UCLA Football: DB Johnny Johnson Tears Shoulder, Secondary On Last Leg Already

UCLA entered this offseason with some serious concerns in their secondary. Despite bringing in a good chunk of four-star talent in a deep recruiting class, UCLA remained rather thin at defensive back. For the better part of two years, the secondary’s been a liability.

And things aren’t getting better, as four-star freshman DB Johnny Johnson tore a ligament in his shoulder, according to Jack Wang of the L.A. Daily News.

This is a huge blow to UCLA’s ever-thinning secondary, a unit that was already mediocre by national standards in 2012. The Bruins still have some talent to anchor the secondary (namely freshmen Priest Willis and Tahaan Goodman), but having already lost promising upperclassmen in Dietrich Riley (medical retirement) and Tevin McDonald (pothead), it’s difficult to try and rationalize the loss of Johnson.

We can’t emphasize enough how badly the loss affects UCLA. As it is, pundits and fans are a bit timid about touting the Bruins as a serious PAC-12 contender because there’s so much uncertainty in the defensive backfield. While running back is a concern for this team, it’s not like the crew is starting over at that position. Indeed, a complete rebuild of an already broken secondary occurred.

Somehow, these Bruins will need to manage.