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UCLA Football Recruiting: Seven Bruins That Could Start In 2016

By Mike Regalado

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Feb 3, 2016; Concord , CA, USA; De La Salle defensive tackle Boss Tagaloa commits to the UCLA Bruins at University of California, Los Angeles on national signing day at De La Salle High School. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 3, 2016; Concord , CA, USA; De La Salle defensive tackle Boss Tagaloa commits to the UCLA Bruins at University of California, Los Angeles on national signing day at De La Salle High School. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /

Boss Tagaloa, DT

The Bruins stocked up on defensive lineman this past National Signing Day which helped them with depth on the line.

The Bruins had a moderately deep roster in 2015, but lacked experience, especially after some injuries hampered their progress.

When DT Eddie Vanderdoes went down in Week 1 with a season-ending injury, it exposed the line and the Bruins had to rely on several young players that were not quite up to speed with the system to, at best, patch up the line.

The result was the Bruins sinking into the lower half of the Pac-12 run defense stats as they allowed 198.5 yards on the ground per game. With a player like Boss Tagaloa coming in, UCLA now has some good, raw talent to boost the front line’s profile.

At 6’1″, 295 lbs., Tagaloa is a powerful defensive lineman that can literally push people around. He is also very elusive for a player of his size and is good in pursuing ball carriers.

Talent like that would be hard to deny playing time for, but if he develops quicker than other current Bruin defensive linemen, then there is no reason to not start him with Vanderdoes and Takkarist McKinley.

Next: Power To The Run