UCLA Football: 5 Things to Watch in Spring Practice

With the UCLA Football team starting spring practice next week, Go Joe Bruin gives you 5 things to watch as the Bruins prepare for 2017.

It is once again time for UCLA Football. Though the fervor of spring brings a certain level of excitement, Bruin fans are cautious about what they might see.

The reason for this is because the Bruins did not end last season in spectacular fashion. With a sputtering offense, an injured Josh Rosen and a tired defense, the Bruins finished 4-8.

Next week begins the Bruins’ attempt at turning things around. With that, here are 5 things we will be looking for in spring practice.

1. Return of the Jedd(i)

The UCLA Football team made wholesale changes in the off-season as they repalced almost the entire offensive coaching staff.  The genesis of this came when Head Coach Jim Mora replaced Offensive Coordinator Kennedy Polamalu with former Michigan QB coach Jedd Fisch.

Fisch was very successful with turning Wolverine QBs Jake Rudock and Wilton Speight into proficient leaders of the offense. Though he has more talent with Josh Rosen, it will be interesting to see how he can up the Chosen One’s game.

And that brings the biggest question, what exactly is this new offense going to look like?

It has been said that Fisch will bring a “multi-look offense” which could utilize several backs, receivers and even multiple tight end sets. We won’t see the specifics until next Tuesday, but it appears as if Fisch is expanding off of what Polamalu did, though I can see the new OC utilizing the talent that he has slightly better than KP.

Either way, the offensive line has to improve, the run game has to improve, receiving has to improve… basically, Fisch has a lot to try and figure out and will do able to do that starting in spring practice.

2. Defensive Line U

The defensive line has been one of the most efficient, well recruited and properly develop squads on the team.  This past signing day, the Bruins reloaded as they brought in five lineman which included 5* DE Jaelan Phillips and 4* DTs Martin Andrus and Greg Rogers.

Though they lose Takkarist McKinley and Eddie Vanderdoes, the Bruins have numerous options at the tackle and the end spots. Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, Matt Dickerson, Rick Wade and Keisean Lucier-South are just a few of the players that could step up this year. It is going to take some time to figure out who will start and who will rotate in as a backup, but this is a good problem.

Defensive line coach Angus McClure has been on fire with his guys and he continues to bring in top-level players. With the Bruins looking to continue their dominance on defense, they should be raring to go upfront.

3. The Air/Ground Assault

Let’s face it, the running and the passing game was no bueno in 2016.  The move to a power-oriented offense by Polamalu threw everyone for a loop on the offensive side of the ball. Although the Bruins had sophomore Josh Rosen, who did a particularly OK job, he couldn’t exactly get the offense going in the first six games of the season, but all of the blame can’t be placed on him.

It all started up front with the offensive line. They could not block to save their lives. That not only had the run game suffering, but the pressure on the quarterback did not allow ime for the passing game to develop.

On top of that, no one was able to consistently catch a ball.

With Fisch now in charge, we hope to see improvement. UCLA starts over with the offense, which will include a new philosophy and new coaches.

So this spring, watch to see how the offense moves, if they can. Although it will be especially tough time as they go against…

4. Bradley’s Boys

The defense was the one part of the team that was consistent and effective in 2016.

In Bradley’s second year, he had his boys lift themselves up by their bootstraps and play some hard-hitting football. The unfortunate thing about the defense was that they were often gassed by the end of games because the offense wasn’t pulling their weight.

The defense was on the field significantly longer than the offense, and did not bring cohesiveness to the overall production of the team.

Though the offense needs to improve, watch as the defense continues to develop with a deep defensive line, a developing linebacking crew and arguably the best secondary in the Pac-12.

5. The Resurrection of Rosen

And finally, what will become of Josh Rosen in his third and most likely final year with the UCLA Football team?

Rosen spent the second half of the year on the sideline having to watch his team self-destruct en route to a 4-8 season. In Game 6, he was slammed to the turf on a sack against Arizona State, injuring his throwing arm as he was sandwiched against the ground. He has since had surgery and apparently it was a success.

So will that lead to Rosen having success on the field?

This is what we are very interested to see in regards to Fisch and the new offense. Rosen is a very cerebral player and brings a lot for Fisch to utilize. What has to happen between these two is trying to figure out how to lead the offense with the tools that are available.

Hopefully things gel quicker than expected, because the Bruins have a lot of ground to make up in trying to get this offense going.

Next: Way-Too-Early Top 5 Bruins in the 2018 NFL Draft

Though it will be a process, it all has to start somewhere and all begins Tuesday on the IM Field. Go Bruins.