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UCLA Football Position Group Analysis – Receivers

By Mike Regalado

Nov 21, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Darren Andrews (4) carries the ball as Utah Utes defensive back Cory Butler-Byrd (16) defends during the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. UCLA won 17-9. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Darren Andrews (4) carries the ball as Utah Utes defensive back Cory Butler-Byrd (16) defends during the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. UCLA won 17-9. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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Go Joe Bruin continues the position group analysis of the UCLA Football team post-2016 as we now examine the receivers heading into 2017.

There was not a lot of good coming from the UCLA Football team’s receiving game. Despite the fact that they managed 295.6 receiving yards per game, there were a lot of factors that kept the Bruins from really making an impact, even before their starting quarterback went down.

RELATED STORY: UCLA Football Position Group Analysis – Quarterbacks, Running Backs

The biggest problem was dropped balls. Not only did UCLA leave a lot of yards out on the field, but they killed key drives in every single game they played. So what do we have to look forward to next year?

Related Story: The 30 Greatest UCLA Football Players of All-Time

The State of the Receivers

The Bruins were forced to rely on their passing game due to the fact that the run game was non-existent. After starting the season with power elements (which did include bits of the spread), former Offensive Coordinator Kennedy Polamalu reverted back to pass-heavy spread style halfway through the season.

This was an interesting move, especially after Josh Rosen was out for the season due to a shoulder injury he suffered in game 6 vs. Arizona State. With backup QB MIke Fafaul in for the Bruins, things did not improve.

As the season went on, Fafaul and his receivers seemed to connect less and less. By the last three games, the receiving game took a hit not just becuase receivers were dropping balls, but because Fafaul was not giving his receivers the opportunity to catch said balls.

Throwing the ball away and throwing inaccurate passes were the norm and because of it, UCLA’s offense suffered another setback.

2016 Key Stats

Darren Andrews: 55 catches, 709 yds, 12.9 yards per catch, 4 TD, 59.1 yards per game

Jordan Lasley: 41 cat, 620 yds, 15.1 ypc, 5 TD, 56.4 ypg

Nate Iese: 25 cat, 400 yds, 16.0 ypc, 4 TD, 36.4 ypg

Kenneth Walker: 22 cat, 365 yds, 16.6 ypc, 4 TD, 33.2 ypg

Eldridge Massington: 20 cat, 285 yds, 17.4 ypc, 1 TD, 31.7 ypg

Austin Roberts: 15 cat, 261 yes, 17.4 ypc, 1 TD, 23.7 ypg

Caleb Wilson: 16 cat, 220 yds, 13.8 ypc, 0 TD, 18.3 ypg

Ishmael Adams: 20 cat, 178 yds, 8.9 ypc, 0 TD, 16.2 ypg

Theo Howard: 12 cat, 88 yds, 7.3 ypc, 1 TD, 11.0 ypg

Key Losses

Ishmael Adams – graduation

Kenny Walker – graduation

Nate Iese – graduation

2017 Recruits

No current commits for 2017