, Neuheisel said the players were entirely focused on San Diego State, pushing thoughts of a postponementto the back of their minds.

"We're 100 miles an hour going toward game day," Neuheisel said. "I think our confidence level is where it ought to be. A lot of nervous anxiety, guys playing for the first time. It will be here before we know it."

That's encouraging because in last two years I haven't ususally heard CRN satisfied with practices all the time as he has complained about lack of intensity and sloppiness (that was especially the case a lot this past season). Keeping fingers crossed for some good news wrt to game decision today.

With season around the corner the local rags have come out with their season previews. You can check out the previews from the LA Times and the Daily News here and here.

Lastly, speaking of the Daily News, they have made Jon Gold (who I think has done a great job to date as Dohn's interim replacement) their regular beat write. He is very excited about it and has some fun things planned for the "Inside UCLA" blog. Our hope is Jon Gold's long term performance is much better than last UCLA athletics related figure who shed the "interm" tag to become a permanent fixture (I won't mention his name). Good luck Jon.

GO BRUINS.

Game Week Opener: Roundup Of San Diego State Previews & Other Aztec Notes

Nestor — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:00:26 -0000

Let's start the Monday of our game week by immediately compiling notes related to preseason overviews of the San Diego State Aztecs. Everyone here should be familiar with the toplines by now. Bruins are going to take on an Aztecs team that will be coming in with a brand new coaching regime, headline by Brady Hoke and two extremely familiar names in Gary Long and Al Borges. Brady Hokes took over the San Diego State program after putting together a nice program at Ball State where he finished with an impressive 12-2 record in his last season. Hoke's impressive coaching resume is also highlighted by a stint at University of Michigan. From the NYT's Quad's preview of the Aztecs:

The Aztecs should feel blessed to have him. In addition to his head coaching stint at B.S.U., Hoke spent eight years as the defensive line coach under Lloyd Carr at Michigan (1995-2002). Hoke added the title of associate head coach for his final season in Ann Arbor. Hoke was mentioned in connection with the open Michigan job after the end of 2007 season, but the job eventually went to West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez. If for no other reason than his impressive assistant experience, Hoke is a solid hire. Add in his highly successful rebuilding job at Ball State, and he becomes a great one.

So that should get everyone's attention (who is day dreaming about an automatic victory next Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Plus Hoke is going to be flanked by two assistant coaches, who have had their share of impressive stints at big time programs, including here at UCLA.

Moving on to personnel matters, the Aztec offense is going to be headlined by sophomore quarterback Ryan Lindley:

Coach Borges will have sophomore Ryan Lindley as his quarterback, as long as someone like Drew Westling or Kelsey Sokoloski doesn't jump over him on the depth chart. Last season Lindley stepped in as a freshman and took countless hits for this team. He saw the highs and the lows of what can be a very long season, throwing for a career-best 433 yards and four touchdowns versus Idaho in a lopsided win, but also having back-to-back games versus New Mexico and Colorado State in which he threw for just 156 and 166 yards, respectively.

Having very little in way of a rushing attack, an approach that generated a mere 73.2 ypg to rank last in the Mountain West and 117th in the country, the Aztecs asked far too much of Lindley. As far as carrying the ball is concerned, Atiyyah Henderson will again be the focal point, and when given the opportunity he can produce, just as he did against Idaho (100 yards, two TDs) and Colorado State (177 yards, 2 TDs).

In an effort to move the ball down the field, senior wideout Roberto Wallace and junior Vincent Brown will be the primary objectives. The pair combined to average almost 100 ypg through the air a season ago.

It looks like Atiyyah Henderson will not play against UCLA due to a back injury. In absence of Henderson, look for Brandon Sullivan (a 5-11, 200 junior) to get carries. Didn't get to watch any Aztecs game last season (so chime in if I am off). So looking from the stats, it seems like Sullivan was used pretty sparingly last season. In other words, pressure is really going to be on Lindley to move the ball against Bruin defense on Saturday night. Lindley will be counting on an offensive line, which according to the NYT preview "returns three players with at least 10 games of starting experience." No doubt Hoke with his tough, no non-sense Midwestern background is going to prod these guys to become more physical this coming season. So they should present a decent test for Price, Carter and rest of the Bruin front-7 right away. More on the Aztecs after the jump.

On the defensive side, here are the preseason notes from NYT:

The line returns both its starting ends in B.J. Williams and Jonathan Soto, which helps matters some. Williams the 2008 Aztecs with 3.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. Despite losing Allen’s production, the linebacker corps is the strength of the defense. It returns two stellar contributors in weakside LB Andrew Preston (82 tackles, 3.5 for loss) and middle LB Luke Laolagi (the team’s leading returning tackler with 99). Each has started more than 20 games in their career; they’ll be counted on for leadership on a defense that surely lacks confidence following last year’s finish. The secondary – we’ll touch on them in a moment – will rely upon their returning talent at corner, most notably the junior Jose Perez (two interceptions, tied for the team lead) and the senior Aaron Moore. There is no question that Long is among the most able defensive coordinators in the business, but he’ll have his hands full turning this defense into a competitive unit. The Aztecs may be more physical, especially against the run, but they’ll again have a hard time keeping points off the board. But San Diego State is a program in a rebuilding mode, what would you expect?

Don't forget under Rocky Long, the Aztecs will most likely be playing in Long's 3-3-5 formation. If you can remember back to the mid-90s, it took Long about an year to get his scheme in place (as the Bruin defense struggled a bit in his first year (96-97 season). However, once he had the system in place, it became one of the most memorable defense during last two decades at UCLA. More on the Aztecs' 3-3-5, from the SportsNetwork, which identifies LB Jerry Milling as the leader of the Aztecs defense:

Perhaps one of the biggest changes for the Aztecs this season is that the squad now has one of the better minds from the Mountain West Conference on that side of the line in Rocky Long. The former New Mexico head coach is bringing a change of pace to SDSU and players like linebacker Jerry Milling couldn't be more excited.

"Coach Long is a good coach, he brings that 3-3-5 attacking defense and I don't think there's a defensive player in the country that wouldn't want to play for coach Long and that defense. You're the aggressor as opposed to being on your heels...we're excited to play for coach Long and that defense this year."

Milling has appeared in 18 games for the Aztecs over the years, but has just two starts, yet is being looked to as a leader because of his senior status. Also among the linebackers for the Aztecs is returning starter Luke Laolagi, who placed third on the team a season ago in tackles with 99 and matched his career best with 13 stops against Notre Dame.

Up on the front line the unit boasts a number of returning starters in B.J. Williams, Jerome Long, Ernie Lawson and Jonathan Soto, the latter being one of the more experienced performers with 20 starts under his belt. In the case of Long, he jumped onto the scene as a freshman last year and is set for even bigger and better things this time around.

Senior cornerback Aaron Moore has as much experience as Laolagi on defense for the Aztecs, but early indications have him sitting behind Kwincy Edwards for the starting nod. As for the rest of the secondary, there are several players with experience under their belts, but when it comes to starting, that will be a new one for many of those on the depth chart.

Again, this is a team the Bruin simply cannot afford to overlook. These guys will come into the Rose Bowl with nothing to lose. They are going to be playing in a defensive scheme, which will allow them fly around the field. No doubt they will probably also be gunning for Kevin Prince in his first collegiate start and his first football game in two years since his senior year at high school. They are going to present a formidable test for a Bruin OL, which is going to feature 4 brand new starters (including two true froshmen) at OL, new faces at the TB and WR positions at the Rose Bowl.

In terms of the game plan, I actually expect Chow to keep it somewhat simple to keep pressure off his freshman QB. We have heard during the training camp how the main goal of the coaches this season is to average 4 yards per rushing attempt, and pick up chunks of yardage every play. That is what I am expecting to see next Saturday. I am expecting a UCLA football team to come out and focus on establishing the run with a ball control offense. If they experience success early on, then we can expect them to open it up a little more.

Neuheisel's team will need to stay locked in against a team that will be coming in fired up, with nothing to lose, and looking to establish their own physical brand of football under a no-nonsense head coach. So, let's hope our boys and ready, focused and not looking ahead.

We will compile more notes on the Aztecs as the week unfold. Meanwhile, if any of you have extensive thoughts to share from watching these guys please share them in this thread or in fanposts.

GO BRUINS.