UCLA Football: The Battle for the Back-Up Quarterback Spot Has Begun

The UCLA Football team already has a starting QB, the question here is, who will be the #2?

Let’s just get it out of the way… Josh Rosen. There you have it, the starting quarterback for the UCLA Football team.

Now, let’s talk about the back-up situation as it is unlike anything we saw last season. With respect to Jerry Neuheisel, Jake Hall and Mike Fafaul, there really wasn’t another player other than Rosen who could have carried this team last season.

This season, the Bruins do not just have one option for back-up, they have four. Along with Fafaul, UCLA managed to sign three players this past National Signing Day, Dymond Lee, Matt Lynch and Devon Modster.

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Now here is the thing, the back-up spot is up for grabs, but unlike last season, the talent and experience level has increased and should be very useful to the Bruin coaching staff.

Fafaul’s story is that of longevity. He will be entering his his fifth season with UCLA, so needless to say, he knows the system. Though he may not have the talents of his younger counterparts, he has the knowledge and experience, as little as it may be.

Last season he completed two passes for 21 yards at Oregon State. Two years before that he completed four passes, one of which went 24 yards to Logan Sweet in the Sun Bowl. If needed in a moment’s notice, he could be the go-to guy to finish a game, but is he the kind of guy that could fill in for Rosen in the long term? (On a side note, Fafaul has been looking very good in fall camp so far.)

If the Bruins need to insert some athleticism, with respect to Fafaul, they could look to Lynch and Modster. Lynch is raw, but got to enroll early and spend the spring with the team. That helped him to get in rhythm with the offense and he improved quite substantially. He has also looked good in fall camp and is showing nice consistency.

The question mark here is Modster. Though we know he has some talent, he does not have the experience, though that is changing rapidly. On Day 1 of fall camp, Mora named him as one of the stand out players and complimented him by saying, “the game isn’t too big for him.”

Even if Fafaul was initially chosen to play behind Rosen, the UCLA coaches could/should have special packages built for Lynch and Modster, especially for more long term planning.

And what about Lee? Like Modster, he is new to the Bruins and though he played some quarterback in high school, he was recruited as a receiver. What he can add to the back-up QB battle has to do with his feet.

In essence, he is a raw Brett Hundley. He needs to develop his arm, which is decent, but if he needs to get out of trouble, he can always rely on his running abilities to help himself out in a game. Unfortunately, right now, the coaches are looking for the best player to control the offense.

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The young talent is good, but the #2 QB should be the player with the best knowledge of the game. Either way, it gives UCLA more options than they have had in previous seasons, which also means Rosen could possibly do even more in 2016.