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UCLA Football Spring Practice Preview – Receivers

By Mike Regalado

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Sep 26, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Jordan Payton (9) signals during the fourth quarter against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. UCLA won 56-30. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Jordan Payton (9) signals during the fourth quarter against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. UCLA won 56-30. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports /

With the UCLA Football team shifting from a spread to a power offense, many questions will arise about how this team will operate going forward, especially with the receiving unit.

Under former Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone, the UCLA Football team had three to four (and possibly five) receivers on the field at any given time in his spread offense.

The purpose of the spread, by definition, is to “spread” the offense out and create mismatches for defenses while having multiple receiving options for the quarterback (who starts from shotgun).

RELATED: UCLA Football Spring Practice – Quarterbacks

That changes this season as new Offensive Coordinator Kennedy Polamalu gets the Bruins offense set up for some power. Along with a stronger running game, which we discussed in our Running Backs Spring Preview, the Bruins will need to utilize a beefier offensive line.

UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins /

UCLA Bruins

Things also change for the receivers. With all honesty, no information has been released about how the UCLA receivers will be used and in what capacity, which means that we can only speculate what will happen.

Power offenses normally use fewer receivers and run tighter schemes, which would be beneficial to the Bruins who are a little thin with their WRs.

After last season, UCLA lost five receivers, including three who are hopefuls for the NFL Draft: Thomas Duarte, Devin Fuller and Jordan Payton (all three collectively had more than half of UCLA’s receptions in 2015).

Still, as power schemes go, UCLA’s offense will be in transition, so what we see on the field on Tuesday, March 29 will be new to everyone outside the UCLA Football program.

Depending on how Polamalu wants to shape the offense, we could see as little as one receiver on the field, but considering the offense they are transitioning from, it would not be a surprise if we see a few remaining elements from the spread. With that, we look at four potential spots with the current roster.

Next: Receiver Positions