SB Nation - Kyle Bosworth

UCLA's Price Is Right For The Pac-10: Brian Headlines 11 Bruins Honored As All Pac-10

Nestor — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:13:22 -0000

hicalliber is already on it but this deserves lot more attention. This is not a surprise but still worthy of a huge celebration on Bruin Nation. Here is our Pac-10 Defensive Player:

The official announcement came out earlier this afternoon which included lot of good news for the football team. Not only Brian Price was named Pac-10's Defense POY, he was part of a group of 11 Bruins named in the All Pac-10 team. Five of them were first-team selection:

UCLA junior defensive tackle Brian Price has been named Pac-10 Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year by vote of the league's coaches, it was announced today.

A total of 11 Bruins were named to the All-Pac-10 teams. Joining Price on the first team were senior linebacker Reggie Carter, sophomore safety Rahim Moore, senior cornerback Alterraun Verner and junior place kicker Kai Forbath. Forbath and Price were two of the three unanimous selections to the first team.

Redshirt freshman punter Jeff Locke and senior wide receiver Terrence Austin were selected to the second team, the latter as a kickoff returner. Four Bruins were named honorable mention - sophomore linebacker Akeem Ayers, senior linebacker Kyle Bosworth, sophomore wide receiver Nelson Rosario and freshman offensive tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo.

UCLA had more first-team defensive selections (four) than any other school in the conference.

You can read more from the official press release here.

Congrats to Brian, Reggie, ATV, Austin, and Bosworth. That's a wonderful way for them to leave Westwood after what they have given us last 3-4 years. We will have to wait to see what happens with Kai, as he might be testing the waters during the off season. Meanwhile, can't wait to see how Rahim, Akeem, Nelson, XSF, and Locke build on the success from this season.

For now though let's hope the Midshipmen comes though on Saturday so that we get to see these guys for one more time to close out the year. Go Navy. Oh and don't forget to congratulate our boys in this celebratory thread.

GO BRUINS.

Moving Forward: Bruins Need One More Win (And Focus On Arizona State)

Nestor — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:36:07 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

about 1 month ago: UCLA tailback Derick Coleman (33) runs the ball as Washington State linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis, right, defends during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. UCLA won 43-7. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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I know lot of us are dying to think about that last regular game of the season (especially after what transpired yesterday) but this is not the time for any of us to look ahead. It looks like we did have a good reason to feel slightly better after that fourth quarter against Oregon State, when we got the sense that it was time to rally around our Bruins. Well something is clearly working right now and it feels good.

Yes, last night's blowout win was only against lowly Washington State. We could have looked lot better than we did against Paul Wulff's demoralized bunch. Yet, I still think there is something little encouraging about that performance because it was one of those games we have seen UCLA football team either choke away or make it unnecessarily hard on themselves to win over the years. We now hope our team can keep it going by locking in on the next opponent which is capable of ruining senior day at the Rose Bowl.

Let's start with something CRN did to get his players in the right mindset to deal with the elements. From the LA Times:

Neuheisel's cold-weather preparation included holding Friday night's team meeting outside in a snow storm.

"I was amazed how many of our guys had never been in snow before," Neuheisel said. "It gave us the right mind-set."

Still, it was cold.

He also made his players get a little taste of snowball fights so that they could "get used to the weather":

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel had his players throw snowballs, while his kid threw touchdown passes.

UCLA players hardly seemed uptight heading into today’s game at Washington State. A snowstorm Friday night had a handful of Bruins outside throwing snowballs at each other for a half hour.

The frolicking was the result of Neuheisel’s instructions to go outside and get used to the weather.

Yeah, his son - Jerry Neuheisel - threw a 45-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-11 play with 31 seconds left to give Loyola a 41-37 victory over Crespi (which I guess was a good omen for the weekend). Anyway, going back to the game, what I liked about iur guys was how they looked confident. They weren't cocky as team leaders like Reggie Carter struck all the right notes before the game as he was gracious towards a struggling team. Our guys had the look of a locked in football team that knew exactly what was at stake and what they needed to hold on to the momentum Rahim Moore and co grabbed to end the Washington game on our home coming weekend. It is going to be a challenge for us to hold on to that momentum next weekend against a very good defensive team. However, if we can continue to build on the successes of last 9 quarters, this will truly turn out to be a Novermbet to remember.

As noted in the post game thread, Kevin Prince was the head line grabber. He had a great game by all accounts. Yet CRN (as he mentioned during half time) though Prince could have played even better:

"When you're enjoying this kind of success, it's almost like going down the cafeteria line and trying to grab everything," Neuheisel said. "You have to maintain your patience. I thought Kevin tried to make throws down the field instead of taking what they were giving him underneath."

Prince completed 27 of 40 passes, as Neuheisel, said, "I thought he did a nice job getting back to the scheme." Practice-like corrections made possible by the scout-team-like defense Washington State offered.

I thought we saw that in Prince during the second half, especially after the Cougars scored a TD. Prince drove the team down for our own TD drive during when he was methodically looking of his primary and secondary targets. He also did a great job during the two min drill to end the first half when he was finding Moline for little check downs:

Prince hit Moline four times on the ensuing drive for 35 yards, meticulously going through his reads until settling short, and the Bruins chopped their way down the field to set up a 38-yard field goal by junior kicker Kai Forbath.

"All week in practice we knew the check-downs were going to be a big factor in the game," said Moline, who finished with three carries for 25 yards and seven catches for 60 yards. "We check-released, we checked down from linebackers, and especially in that two-minute drive when I got all those catches, Prince was checking down the field and no one was there."

Moline had himself a great game which you can read more about here and here.

However, the fact that Moline was our most productive running back is a cause for concern. Derrick Coleman had a decent game yesterday rushing for 50 yards in 12 carries. Our entire team (thanks largely due to Prince's 68 yard rumble down the sidelines) rushed for 232 yards which is not too bad against a bad Washington State defense. However, Coleman to me appears more as a servicable full back than a feature tailback. He did a better job of falling forward yesterday though which is a positive but I think he will have tougher times against team with average or better defensive speed (like the one we are going to face next weekend at home).

JetSki's fumbling issue is a real problem now. Not sure what else the coaches can do. They have sent every message they possibly can. It's a matter of him playing with focus and concentration on every down. Milton Knox picked up some decent chunk of yardage during garbage time. Yet he looked unsure in the fact of Coguar blitzes and failed to hit the hole with authority on a key 3rd and 1 in third quarters. Thigpen has a lot of promise but he doesn't have the frame to be a every down back. Christian Ramirez is just too brittle and inconsistent to have a discernible impact. So, you can see why getting both Malcolm Jones and Jordon James were big deal for this year's recruiting class. It looks like we have a QB of the future slowly emerging in Chow's offense. We now need a back or two, who can costar with the Prince.

Our OL did a decent job of providing pass protection. However, there were moments of sloppiness that needs to be cleaned up. Darius Savage didn't look totally comfortable at RG stepping for Ryan Taylor. I thought our OL's overall run blocking performance was pretty mediocre against an atrocious defensive line. Also, our OL looked somewhat unprepared for WSU blitzes when it seemed like opposing LBers was getting to Prince untouched. Again, it's something we really have to work on this game week to prepare for a solid Arizona State defense.

Moving on to the other side Akeem and Brian Price were the two big stars in last night's defense. From Jon Gold in the Daily News here are Kyle Bosworth's comments on what BP did to the Cougars' offense:

"BP has always had his name out on the leaderboard, but with Akeem, it's really good to see him kind of shine today," Bosworth said. "Two picks is huge for anybody, and it's good to see him with those two sacks.

"I'm happier for him, but BP did great - I know he'll be in the league one of these days, and this is one of the games that's going to help him do that."

Price racked up three tackles for loss, which makes him Pacific-10 leader with 16.5 for the season. He also has 5 sacks to go along with those stats. There is not much I can add to make him sound more incredible than he already is. I cherish watching this kid play just like I enjoyed recent great Ben Ball warriors such as KL, RW, LRMAM, AA, and DC. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he can add to his legend on a week by week basis (because I won't blame him if he decides to jump provided he gets positive feedback from NFL draft whizes during the off season).

In addition to Price, Akeem had a great game as he benefited from a new look Bullough through at the Cougs:

For the first time this year, UCLA defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough lined up Ayers on the defensive line in a three-point stance, allowing Ayers to burst off the ball at the point of contact. He said both of his sacks were from the formation.

That is sure to catch the eye of those in the NFL, as well, as hybrid pass-rushers - those who can play both in coverage and on the line of scrimmage - have become in vogue in 3-4 defenses.

"It wasn't anything really new to me," said Ayers, who played his sophomore and junior seasons in high school at defensive end. "I'm used to being in a three-point and getting a pass rush. I definitely can see myself doing something like that - I'm athletic enough to stand up and drop into coverage, but I'm also able to rush the passer."

Hope Akeem can build on this weekend's performance to put together another consistent outing next against Arizona State.

While Akeem and BP had great games, I am getting worried about Reggie Carter's contribution to our defense. Reggie Carter is a great Bruin and solid leader for this football team. He is definitely the emotional heart and soul of our defense. However, the more I have watched him in recent weeks, the more its becoming clear to me that he is not the same Reggie we have seen over the years. It looks like his injury is really bothering him. He doesn't have the same ability to move around from MLB spot and he routined finds himself away from the action. Just look at the game tape from Tennessee and compare it what we saw yesterday. It's not even close.

Apparently Reggie is trying to will himself through these last few games of his Bruin career. The coaches tried to take him out during early in the fourth quarter but he wouldn't come out. So per the LA Times the coaches had to take a time out to get Reggie out of the game:

"That was the first time since I have been at UCLA that we have been ahead by so much that they were taking me out of the game," Carter said. "I told them, 'No, let me stay.' Then coach told me he didn't want me to get hurt. So I apologize, but I just wanted to enjoy the moment."

I think Reggie needs to rest up a bit. I think it could potentialy be worth it to use him as sparingly as possible next weekend against Arizona State and perhaps use Steve Sloan at the MLB spot, who did a servicable job last year when he took over for Christian Taylor. Guess, this is an issue we will have to defer to the coaches who have shown pretty good judgment wrt to injury issues this season (See the cautioun they showed with Aaron Hester).

Our punt return performance continues to be a concern. Terrence Austin had another fumble yesterday, which luckily for us went out bounce. He also had a fumble against Washington State during kick return the previous weekend. Terrence has to clean this up. He is running out of time in his last few games as a Bruin.

On the flip side, Sean Westgate came out with a huge punt block. It's not the first time he has made big plays a special teamer (remember the punt block he had against Tennessee last season at the Rose Bowl). I also liked the intensity Damien Thigpen showed during punt coverage even when we were up by a huge margin late in second half. Damien sprinted down the field during Locke punt and dove to down the ball at 2 yard line even when we were up by a score of 43-7. That kind of little details tells us something about the character of the team under its head coach.

Going back to big picture as good as we feel this Sunday, it is important that we don't get carried away. Tracy Pierson from Bruin Report Online had a solid breakdown of the game, in which he rightfully warns UCLA fans to not get too carried away. However, Tracy ended with the following encouraging notes (not behind a subscription firewall at the time of this post):

UCLA’s 556 total offensive yards were better than Arizona (471), Arizona State (410), and Stanford (481).

In fact, it was better than what USC did in the Coliseum against WSU (403), or even Oregon in Eugene (514).

UCLA’s defense held WSU to 180 yards, compared to the 185 yards WSU gained against Arizona, 206 against Notre Dame, 440 against Cal (what the heck?), 181 against Arizona State, 229 against USC, and 351 against Stanford.

Yeah, WSU was without its starting quarterback when it played UCLA, but Jeff Tuel didn’t even play in some of those other games.

So let’s overlook the actual play on the field and go with that. It’s so much more fun to look at it that way, huh?

Regardless if you’re the type who watched that game and came away satisfied (Blue), or came away thinking there wasn’t much you could take away from it and it didn’t give you great expectations for facing ASU and USC (Crank) – or a little bit of both (most of us) – it was good to see UCLA have an easy, blow-out win for the first time in a while. It clearly kept Prince and Co. in the same productive, offensive rhythm established in the OSU 4th quarter and against Washington last week, which is a good thing. It’s also good that the defense maintained its bottom-line successful M.O. – looking vulnerable but doing enough to put UCLA in a position to win.

In other words, at this late stage of this season the team under CRN's leadership continues to move forward. We now have 5 wins which on paper at least is clear step forward from last season. We now need our boys to take lock in and focus for another game week to get that much talked about 6th win next weekend at the Rose Bowl. That's all we should be thinking and talking about till next Saturday. If we can accomplish the objective of getting our 6th win, we will have our program in a pretty decent spot heading into last regular game of 2009 season. So, let's just all focus on Arizona State just like we have been taking it game by game since Oregon State.

GO BRUINS.

UCLA Preview

John Berkowitz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:22:37 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel faces is old team for the second time on Saturday in Pasadena. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

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The Washington football team (3-5 overall, 2-3 in the Pac-10) returns to action this Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena when the Huskies take on UCLA (3-5 overall, 0-5 in the Pac-10) in a 12:30 p.m. game boroadcast on FSN. The Dawgs, who have faced the nation’s second-toughest schedule to this point, come into the game after a weekend off while the Bruins’ comeback fell short in a 26-19 loss at Oregon State last weekend. UCLA went 3-0 in non-conference play to open the season, but have lost five straight, all against Pac-10 opposition, since then.

Washington was in desperate need of a bye week after the Oregon game and that rest after facing the nation's toughest schedule over the last eight weeks may be just what the doctor ordered to get this team ready for the last quarter of the season.

Postion Matchups

Quarterback....Washington....Jake Locker was declared ready to go on Thursday night and was seen zipping around practice with no visible lingering effects of his quad bruise. With Jake healthy Washington has a serious advanatage at the throttle. Kevin Prince will start for the Bruins and he is coming off a good fourth quarter against Oregon State.

Running Back....Washington....The Bruins and the Huskies are near the bottom of the Pac 10 in overall rushing totals this season. UW is led by Chris Polk who is averaging over 80 yards per game. Polk is a physical runner who breaks tackles and gets a lot of yards on his own. UCLA's Jonathan Franklin is a good looking back who doesn't get as many carries on average as Polk does.

Wide Receivers....Washington...The trio of Devin Aguilar, Jermaine Kearse, and Jermaine Johnson have performed well all season. UCLA has sports the dangerous 6'5 Nelosn Rosario and 6'3 Tylor Embree. That height just may be the reason UW started experimenting with Anthony Boyles at CB during the bye week. From a productivity standpoint this season the Washington receivers have better numbers. The UCLA receivers while talented have not benefitted fromt he stability at QB the UW receivers have.

Tight End...UCLA...Ryan Moya and Logan Paulsen are a couple of TE's who have the tane tto play on Sunday's. UW's Kavario Middleton also has that type of talent but you give the nod in this one to the experience and blocking ability of the Bruin duo.

Offensive Line...Washington...What we have here are two bottom division Pac 10 lines. The Washington offense has been more productive this season when it comes to protecting the QB and opening up holes for the rushing game so they get a slight nod going in.

Defensive Line...UCLA....Brian Price would get my vote as the top defensive lineman in the conference this season. He is a difference maker inside that is impossible to block which free's up his team mates to wreak a little havoc. Korey Bosworth and Datone do a nice job out on the ends.

Linebacker...UCLA....I really like UCLA's Reggie Carter , Akeem Meyers, and Kyle Bosworth. Washington counters with Mason, Butler, and Dennison. Dennison will be starting in place of EJ Savannah who is taking the week off with a thumb injury.

Secondary....UCLA...I would put UCLA's Rahim Moore, Alterraun Verner and Aaron Hester up against anyone in the conference. Moore leads the conference in interceptions this season. Hester is a little banged up and expected to play.

Special Teams...UCLA....UW has had a lot of problems with special teams over the past month. UCLA even though less than perfect has had less problems so I give them the nod going in. This is really a part of the game that will be up for grabs.

Washington running game versus the UCLA defense

This is where the game is going to be won on Saturday. UCLA is giving up over 157 yards per game this season and the Huskies goal going into this game is to pick up around 200 yards. That might be easier said than done because UW averages a shade under 120 yards per game on the ground and Sarkisan probably doesn't want to put too much of a load on Jake Locker who is recovering from a quad bruise. The staff is however treating this as the the must win that it truly is. If Locker can run they are going to unleash him if that what it takes to win this game. We all know what tye of running back Chris polk is. He gets the tough yards inside but is very capable of breaking some big one's. He needs to do that this week and have a career day.

Success rushing the football and winning go hand-in-hand for the Huskies. Since 1990, UW has rushed for 200 yards in a game 72 times. The Huskies’ record stands at 59-12-1 (.826) in those contests. Since the1995 season, Washington is 34-9-1 (.784) when rushing for 200 yards.

Washington Passing Game versus the UCLA defense

Jake has looked good so far in practice this week. What he needs to do this week is improve his decision making. He is going up against a ballhawking secondary and will face some pressure from the UCLA line. If he makes mistakes against the UCLA corners they are going to pick him off. He needs to get outside more on the rollout to buy a little more time. Washington has a very good group of receivers and the hope is a strong running game will open up opportunities down field.

UCLA passing game versus the Washington Defense

UCLA has had trouble all season putting this part of the game together. Washington is a great team to work out those problems against. The Bruins have a big advantage in size when it comes to their WR's. Washington is countering by bringing in two guys that haven't played this season in Jason Wells and Anthony Boyles. Wells may start at safety but I am not sure how much Boyles will play even though his height matches up well with these huge WRs. UCLA is not going to go deep much against Washington. They are going to be throwin a lot of quick outs and high percentage passses to get some rythm going early and give Price some confidence. Chow has a reputation of taking what a defense will give him and Washington will do wht they ahve done all season and that is keep theball in front of them.

Game Notes

UCLA will be the Huskies’ first opponent this season with a sub-.500 record.

Rick Neuheisel was the Husky head coach from 1999 through 2002. Also on the Bruins staff are three former UW assistant coaches: Tim Hundley, Wayne Moses and Reggie Moore (who was a GA at Washington).

Defensive tackle Cameron Elisara (neck stinger) will not travel with the Huskies, marking his second consecutive missed game and prompting the question whether the team has seen the last of his services this season. Also, linebackers E.J. Savannah (broken left wrist) and Jordan Wallace (left knee), who tweaked his knee during a tackle in practice Wednesday, will stay in Seattle.

WR Jordan Polk (knee surgery) has been cleared to play.

Five safeties – Nate Williams, Nathan Fellner, Jason Wells, Victor Aiweya and Greg Walker – will likely see action Saturday, the first-year UW coach said. Williams and Fellner are expected to start.

The Huskies could have as many as three new starters on defense this week. Cort Dennison will start in place of Savannah, and freshman Andru Pulu looks ready to start at defensive end while Daniel T’eo-Nesheim moves inside. Senior Jason Wells could get his first start of the season at safety, although Sarkisian said he had yet to decide whether Wells or true freshman Nate Fellner would start.

An X-ray on UCLA cornerback Aaron Hester's right leg was negative for a fracture, but he has calcium deposits and loose cartilage. Hester, who suffered a broken fibula in the same leg in the season opener, was not in uniform for practice and is questionable for Saturday. Receiver Morrell Presley will be out at least one week because of a sprained left shoulder. . . . Randall Carroll, who has a groin injury, is doubtful for Saturday's game.

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter while rallying the Bruins back from a 16-point deficit this past Saturday against Oregon State. Prince finished with a season-high 323 yards and 22 completions against the Beavers and nearly drove UCLA down the field for another game-tying drive in the closing seconds.

Washington has not beaten UCLA in Pasadena since 1995.

UW is 29-37-2 in the overall series with UCLA.

This Saturday, the Huskies will face a former UW head coach for the 14th time in history, and for the second time since 1975 (the other in that span was a loss last year vs. UCLA, coached by Rick Neuheisel). In ‘75, the Dawgs played the second of two games vs. Texas, coached by Darrell Royal, who was the Husky head man for one season (1956). The Huskies lost to Texas in both 1974 and 1975. In 1946 and 1947, the Huskies face a St. Mary’s team coached by James Phelan, who was the UW head man from 1930 to 1941. UW lost the first of those two, 24-20, but won the ‘47 meeting, 26-6. Lastly,the Huskies faced Cal teams coached by Leonard Allison (UW coach in 1920) nine times between 1935 and 1944, going 5-3-1. The UW is therefore 6-7-1 in games against teams led by former Washington head coaches.

Spaulding Roundup: Lost And Confused Bruin Defense

Nestor — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:35:38 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

2 months ago: California tailback Jahvid Best, center, outpaces UCLA defenders Alterraun Verner (1) and Tony Dye (6) in a carry in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. California won, 45-26. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

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Brian Price in the OC Register:

"It hurts," defensive tackle Brian Price said. "I'm just lost right now. I'm confused."

There is no suger-coating around what is going on with UCLA defense under defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough. We have seen the slide happening for last few weeks. I think our defense started reading a little too much of their press clips after pulling of that win against quarterback-less Volunteers. The stats around this defense were impressive after we went 3-0 against three opponents with mediocre to poor offenses. However, it is now getting exposed as a mediocre to less than average defense after taking on three credible Pac-10 offenses in last three weeks.

Coach Neuheisel is trying to make the best out of a bad situation and doing his best to accentuate the positive around our defense:

"I don't see a lack of effort," Neuheisel said. "I see it as being almost too aggressive, where we get out of control. Tackling is aggression, but you have to stay in control."

Assessing the defense's play thus far, Neuheisel said, "I think the defense has had one bad half this season. The Cal game was not indicative to how the defense has been all season."

But the defense did give up 131 yards rushing against Stanford in the first half. Neuheisel pointed out: "We were down 14-6, so I wouldn't call it a terrible half."

But 14-6 became 24-6 with one minute left in the third quarter. Oregon rushed for 131 yards in the second half.

I find it troubling that CRN pointed to first half of the Stanford game and didn't agree that it was "terrible." I am not sure I can go along with that assessment considering from what I saw Stanford offense ran all over our defense. The score was only 14-6 at half time in Palo Alto because Stanford offense is designed to eat up clock in long grind out drives. From what I saw in that game our defense early on really didn't have any answers against Gerhart and Luck. Yes, they were helped out by that unfortunate penalty by Rahim Moore (which has been another nagging problem with our defense the entire season) but on the whole the Stanford O methodically dominated our front-7. It also looked as if Chuck Bullough wasn't able to make any kind of adjustments to the Stanford attack staying in the same base defense the entire first half.

As for the game against Cal lot of apologists for our defensive efforts are pointing out to the fact that we contained Cal's offense to just 10 points in the second half and kept Best bottled up except for that monster 93 yard play. Unfortunately for our defense they had no answer for Shane Vareen. From the LAT:

The Bears gained 289 yards rushing, which included a 93-yard touchdown run by Jahvid Best.

"We held Jahvid Best to eight yards in 17 carries and 93 in the other one," Neuheisel said.

The Bears' Shane Vereen, meanwhile, romped through and around the Bruins for 154 yards. Take away his 42-yard touchdown run and he still averaged 7.0 yards per carry. The Bears scored 35 points in the first half.

Those numbers are ugly any way you look at it.Oh and Vareen specifically called out how predictable UCLA was on defense:

"We knew their secondary had trouble against Oregon wrapping up the runner," Cal running back Shane Vereen said after the Bears' 45-26 win at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. "We knew that coming in, and we knew we would have to run hard against that. We knew we had to keep running our feet and good things would happen."

Not the first time an opponent has commented about the predictability of our defense. Following the Stanford game Jim Harbaugh made some specific comments about how UCLA's defensive coaches were not making any kind of adjustments to Stanford's jumbo package and as our guys kept the same personnel in for the entire game. Moreover, the Stanford coaches had our defense thoroughly scouted enough so that they went for the flea flicker specifically when Brian Price was out of the game.

I think the defensive numbers potentially will get even uglier next weekend in Arizona when we take on an offensively red hot Wildcat team. I don't have much confidence in our defensive scheme and players to bottle up good offensive teams. This defense which was built by Dewayne Walker have had their 13-9 moments here and there. However, time and time again they have come up short and often down right embarrassed against college offenses with imaginative and creative schemes. Unfortunately there might be other problems plaguing this defense as well.

Jon Gold from the Daily News has a troubling quote from Kyle Bosworth:

"We've got a lot of great players, we've got preseason All-Americans, past All-Americans, All-Pac-10 guys - we've got guys who can make plays individually and are great," Kyle Bosworth said. "I don't know if it's necessarily time for us to start kicking ass - this is something where you either want it or you don't. If you don't want it, we'll pull someone else up who does want it."

Hmm. I don't know. is Bosworth calling out Carter, ATV, Price and Moore? I am not sure if he can call out Brian Price given how he has performed in recent weeks. Is he calling out the other three?

Reggie Carter hasn't been looking great on TV. ATV had a horrible day on Saturday getting lit up in at least could of plays. He got burned on that long TD plus in the very first drive for inexplicable reasons he was giving Cal receiver 7-8 yard cushion for easy pick ups on first down. So not sure how else to read those quotes from Kyle but it is troubling to say the least. His brother Korey added:

"We really need to focus on getting this turned around, and I'm glad we've got an away game this week," Korey Bosworth said. "It's just going to be us. A lot of people are going to throw dirt on our grave, a lot of people are going to just give up on us. With this away game, it's really gonna come down to people in house. It's on our shoulders, and it's something we've got to do to turn around this program."

Well, I am kind of tired from hearing from this guys and writing about how we need to "focus." I feel like we have had to talk about focusing and concentrating better after every week without seeing any kind of improvement on the field (at least on the defensive side). I also don't care much for all the rhetoric from coaches and players about how they need to tackle better. Yeah, we can see that. What I want to see is a well prepared and well coached defense that is put in best position to make plays and execute the game plan.

Just tired of watching a "lost and confused" Bruin defense when they take on offensively talented team week after week. Can't really sugar coat around that and make everyone feel warm and fuzzy this week. Given what I have seen so far this season I expect it to get uglier next weekend and the following. Even with reasonably low expectations of hoping for a 6-7 win regular season, a 5 game losing streak was unfathomable. Well it's looking like a reality after the pathetic defensive efforts from last few weeks.

Perhaps I will be proven wrong. I sure hope I turn out to be "lost and confused" just like Brian Price. Sadly I doubt it given what I have seen in recent weeks.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Making Up For Past Heartbreaks, Staying With Prince & Other Football Notes

Nestor — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:32:40 -0000

I have never really cared for rooting for the Halos. Yet I found that victory last night up lifting for couple reasons: 1) don't like the Red Sox and 2) it made other huge chunk of BN join the Dodger fans about feeling good about something sports related involving Southern California teams this weekend. Also, it made a number of friends - Halos fans - finally move past previous heartbreaks from Halos-Red Sox play off series in the past.

So congrats to the Angels and of course the Dodgers. I like the Yankees but honestly I am not going to be crushed at all if both the Blue Crew and the Halos make the Fall Classic and set up some epic open threads right here on BN. On that positive note (and I will tie it up with the Bruins at the end of this post) let's start the first spaulding roundup of this game week. Of course the QB question is on lot of people's mind. Neuheisel is sticking with Prince (for now):

"I think Kevin Prince is our quarterback," Neuheisel said. "I think Richard Brehaut went in there and did good things, and I want to see Richard Brehaut coming in. And I'm extremely fortunate I have a guy like Kevin Craft who can go in there and do things the way we need him to.

"For the immediate future, we're going to stay with Kevin Prince and believe in him."

Norm Chow was also very clear saying Prince "gives us the best chance to win." Kevin Prince on his part was incredibly gracious about Brehaut getting a shot:

"I wasn't making plays," Prince said. "They were going to try to calm me down, get me back feeling confident. And give Richard a shot, that's only fair. I understood their decision completely. I wasn't able to move the ball, and we just weren't clicking as an offense. As a coach, you have to try something new."

He also understood the urgency of those moments and getting it done on the field:

"I think it's always been about now," Prince said. "Coach Neuheisel made it clear last year that we weren't going to label it a rebuilding year. That's disrespectful to the seniors, to the guys who have been working their whole careers here at UCLA. It's always been about now for us. That should be a wakeup call to myself. I can't sit here and make those mistakes and keep on playing. I need to start improving now."

One thing is clear that this is not the nightmarish situation we underwent with Matt Moore and Drew Olson during their freshman years in Westwood, when a clearly disenchanted Moore was not making the most graceful remarks in public, and his coaches had no idea on how to navigate through that situation. If anything it's clear that Prince clearly "gets it" and is on board with basic premise of team always coming first before individual interests, something that often got lost during the previous regime.

As for the team the seniors called a players only team meeting after the game:

Senior linebacker Kyle Bosworth said after the game team leaders were calling a players-only team meeting to address what ails UCLA.

"These kids want this so badly," Neuheisel said. "If they think a meeting to redefine, to reassure each other that the goals are still high, then so be it. I don't see any of that seeping into our program, at all.

" These seniors really want to lead, and they want desperately for good things to happen. I don't see any fault n that. This is about just playing better."

Well that is encouraging. I like hearing that the players care about these games and hurting after losses. That's different than what I have been used to reading and hearing about the mindset of UCLA players after dispirting losses during previous regime(s). I still have the stories of Ricky Manning yacking it up on his cell phones following the devastating loss against Stanford in 2001 and players laughing and joking around after losses to Trojans during both Toledo/Dorrell years.

So the fact that the players are taking these losses hard is kind of encouraging. It reminds me a little of AA getting into total funk after tough losses on the basketball court. The question right now is how these guys come back this game week at practices and focus on our next opponent. I am sure we will hear a lot of talk about the importance of execution and taking advantage of moments when UCLA has chance to grab control of the game.

Let's see how the guys come back out and perform during game situations next week. One thing that was encouraging on Saturday was that the defense did play a cleaner game and cut down on their penalties. That is something to build on. Although, I still think they will have to do a much better job of tackling, which is going to be a premium when lining up against a super star such as Jahvid Best.

As usual we are not going anyhere. The last group of people Reggie Carter has to worry about sticking with him and his team-mates are the people hanging around here or other online communities of greater Bruin Nation. We are used to getting our hearts ripped out and have our hopes routinely crushed at this point. That is why we had realistic expectations heading into this season. But hey the Halos showed how history can be reversed and previous heartbreaks can be erased for memory.

I am not sure whether the Bruins will be able to match what the Halos did in the Hub yesterday, but what would be great if Reggie and co. come out and play like warriors, leaving everything on the field, and have their coaches let them play in a way so that no matter what the results are next Saturday we are not left with what ifs.

GO BRUINS.

2009 UCLA Football Post-Camp Grades: LB's

Ryan Rosenblatt — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:12:48 -0000

We've graded the entire offense and with the defensive line grades being handed out earlier today, the defensive marks are officially underway. Now we head to the linebackers where it's fantastic at the top and truly frightening at the bottom.

Linebackers

If starters were just taken into account, this would easily be the best position UCLA has. All three starting linebackers are outstanding and bring different things to the table for the Bruins. In the middle is the heart and soul of the UCLA defense, Reggie Carter. The unquestioned leader, Carter is a redshirt senior who was named Scout Team Player of the Year in his redshirt year, Freshman All-American in his redshirt freshman year, has now started for the last three years and was named second team All-Conference last year. This year, he's on the watch list for just about every award out there and is considered one of the best linebackers in the conference. He does it all and there's little doubt that each time he step on the field, you're going to get his best, which is good news for the Bruins and bad news for the opposition.

Flanking Carter on one side is another redshirt senior who is coming off of injury. Kyle Bosworth injured his knee in just the second game of the 2008 season and missed out on the rest of it, which sounds like a bad break, but when you consider that it was a 4-8 season it may not have been so bad. Now he gets to come back with a stellar group of linebackers and try to move the program forward to a bowl game. Bosworth was strong against the run during camp, disciplined in his fits and quick to the perimeter, but needs to be better in coverage. While he wasn't poor in coverage and put himself in good position often, his ball skills with subpar and the good positioning was wasted.

The final starting linebacker spot belongs to the unit's best athlete with the biggest upside. Redshirt sophomore Akeem Ayers is the heaviest of the UCLA starting linebackers. He's also the fastest of the three and has the best ball skills. Physically, he can be as good a linebacker as there is in the Pac-10. He's going to be used a lot as a blitzer because of his ability to get to the quarterback, but don't sleep on his ability in coverage. He had at least a half dozen interceptions in the ten or so practices I attended and will get his hands on some balls at the Rose Bowl this year. The problem Ayers had last season was in reading the movement of the offensive line on run plays and then getting caught in traffic, unable to make a tackle. He showed great improvement in that area in camp as he was quick to read plays and get into position before an offensive lineman could get to the second level and put a block on him. Ayers could have the best year of any UCLA linebacker, which is quite an accomplishment with the other two starting linebackers the Bruins have. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he LOVES to hit. Quarterbacks beware.

After the starters, there is a major drop off at the linebacker position. Donovan Carter is a guy who caught my eye during camp. He was quicker than I remembered him and at about 250 lbs. is plenty big enough. If he can keep himself in position, he could provide adequate backup. The two guys who will get the bulk of the backup time though are Sean Westgate and Steve Sloan. Many of us saw Sloan last year when he took a starting spot following the injury to Bosworth. He manned the middle while Reggie Carter moved outside, but it's been said that Carter isn't leaving the middle this year so Sloan may see his snaps decreased. Westgate is the guy who I was really excited about when watching camp. He's an instinctive player and while that gets him out of position from time to time, for the most part it serves him well. He's quick to the ball and a strong tackler. At only 5'11'' 205 lbs. he's a bit smaller, but he's tough and plays bigger than he is. This is one guy who I have my eye on this year because he probably took the biggest step forward from the end of last year to this year.

Patrick Larimore and Mike Schmitt are the last two linebackers are really primed for serious time in the event of an injury. Both showed flashes in camp, but neither would even remotely consistent. They were caught out of position and didn't fit well against the run. Both are also somewhat limited physically so they need to learn to read plays better or risk being a major liability out there.

While many expected him at defensive line, Keenan Graham spent very little time with his hand on the ground in camp and it appears that he will be used as a rushing linebacker in passing situations if he's not redshirted. Isiah Bowens is another guy who could be used in the same capacity, but it appears he'll be redshirted after a decent, but not eye opening camp. Todd Golper was less than impressive during camp, often being caught out of position so anything but a redshirt would be a surprise.

Grade: B The starters get a A, but the depth is a major, major concern. Frankly, the level of play behind the top four of five is horrid and needs to improve because it's unreasonable for expect all three starting linebackers to stay healthy for the whole year. Even more a concern is what will happen next year when Carter and Bosworth graduate. If it weren't for the emergence of Westgate, this could be a scary situation.

Poll

What would you grade the UCLA linebackers?

A

91 votes

B

137 votes

C

22 votes

D

3 votes

F

2 votes

255 votes | Poll has closed

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.

Spaulding Roundup: Dealing With Adversity

Nestor — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:14:24 -0000

Freshman Anchors: Hasiak (74) and XSF (56), Photo Credit: E. Corpuz

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If you have been coming to this (online) bar since the first day it opened you would the know the kind of energy and excitement we have been experiencing around fall practice this year is unprecedented. We just haven't been this excited about football since we started blogging about UCLA football. However, we always knew we had to keep our excitement in check given the state of our football program which is in the middle of long rebuilding process after years of neglect under incompetent and mediocre football coaches. We knew the depth in our program is a big question since the depth chart is filled with youngsters who simply don't have the experience or enough of it to give us tangible datapoints on what to really expect from this coming season. That is why over and over again during this off season we talked about the realistic expectations around this team would be to hope for a +2 season (improvement from last year by getting 2 more victories) in 2009.

Well we got a jarring sense of reality after the bumps and bruises piled up during the second week of practice. Actually in Kia's case (as two of you have noted already in the fanshots) the injury is more than a mere bump as he will be will out for the entire season. From the LA Times:

Senior guard Micah Kia was lost for the season, after an MRI exam revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Center Kai Maiava, meanwhile, was a spectator, sitting out contact drills, said to be precautionary because of a sore shoulder.

On the other side of the ball, Jerzy Siewierski, a starting defensive tackle, was missing because of a back injury. Korey Bosworth, a starting defensive end, watched contact drills because of a "few bumps and bruises," he said.

"No question our depth is an issue," Neuheisel said, adding, "but it is what it is," which was followed by an optimistic moment, "we have to play with our hair on fire . . . "

That is a tough break for a kid who was coming in, all fired up, ready to have a great senior season. Kyle Bosworth can relate since he went through the same ordeal coming into his senior season last year:

"The more you heal now, the less it hurts and the less it bothers you later," said Kyle Bosworth, who missed most of last season with a knee injury suffered in Week 2. "When I got hurt, it was really hard to sit there and know I wouldn't be playing. At the beginning I thought, `I've been practicing so hard, it'll be nice to have a couple days off.' Those couple days turned into a couple days, a couple weeks, a couple months.

"Man, it really sucks."

What hurts the most, Bosworth said - and Kia agreed - was the extra hard work that went into what was supposed to be the final college season.

"Coming into this, I know he was so focused," Bosworth said. "Last year, this is everything, all the apples in the baskets. It's just like all that hard work is for nothing. It makes you hungrier. I remember coming back in for spring ball, and I played my (behind) off.

Well it's not fun but the world is not coming to an end in Westwood.

We discussed yesterday that this kind of injuries to linemen during training camp is not unusual. This happens and its the kind of adversity that is often just part of the game. This is why schools work so hard to stock pile their depth charts with bodies. To their credit coaches have been focusing on doing just that at OL since the time they stepped into Westwood. That is why coming into this year they had about 18 kids competing for the 5 starting spot at OL. Now this injury means a youngster will get definite chances to show his staff. This is exactly why kids like Hasiak and XSF came to Westwood, shocking the world during recruiting season this past year. They are going to be able to compete and develop themselves by jumping right into the fire. More after the jump.

Kai Maiava, who also sat out practice with a sore shoulder (as precaution) is excited about Hasiak getting his opportunity right away in Westwood:

"He has to realize that when these opportunities come around - and they don't come around very often - you've just got to rise to the occasion," Maiava said. "When the time comes and it's game time, I'll let him know, `You've got to step up because it's your turn."'

Hasiak will not be the only first year Bruin getting his shot to prove himself at the OL. From the LA Times:

The Bruins first offensive line unit included freshman offensive lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo and guard Stanley Hasiak and two community college transfers, guard Eddie Williams and center Ryan Taylor.

Maiava's condition was said not to be serious and he was expected to return to practice today. But Kia's injury all but guarantees that quarterback Kevin Prince's blind side will be protected by freshmen.

"That was a big loss," offensive line coach Bob Palcic said. "Micah was having a great camp. This was going to be his fourth year playing. He's an experienced guy."

So sit back and think for a minute about our starting unit in the first game of the season. Our offensive line will most likely have at least 2 true freshman, 1 transfer (Maiava). We will have starting QB who hasn't taken a single snap at the college level. Our RBs will either be extremely young or inexperienced. Among the WR corps, Austin and Ketchum will be only upper classmen, while Paulsen will be the only other senior besides Austin anchoring the offense. Do you get now why we have been relentless in being practical about our season expectations for this year? I think getting 7 wins with this unit would be an amazing accomplishment (akin to getting into second round of the NCAA tournament during Howland's second year). I will gladly take 6 wins and an appearance in a bowl game.

FWIW, CRN wanted the kids to play with the "hair on fire." Well look what happened out at Spaulding:

1) A spirited goal-line session was interrupted by players running onto the field after consecutive touchdowns to start the drill. UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel was not pleased, as he shouted to the sideline, "Cut it out!"
Take one: If I'm a head coach, I love the enthusiasm, somewhat misguided as it was. Good for Neuheisel for maintaining order, but good for the players for making him need to.

Seems like they are getting his message. Seems like they are dealing with adversity just fine and responding to the leadership of their head coach. Leadership, again something that has been missing from UCLA football at least from the head coaching position, for decades. I am glad to see signs of it.

GO BRUINS.

Predicting the Season - UCLA Bruins

dvieira — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:42:14 -0000

via ucla.freedomblogging.com. Rick Neuheisel may wish he could come in and play some QB for the Bruins this year

UCLA had a rough go of it last year, compiling a 4-8 record under first year head coach Rick Neuheisel. Karl Dorrell left the cupboard bare when he was unceremoniously fired but the Bruins have put together very good back-to-back recruiting classes that should start to contribute more to the games starting this season. In 2008, Oregon had just come off a devastating 44-10 loss at USC in welcoming the UCLA Bruins into Autzen Stadium. Under the lights, the home crowd saw Jeremiah Masoli complete 5 passes out of 19 attempts for a whopping 42 yards. One of those passes was a diving score by Chris Harper in the second quarter. The rushing game ruled the day with the Ducks rumbling for 323 yards on the ground, including a 69-yard touchdown scamper by LeGarrette Blount to seal the win for Oregon.

This year, Oregon travels to Los Angeles to face off against the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl. Oregon will be coming off a 4-game homestand while UCLA will have already had a bye and a trip to a tough Stanford team on the road. The Bruins will be better in 2009 but will they have any advantage against Oregon when the teams meet in October? Let's run the numbers.

Oregon Offense vs. UCLA Defense

The Bruin Defense is definitely the brightest spot for the entire team and you don't have to look farther than 6-2, 295-pound junior defensive tackle Brian Price. He was first team Pac-10 last year and will most likely go out early to the NFL. His 14 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks were huge for an interior lineman and will cause lots of problems for opposing teams in both the running and passing games.

Kyle Bosworth will be coming back after a sprained knee sidelined him for the 2008 season and should give UCLA depth at the linebacker position. With 4 guys having starter experience, the combination of a tough defensive line and a solid linebacking core give the Bruins the potential to have an extremely stingy front 7.

If there is one concern, it would be speed around the edge and this is where Oregon should be able to take advantage, especially if LaMichael James breaks out in the first couple of games. During the middle of the season last year, there was a 4 game stretch where UCLA gave up 200 yards on the ground on average to the teams they faced. If Oregon can work sideline to sideline and get those linebackers and defensive lineman working horizontally, the speed of the Duck attack should loosen the middle up for big gains.

In the secondary, CB Michael Norris and S Brett Lockett are both gone from a unit that was ranked 8th in the nation against the pass and got better as the season wore on. Alterraun Verner will be back and locking down everyone on his side of the field. On the other side though, redshirt freshman Aaron Hester will see a lot of passes his way as teams look to go away from Verner's side. The secondary, as a whole, is young. The two-deep coming out of spring has one senior, four sophmores and three freshman. This year will be filled with growing pains as those young guys adjust.

When UCLA faced Oregon last year, Jeremiah Masoli had barely gotten his feet wet after taking over for Justin Roper. The passing game hadn't developed but the running game did a great job of helping the team win. This year should be a different story as Masoli comes in as a major passing threat. Against some young corners and linebackers that don't have blazing speed, Oregon should find a lot of success in the wide receiver screens and getting the ball to the outside with one on one chances against the secondary. With Verner on Jemere Holland, that should leave Jeff Maehl and DJ Davis with plenty of opportunities.

Oregon Defense vs. UCLA Offense

The biggest news concerning the UCLA Offense is that Kevin "Interception Machine" Craft is out as quarterback having been replaced by 6-2, 226-pound redshirt freshman Kevin Prince. A highly touted recruit, Prince will get a trial by fire during the upcoming season and unless he is the second coming of Tim Tebow, look for a lot of freshman mistakes as he learns the ropes. You would think that Kevin Craft would be the backup right? Richard Brehaut had a great spring and clearly outplayed Craft but still has a redshirt year that I'm sure the Bruins would love to keep intact.

On the offensive line, UCLA just has problems plain and simple. After the injury bug hit them hard last year, the best thing you can say is that at least they have experience. With 8 different lineman earning at least 2 starts, they will excel at lineman by committee. After a tough year last year, spring didn't look any better as bad snaps, missed blocking assignments, and issues with fundamentals continued to plague the line. Oregon, even with rebuilding their defensive line in the off-season, will have a clear advantage in the trenches. With a leaky offensive line combined with a young and inexperienced quarterback, it might be a long day for whomever is back there for the Bruins.

Running backs in Christian Ramirez, Derrick Coleman, and Johnathan Franklin all come in with a combined 72 carries among them. UCLA will probably employ a "Thunder and Lightening" attack, with 6-2, 220-pound Ramirez as the thunder and Franklin as the lightening. With how athletic the Oregon front 7 appears in the spring, look for the Ducks to neutralize the running attack and force Prince to beat them through the air.

Prince will have some options to throw to as the three top receivers for the Bruins come back for another round. Taylor Embree, Terrence Austin and Ryan Mota all come back and should give Prince opportunities in space. With a young quarterback and the lack of a truly dynamic receiver, the Bruins might have some difficulties stretching the field. With the lack of a deep threat, look for the strong Oregon secondary and linebacking units to aggressively fly to the ball, hoping to disrupt the passing and running attacks.

Special Teams

Kai Forbath is dynamite in the place kicking game, including 6-for-6 from beyond 50 yards. He just might be the biggest offensive weapon the Bruins have next year. If the defense can keep it close, Forbath might be just the guy to pull out a couple of wins for the team. UCLA will be replacing their all Pac-10 first team punter Aaron Perez and Jeff Locke looks to be getting the nod. He was the nation's premiere punter coming out of high school in 2008. Given how the offense looks, Locke should get plenty of opportunities for playing time.

Oregon should have an advantage in kick returns as the coverage teams for the Bruins were miserable nationally last year in both kick (100th) and punt coverage(107th).

Conclusion

I like Oregon's chances in this game. UCLA may have improved from last year but Oregon will be greatly improved from when the Bruins and Ducks last met. In all skill positions, Oregon is better than it was last year for this matchup and with UCLA having some inexperience in the secondary, look for Oregon to exploit the holes in the defense in the running and passing games. UCLA's season offensively will all depend on how Kevin Prince adjusts to being the man with the plan. If he struggles out of the gate, Oregon will have a field day. If Prince can get his legs under him before the Oregon game, the passing attack will allow the Bruins to stay in it, especially if their defense can get some key turnovers.

The kicking and punting game should factor into this game as both teams have some challenges. We could see a 14 point swing from special teams alone. That being said, Oregon should be able to handle the Bruins at the Rose Bowl.

Oregon 30 – UCLA 13

UCLA Linebackers: Explosive Starters But Depth Is A Concern

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

This could be Akeem's year. (Photo Source: Nathan Tyree (flickr))

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We finished up looking through the offense last weekend. So time to shift the focus over to the defensive side, which many are expecting to be the strength of our football team. I will start by looking through the LB corps in this post. It's a position that features one of the key leaders of the football team along with some talented sidekicks, but has questions concerning depths.

Obviously the story at LB corps begins with MLB 6-1 240 pound Reggie Carter. He is the heart and soul of our defense if not the entire team. He is going to anchor our defense from Mike position which is his natural position. He did spend a little time at Sam during his career at UCLA however his physical attributes and overall understanding of the game makes him a natural fit at MLB. In other words he is the perfect heir apparent of Christian Taylor except he happens to be lot more athletic. The key for Reggie (knock on wood here) is going to be staying healthy.

He got banged up a little this past season and still finished with a team leading 83 tackles. Of course Reggie's signature moment at UCLA came during 13-9 game when he owned Booty at the Rose Bowl all afternoon long. I haven't seen the kind of swagger in a Bruin LB as I see in Reggie since the days of Donnie Edwards. We cannot afford to lose him this year if we want to make a charge into the post-season. Reggie could potentially have a memorable season if his team-mates can also step up with him. More on them after the jump.

As excited as I am about what Reggie can do this year, the kid I am excited to see is Akeem Ayers. From the LA Times:

[T]he player who may catch eyes this season is the other guy: Akeem Ayers, who started three games last season.

"Akeem’s problem wasn’t his play, it was that he didn’t always know where he was supposed to be," Carter said. "That’s changed. I don’t have to tell him where to be as much. He knows what he is supposed to do and doesn’t second-guess himself."

Ayers’ raw ability was obvious. Chasing Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli down from behind last season made that clear. He also has the size (6 feet 4, 252 pounds) to battle offensive linemen.

Akeem is a weapon. Pure and simple. He can go after RBs and TEs like a heat seeking missile. And after the weigh he has put during this off-season he is going to be absolutely lethal if he shows the same type of explosive ability in terms of speed, he has shown his last two years at UCLA. He is simply an amazing athlete and if he comes in this year, a little more polished with a better understanding of UCLA's defensive scheme (which is not going to be changed up much), he could be effective. I also think his speed is going to be key when UCLA will be facing Pac-10 teams with explosive athletes such as Best, Massoli or Rogers. He is the kind of LB who can provide the answer for an embattled DC looking to solve probelms posed by spread types of offense seen at the college game.

Rounding up the trip at Will LB is Kyle Bosworth who hopefully will have a great senior season at UCLA. From Sam at All-Pac-10 blog:

Joining Carter as a starter will be fellow senior Kyle Bosworth. Bosworth will occupy the weakside at linebacker once again, after an injury forced him to miss most of the 2008 season. Bosworth sprained his knee against BYU last season after playing in just two games, and was granted a substitute year of eligibility as a result.

At 6-1 234 pounds, Bosworth is an extremely physical presence at weakside linebacker, and like Carter he plays with steadfast aggression. In 2007, Bosworth finished 5th on the team with 74 tackles and four tackles for loss.

He plays much faster than his forty-time suggests (4.70), and is rarely caught out of position. The Plano (TX) native will look to wreak havoc on opposing offenses alongside his brother Korey (defensive end). Bosworth enters fall camp in good health, and has a firm grasp on a starting role in 2009.

Here is to Kyle staying healthy. The problem for UCLA right now is depth. In terms of starters we probably have as good as combination at LB as anyone else in the conference. However, after we go beyond that first unit we have questions. Right now Steve Sloan and Sean Westgate are primed for the reserve spots. From Sam Saig's rundown linked above:

The 6-4 231 pound Sloan was able to take advantage of playing time after Boswroth went down, starting nine of 12 games and finishing with 29 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Sloan played inside last season, and will therefore be the main backup for Carter.

The Campbell (CA) native played linebacker at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, making 143 tackles during his senior year. Rivals and Scout.com rated him as a 4-star prospect and he will be the future at middle linebacker for the Bruins once Carter is gone. He enters fall camp as one of the top reserves for UCLA.

The 5-11 205 pound Westgate wasted no time making an impact at UCLA, picking up a blocked punt and returning it for a TD in the season opener against Tennessee. He went on to appear in all 12 games as a true freshman, making 18 tackles on the season. Westgate does not have the size of the other linebackers, but he is a fierce competitor that plays with a high motor. The Oak Park (CA) native enters fall as the main backup to Bosworth on the weakside.

Both of them are capable backsups and were steady last season. However, the dropoff following the first trio is obvious. In addition to those two we Donovan Carter, Patrick Larimore, and junior Mike Schmitt in the depth chart who might be able to contribute this season.

In terms of true freshman we could see Todd Golper, who seems healthy following an injury plagued senior year in high school, getting some action this year. We could also see Isaiah Bowen (6-3, 220) from Bishop Amat getting some action as well. However, we are not going to have Taniela Maka (academics) and Jared Koster (sports hernia) on the team this fall who won't be ready to join till Winter quarter.

So, the key for this unit will be health. We need to hope and pray that our starters stay healthy this year. They certainly have the potential to make this a memorable year for our defense and the team. However, we are going to need them fresh and on the field throuhout the season. That of course again brings us back to our offense. If our offensive line can help the team play lot more ball control this season, it will keep our guys on defense, especually these studs at LBs fresh and ready to terrorize offenses every chance they get.

GO BRUINS.