Josh Rosen shined in his debut for UCLA Football, but you have to hand it to the receivers for the extra help.
Unless you were a UCLA Football fan living under a rock the last two days, you know that freshman quarterback Josh Rosen had one hell of a coming out party in his first college football game of his career. It was impressive, but he could not have done it with out the help of a few key players… the Bruin receivers.
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UCLA Bruins
Aside from having a more precise QB (not to knock Brett Hundley), the UCLA offense was exactly the same. Quick crosses, slants and the many, many passes in the flats. The thing about Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone‘s spread offense is that it is not complicated, but it does require smarts which Hundley and Rosen both have. The things is, with Rosen, the Bruins looked efficient and consistent on nearly every play.
The receivers had a lot to do with that.
The UCLA Football team was not able to get the run game going early, which is contrary to what you want happen in trying to break in a new quarterback. Fortunately, the Bruins do have a quarterback that could handle the pressure and had several receivers make that so.
In true Mazzone fashion, he made Rosen spread the ball around as 11 Bruins had recoded catches against Virginia that totaled 351 passing/receiving yards.
Paul Perkins, Jordan Payton, Thomas Duarte, Devin Fuller, Nate Iese, Kenneth Walker, Eldridge Massington, Logan Sweet, Darren Andrews, Mossi Johnson and Kenneth Clark (a defensive guy!) all had at least one reception.
But it was not just the variety of passes that were thrown, it was what the receivers were able to do with the ball on the catch which was impressive.
September 5, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins fullback Nate Iese (32) runs the ball ahead of Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Micah Kiser (53) during the second half at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Rosen was able to get the football to where it needed to go, but the receivers finished the job. In coverage, in space and even stretching out for touchdowns, just like Duarte did as he hauled in the ball with his finger tips to give UCLA their second touchdown of the game.
It was beautiful.
With all things clicking for the UCLA offense, it is guaranteed that they will have success this year.
Still, this is only one game and the Bruins will truly be tested once they get into conference play – UNLV does not seem to be a big challenge and BYU lost their starting QB Taysom Hill for the season.
In a way, that is good so that the UCLA Football offense can get a little bit more comfortable with their quarterback and receivers. The sooner they are all on the same page (see the second drive of their season opener) the better for them to make a statement later in the season. It sure will be fun.
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