Recruits don’t always pan out. In fact there bound to be more misses than hits in the college recruiting game. The UCLA Football team isn’t the only program in the land to not bat a thousand and even the mighty Crimson Tide sign players who never see the field. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few Bruins who still can turn it around.
Coaching changes, scheme changes and injuries can all contribute to players not making the impact that was envisioned on signing day.
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The UCLA Football program has had numerous coaching changes at the coordinator positions, positional coaches and most recently a head coaching change that resulted in essentially a complete staff overhaul.
Players who were perfect fits for one scheme could suddenly find themselves square pegs trying to get into round holes leaving them suddenly buried on the depth chart. It isn’t that they’re bad players or have nothing to offer their team they are simply victims of the “win now” mentality of college football.
Here is a list of three Bruins who, for whatever reason, haven’t had the impact they hoped to have but can still make a comeback in the 2018 season with a fresh start coming their way.
Josh Wariboko-Alali
A former four star offensive guard out of Oklahoma, Wariboko-Alali seemed like the kind of talent that could immediately help the UCLA Football offensive line. A powerful, interior lineman with a an ability to change direction and move his feet with the best of them, I believed Wariboko-Alali, (WA) was in line to take over for Alex Redmond after he left school early for the NFL Draft. While Redmond had proved to be a solid starter, he never developed much after an impressive freshman campaign and WA had the higher ceiling. The future looked bright.
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However after redshirting as a freshman, WA found himself in a crowded guard position with Andre James, Kenny Lacy, Christian Garcia and converted DL Najee Toran. Additionally, while he was a highly coveted recruit and his signing was a major win for then OL coach Adrian Klemm, WA didn’t take the next step in his development the way he would have needed to in order to see more of the field.
That’s because Klemm, while a highly effective recruiter, proved time and time again that developing the talent he recruited was not his greatest strength. Proof of this alone can be seen in how many names were in play for one of the guard spots with WA being one of the best talents in that group.
In 2017 WA saw action in ten games as a reserve but was passed up by Michael Alves and again, Toran. The UCLA Football team could have used a few more OL signees on national signing day but if WA has a big bounce back year the going could be a little easier. He will have to take on Alves again and while incoming freshman Chris Murray could start immediately he’s most likely to end up a candidate for the center position. Wariboko-Alali has the perfect storm coming his way now he just needs to seize it.
DeChaun Holiday
Another highly prized recruit from the 2015 class, Holiday was a one of former DB coach Demetrice Martin’s most coveted recruits. A big bodied, athletic player who played both WR and CB in high school, Holiday was going to continue to help continue the trend of talented UCLA Football secondaries. Already weighing in at 200 pounds as a freshman it was unclear if Holiday would continue to add weight and be forced to change positions or if he could survive at corner.
Those concerns were quickly realized and Holiday was moved to safety but coupled with the depth in the defensive backfield and some issues in coverage, playing time was hard to come by. He did see some action in 2016 mostly on special teams and occasional work in a linebacker role closer to the line of scrimmage. 2017 saw that move become permanent.
However a shoulder injury would cost Holiday most of his off season workouts and the first five games of the 2017 season. The Bruins were woefully short on depth at the linebacker position and a healthy Holiday could have given the defensive staff another tool in the kit. As a former DB Holiday has retained his smooth and rare athleticism but in my opinion struggles being physical enough at the point of attack. He has a solid frame but in many cases would rather use his athleticism to get around blocks rather than take them head on which can lead to poor gap discipline.
You’d like to see him being more decisive in attacking downhill and that will likely come with more experience and coaching but the physical portion has to be his choice.
Chip Kelly has had coached players who have moved from the secondary to the LB group before, namely Eddie Pleasant. The former defensive back grew into a rover/LB role and thrived as an undersized LB at the college level. Holiday is bigger, more athletic but doesn’t have that “want to” as far as hitting goes that made Pleasant such a feared tackler in the PAC-12. Will a hopefully healthy offseason and more time removed from surgery bring out the hitter in Holiday? If it does he can thrive in this defense.
Boss Tagaloa
We are continuing the defensive heavy trend in this piece but shifting from the defensive backfield to the front line. The UCLA Football defensive line had more than it’s share of struggles the past two seasons struggling to both slow rushing attacks and get after the passer. The interior has been particularly tough to stomach as they were constantly being blown off the ball and allowing offensive linemen to get to the second level and engage the Bruin LBs.
Tagaloa doesn’t carry the blame alone for the uninspiring DL play but is going to receive a hefty focus here. A four star prospect who joined the UCLA Football team in 2016 from powerhouse De La Salle, Tagaloa dominated high school teams with his power and strong base. He was part of a concerted recruiting effort to get bigger across both lines in order to better handle the rushing attacks from Stanford that gashed the Bruins year in and year out.
However that effort hasn’t exactly panned out in the Bruins’ favor. Tagaloa in particular, a player who was brought in to handle double teams and make running in the interior a nightmare, has struggled to do just that.
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One on one with offensive linemen he’s more than able to handle his man. However double teams have given him trouble which is obviously not something you want from your projected starter at nose tackle in 2018.
The Bruins signed massive Atonio Mafi in their 2018 recruiting class but the six-foot-three, 360 pound defensive tackle is going to need a redshirt year to not only allow his Achilles to fully heal but to work himself back into football shape under the new staff. That means a light UCLA Football defensive line moving back to the 3-4 defense will need to get creative for at least a year as the prototypical pieces continue to assemble in WestWood.
The good news for Tagaloa is that while the defensive ends typically are long, athletic, prototypical five techniques in defenses under Chip Kelly, the nose tackles aren’t the textbook 320 pound pluggers and instead rely on athleticism, technique and aggressiveness to threaten opposing run games. However there will still be times Tagaloa needs to keep his pads low, take on the double team and either find a way to split it or become an immovable object for this defense to live up to it’s potential.
Next: UCLA Football: 2018 National Signing Day recap
It won’t be an easy road for any of the aforementioned Bruins and let’s be clear I’m not saying what they’ve done up to this point is unappreciated but I’d be willing to bet that they’d agree with me when I say they can do and be so much more for this UCLA Football team.