It is the fifth day of Spring Practice for the UCLA Football team and Go Joe Bruin took a hard look at the offense, which is slowly progressing and had more than a few bright spots.
So what does new UCLA Football Offensive Coordinator Jedd Fisch’s “multiple” offense look like and how is it developing? These were two questions I looked to answer as I focused on the offense for much of this practice.
With a new offensive philosophy (the third in as many seasons), the Bruins have to be retrained on what the are expected to do. Though this seems very similar to the offense ran by last year’s OC Kennedy Polamalu, it seems that Fisch is more into explaining every little detail.
When I got to the IM Field on the campus of UCLA, the offensive line was on the west field working on form and technique. OL Coach Hank Farley was having the line go through their rhythm and spending a good amount of time after every snap to discuss where individuals should be and how they need to pick up their assignments.
The line will take some time to click which was evident when the Bruins ran 11-on-11s. In three series with Josh Rosen, Devon Monster and Matt Lynch behind center, the Bruins’ only score came off a field goal. Rosen had ended his first drive with an INT that could have gone for 6.
All of the QBs were rushed as the defense was able to consistently get in the backfield, which caused the quarterbacks to force several throws. After a while, the Bruins settled down with two good 30-yard drives for touchdowns, which was capped by Nate Starks bulldozing into the end zone for a a five-yard run. The running game needs work, but there were plenty of good runs from the RBs.
A Deeper Look at the Offense (cont.)
It seems like the tight ends will get a lot of playing time (which I am all about) as they were heavily targeted during skeleton drills. Jimmy Jaggers, Devin Asiasi, Jordan Wilson, Alex Rassool and Caleb Wilson all caught passes in these TE packages.
More from Go Joe Bruin
- UCLA Football: It’s time for the nation to meet Dante Moore
- UCLA Football: Where are they ranked heading into week 4
- UCLA Football: Position battle breakdown for Utah showdown
- UCLA vs. Utah: Location, time, prediction, and more
- UCLA Football: Highlights from Chip Kelly’s appearance on the Jim Rome Show
In OL/DL 1-on-1s, the defensive savages once again had control, but the OLs did a better job as they went on. Scott Quessenberry was the most impressive as he was able to block out almost every DL that came at him. On the left side, Kolton Miller also had some big blocks.
Andre James was also impressive with a few stops on the right side, especially going up against DE Jaelan Phillips, who is going to be an excellent replacement for Takkarist McKinley. Phillips is big, strong and was able to move around several of his blocks with ease.
When the teams reconvened for 11-on-11s, the ground game could not get anything up the middle as they were often meet by the defense for very small gains. Although, the side is going to be a strength for the run game. Nate Starks had an impressive run to the left which got the Bruins downfield on their first drive. A few plays later, Bolu Olorunfunmi ran the ball in for a touchdown from about 20-yards out as he dove for the left side pylon. Despite getting hit, he hung onto the ball for the score which was met with heavy praise.
As for the quarterbacks, Rosen had a few passes that were off the mark, mostly because of the defensive pressure. Whether it was an under thrown pass or bad receiver positioning, the passing game was not working for a few plays, but as practice went on, Rosen, who continues to have solid form, was able to find some open players.
Next: Installing a New Offense Will be a Slow Process
Lynch and Monster looked decent with the 2s, unlike last year when the backup QB Mike Fafaul looked a little timid at times, these two redshirt freshmen have a bit more confidence to them. This will only improve going forward, but that will take time is the overall product needs polishing. It is good seeing these different looks, which kept the defense guessing, but the main focus for the Bruins is getting their timing and chemistry down, especially on the offensive line.