What Now For The Injury-Plauged UCLA Football Team?
The UCLA Football team now has a third player go down for the season as news came out that Myles Jack is done for the year. So where do the banged-up Bruins go from here?
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UCLA Football, the most banged up team in college football. Of course. Why not? This was only suppose to be the year UCLA was going to go the farthest they have ever been under Jim Mora.
Instead, only three games in, it is a roller coaster of emotions thanks to several season-ending injuries.
So DL Eddie Vanderdoes is gone for the year after tearing his ACL in the first game against Virginia. CB Fabian Moreau left the game against BYU because of a foot injury. It came out yesterday that he is gone for the year with a fracture in his foot.
RELATED: Myles Jack Is Out For The Year With A Knee Injury
Then this morning, rumor became fact as Mora confirmed that LB Myles Jack, the most awesomest linebacker ever, sustained a knee injury in practice on Tuesday that will keep him out for the season.
Now, Bruin fans, sing along with me…
That feels good, but it does not change the fact that the Bruins are without a few of their top guys in every position group.
UCLA Bruins
Yes, UCLA Football is deep with talent, as we have been stating all summer long, but there is a difference when your top guys are lost for the season. Vanderdoes, Moreau or Jack alone is bad, but it is something UCLA Football can get through. All three in just the first four weeks is a different beast.
No use crying over skilled milk though. The Bruins have to go on.
So what happens now?
Well on the defensive line, we have seen Eli Ankou, Matt Dickerson and Jacob Tuioti-Mariner cycle in for the injured Vanderdoes and have been doing a decent job. NO! They have been doing a damn fine job to be honest.
At linebacker, we got a huge surprise from Isaako Savaiinaea who replied the ejected Kenny Young against BYU. Savaiinaea, though a back-up, was the most active LB (quite possibly Bruin defender) in that game. If he can keep up that activity, that should help replacing Jack just a little.
MORE: Ishmael Adams Reinstated, Fabian Moreau Out For The Season
The Bruins also have Aaron Wallace, Jayon Brown and Cameron Judge to help fill the void. Though they have played sparingly in the first three games, there is no doubt they will be ready to come in and take on a bigger role no matter who gets the starting nod or is cycled in.
Still, this is a deep team and even though thew coaching staff has to figure a few things out, I have complete faith in Mora and his coaching staff that things will be adjusted.
The secondary gets a little bit cloudier with the loss of Moreau. Against BYU, Denzel Fisher had replaced Moreau and got picked on time and again. Though I imagine that will be corrected this week in practice, it is important to know that this is what future Bruin opponents will be picking up on.
Even though UCLA gets suspended CB Ishmael Adams back, the Bruins have to solve the passing defense in a hurry.
Still, this is a deep team and even though the coaching staff has to figure a few things out, I have complete faith in Mora and company that things will be adjusted. How that fares for the rest of the season is yet to be seen.
Go Bruins!
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