This current UCLA Football roster is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. There are stellar young freshmen and primed breakout returners. Who are three offensive weapons for the Bruins waiting to be unleashed?
When I say UCLA Football offensive weapons I mean guys who are dangerous with the ball in their hands. The kind of guys that can threaten to go the distance every time they touch the ball or threaten to break ankles with outstanding agility and athleticism.
However we have to be clear, these aren’t necessarily guys who are starters or who I expect to have big offensive seasons. These are the guys that should receive more touches purely on the potential upside of the touches.
We will also see a couple of guys that won’t be able to make an on field impact this season but are dangerous weapons nonetheless for this UCLA Football team.
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1. Soso Jamabo
Yes I know I haven’t been the strongest proponent of Soso Jamabo the running back. I believe he’s a little too leggy, doesn’t press the hole the way I’d like and doesn’t consistently finish his runs the way I’d like to see.
Now that being said I believe Jamabo to be the most dangerous athlete on the field at any given time for this UCLA Football program. In the open field he can slash defenses for major yards. He is a better than average pass catcher and is an athletic mismatch for defenses.
He’s not a small player by any stretch and can body defensive backs but is far too speedy and smooth for most linebackers to keep pace with.
If the Bruins want to get him the ball I’d say get him out in space and allow him to use his athleticism to shred defenses instead of bashing him into the line over and over.
2. Brandon Stephens
Headed back into the backfield for the next man on the list, I’m looking at Brandon Stephens. For me Stephens is very much a smaller version of Jamabo. He’s another slasher that looks like he’s gliding when he’s running. He also has the ability to jump cut like former UCLA Football RB Paul Perkins.
A better running back out of the backfield than Jamabo in my opinion, Stephens could even line up wide outside if we were going to see all that he can bring to the offense.
Last season Stephens had 19 touches on the ground for 95 yards and no scores. His five yards per carry ranked best among the UCLA Football RBs but his catches were just as impressive. He only had four catches but made the most of them by averaging almost 10 yards per catch.
In this offense Stephens becomes the shifty back that can come in on third down and gives you a little lightning to the Bruin’s thunderous backs. The Bruins are incorporating more stretch runs into their offense which will give Stephens more opportunities to press the hole and use his vision to find lanes.
3. Devin Asiasi
Devin Asiasi certainly passes the eye test. Listed at a very large six-foot-three and 275 pounds, you’d be hard pressed to tell him apart from a defensive end. Then watch him go after the football in the air and you’d never think of him as anything other than a TE.
Transferring over from Michigan this offseason, Asiasi was denied a waiver to be eligible for 2017 but that just means he’ll have another year to get stronger and better at the TE position.
This is all provided that the UCLA Football coaches don’t decide to move him to another position. If he stays at TE the Bruins will get a man mover of a run blocker that plays with the nastiness of an offensive guard. But they’ll also get a big man who can threaten the seam of a defense, high point a ball and secure it with soft mitts.
You can line Asiasi up all over the place. He can be used inline like a traditional TE, he can be detached off the line in the slot or in the backfield like an H-back. His versatility allows him to play hurry up without having to sub players giving them another weapon in their arsenal.
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Like I said above there’s a chance the coaches will move him over to the defensive side of the ball but with all the young talent along the defensive line Bruin fans could get very lucky and see Asiasi catches passes over the middle where no defensive back wants to meet him.