The UCLA Football team has completed fall camp and starts preparations for Texas A&M. With kickoff almost upon us, here are five things to takeaway from fall camp.
It is time to stop dillydallying and get down to the nitty-gritty. The UCLA Football team has completed fall camp which means that the next step in preparation for 2017 is getting ready for the season opener on September 3 against Texas A&M.
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So what have we learned about the Bruins heading into the season? Here are 5 takeaways from fall camp that will help paint a picture of where UCLA is going to look like in 2017.
1. An improved offense, but there is a rub
There’s no doubt about it, the Bruins are better with Rosen behind center. We all know the story… Rosen goes down six games in and the Bruins finish 4-8. UCLA had a myriad of problems that limited their offense, but Head Coach Jim Mora has made some coaching changes that he hopes will turn things around.
New Offensive Coordinator Jedd Fisch has taken over and will have the offense play multiple schemes. It was slow going in spring practice, but fall camp showed some progress.
The Bruins looked very good and should be a competitor… but that’s only if they stay healthy.
While the first team offense has been making strides, the second and third teams have struggled. They had their moments against a very deep and talented defense, but the production didn’t come close to that of Rosen and his squad.
Speaking of defense…
2. The defense ain’t nuthin’ to [mess] with
I wrote an article a couple days ago about Tom Bradley and his defense and why they are not to be messed with.
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They recruit well, they reload and they release their beasts on opposing offenses. Despite losing several players this off-season, Bradley and his coaching staff once again have a group of players that are going to make the Bruins’ defense one of the best in the Pac-12.
The defensive line has been steady, though a freshman has been the one that has stood out. Jaelan Phillips is filling in for the departed Takkarist McKinley on the right end of the line and though he is not as physical as Takk, Phillips is going to turn some heads with his agility and vision.
Things were shaken up with the linebackers, but it turns out that it seems to be working. Kenny Young has been moved to the weak side linebacker position while Lokeni Toailoa is at the MIKE position. Toailoa has steadily been developing into a reliable MLB, while Young’s length has helped him on the side. Josh Woods completes the package on the strong side.
And as for the secondary, when are they ever thin and void of talent? Never, that’s when.
Jaleel Wadood, Nate Meadors and Adarius PIckett (to name a few) are going to make several big plays, but Bruins fans also need to remember the name Darnay Holmes, a freshman that is going to make a big impact in the secondary at corner and nickel.
3. There will be a lot of new faces
As mentioned in the last slide, UCLA is going to have freshmen Jaelan Phillips and Darnay Holmes contribute a ton of minutes and will be a huge part of the defensive game plan. Mora has never been afraid to play true freshman and it looks like these two could be starting on September 3.
But they are not the only new faces UCLA fans need to become acquainted with. Be mindful of a few other freshmen that could make an impact in 2017.
DT Greg Rogers, who is 6’3″, 310 lbs., got some attention from Mora early in fall. TE Jimmy Jaggers got a lot of reps and was quite impressive in fall camp. QB Austin Burton, who will most likely not see time on the field next season, often looked like the second best quarterback on the team.
Though these players might not have an immediate impact, this is good news for the future.
But it is not just freshman that the UCLA faithful should get to know. WR Christian Pabico, a former walk-on, has emerged as a reliable receiver and could get a starting nod. Though that brings into question why scholarship players are not getting the start, it also highlights a player that has worked his behind off and reaping the benefits.
4. The interesting interactions with the media will not stop and that is a good thing
It has been an off-season full of interesting topics of conversation. Despite many losing interest in UCLA’s play on the field, there has been plenty of interest with how they have handled interacting with the media.
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First, Mora decided to not take his team leader, Josh Rosen, to Pac-12 Media Day, drawing a lot of speculation as to why. And then, when Rosen does talk, he tries to say all the right things, but a overbearing reporter continually tries to question Rosen about his past antics (but it didn’t matter, we couldn’t hear Rosen anyway as he spoke very quietly).
A week later in an interview with Bleacher Report, Rosen puts the whole college football world in a frenzy as he stated that “football and school don’t go together“. Oh, what a wonderful time in Westwood it was after that article was released.
And just last week, Mora made the comment that Rosen will most likely return after this season. Why would he say that?
Either way, it’s extremely entertaining and after last season’s not so entertaining debacle, it has people talking about UCLA Football. Yes, it’s awkward, but I really don’t have a problem with it. The only thing I would like to see is that the Bruins’ production on the field becomes a lot more entertaining than their talk.
5. No one has a clue how the UCLA Football team will do
I’m just going to say it… I have no clue how UCLA Football team will do this season. Nobody seems to. Football analysts have the Bruins finishing anywhere from 8th in Pac-12 power polls, while others have them finishing second in the South Division.
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Even the writers of Go Joe Bruin are torn about how UCLA will do this season. The range of wins in our recent predictions have UCLA winning anywhere between 4 and 10 games. That’s the way to narrow it down!
There are questions about the offensive line, so have they made improvements? The run game was atrocious last year, so what changes have been made to try to improve that? The receivers could not catch a cold in 2016, could that storyline change into 2017?
There are many question marks with this team and not all of them will be answered in the preseason, or even the first or second weeks of the season, but we will soon find out if these Bruins are destined for another down year or if they will shock the world.
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Hopefully it is the latter. Go Bruins!