This morning, Bruin Report Online (Scout.com) claimed that there are “unconfirmed reports” that UCLA Football offensive lineman Kenny Lacy could be out for a ‘significant time’.
–UPDATE as of 4:15 p.m. PT: It has been confirmed that UCLA Football senior offensive lineman Kenny Lacy will be “out for the season”, as reported by Ben Bloch of the L.A. Times.—
If there is one thing the UCLA Football team does not need at this time is injuries and unfortunately it looks as though they have just incurred a big one.
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The UCLA Scout.com site, Bruin Report Online stated this morning that there are “unconfirmed reports” the senior OL Kenny Lacy could be out for a while, if not the entire season.
This is not a blow to the potential starting lineup, but it will cause problems with depth as Lacy was expected to be a key backup for an offensive line that is looking to improve off of a dismal 2016 season.
Here is an excerpt from the BRO report:
"The specifics of the injury at this time are uncertain. After Tuesday’s practice (which was closed), head coach Jim Mora told the media Lacy had experienced a “pinch when he tried to get in a stance,” and received an injection. One source who was at the Royce Hall event heard it was a hip injury but there are no details available."
Lacy was vital to the depth of the tackles, mostly because UCLA has been thin at that positions for a few seasons.
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Currently, the Bruins have Kolton Miller starting at left tackle and Andre James at right tackle. Lacy was the backup to Miller while Miami transfer Sunny Odogwu, who has the potential to start, is behind James.
If Lacy is out for an extended amount of time, the Bruin coaches could be looking at redshirt freshmen Alex Akingbulu and Jake Burton to help fill the void. Although, as the coaches have been doing all fall camp, we could see other linemen shuffling in and out of certain positions.
OL Coach Hank Fraley has been working diligently to improve the production of the line. Last season, the Bruin bigs were a big part of UCLA’s run game, or lack there of. UCLA was 127th out of 128 teams in rushing offense as they could only manage 84.3 yards per game on the ground last season.
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As of now it appears as if Fraley has a little bit more work to do if Lacy is gone corn the season.