UCLA Football: Grading the 2017 UCLA Defensive Ends

Backup Defensive Ends

Not being a starter at defensive end isn’t a bad thing necessarily. If you want to have a potent pass rush you need to have plenty of players to rotate in that can still play at a high level. This is why the NFL places such a premium on pass rushers. This UCLA Football team does have decent depth at the position.

One of the first reserves will be Rick Wade. I’m a huge fan of his play and potential especially given his measurables. Listed at six-foot-six and 280 pounds, Wade is built like the prototypical base DE.

He could start for a number of PAC-12 teams today but has found himself behind very talented pass rushers for most of his career and even had to deal with a scheme changes. While I do believe he can play at a high level as a 4-3 base end, I almost liked him more as a 3-4 DE. In that scheme he could use his power and length to control offensive linemen

Keeping his pad level low will be key for him because he is so tall. He will get out leveraged at the point of attack occasionally because he comes out of his stance too tall. Despite all of that, the flashes he’s shown are becoming more and more consistent and I wouldn’t be surprised if he started a few games this year.

I’m giving Wade a C+/B+ grade.

The second reserve Keisean Lucier-South hasn’t quite lived up to his billing. The DE was ranked as a five star prospect by some recruiting sites and made UCLA Football fans giddy when he signed.

Always a skinny player who beat tackles with speed, KLS has bulked up to 240 pounds but is still overly reliant on speed. Tackles simply overset on him and push him past the pocket. He has yet to develop an inside move (same knock scouts had on Takk) and has seemingly lost his job to a freshman.

In my opinion KLS needs to show dramatic improvement in the Fall if he’s looking to see the field more because the Bruins have some younger guys that could turn out to be very solid in 2017.

I’m giving KLS a C- grade.

One guy that might even leapfrog KLS in the Fall is Marcus Moore who red-shirted in 2016 while recovering from an injury. In Spring he surprised plenty of people with his burst and tenacity. He outweighs KLS by 25 pounds and is another speed rusher.

We obviously haven’t seen too much of him but the early reviews are promising. If he continues to play well when the season starts the Bruins could have a really nice gem on their hands.

Next: UCLA Football: PAC-12 Media Day, Who Will Represent UCLA Football?

Moore gets an Incomplete grade from me because frankly we haven’t seen enough.

Make sure you guys tune in for the remainder of our series and look for the next installment where we grade the 2017 UCLA Football Defensive Tackles.