UCLA Football Showcases Themselves, Several Players Standout

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UCLA Football Spring Practice Photo Credit: Mike Regalado /

The Defense

Tom Bradley will be more dedicated to the 4-3 defense, specifically to stop the run. Now even thought the Bruins have three dynamic running backs — who often took advantage of the run defense — the defensive line looked very strong, specifically Takkarist McKinley who has been very impressive in the spring.

McKinley’s ability to come off the edge had pressured the offense’s quarterback on many different occasions.

For the most part, the defense played a little simpler, playing in mostly their base formation. They did not do anything complicated as they looked to stay in coverage and not let long balls go over the top. One thing that did stand out was the fact that man-to-man coverage was very tight and disallowed or redirected the offense in the open field.

In many plays, the defense was not only able to get pressure on the offensive line and push them back, but that allowed the defense to “sack” the quarterback on several drives.

Next: Individual Standouts