Continuing our Spring Practice preview we move onto the tight end group for the UCLA Football Bruins. It’s another offensive group loaded with talent that will add even more wrinkles to an already potent offense.
I have a feeling that as we get closer to the start of the 2018 season we are going to see more and more ironic situations surrounding the UCLA Football team with Chip Kelly in charge. Jim Mora, before being ousted as head coach, was obsessed with beating a Stanford Cardinal team that beat up on a smaller Bruin team. His response? Get bigger, get stronger and let’s get some real tight ends in this offense.
UCLA, from 2012-2015, really minimized the TE position to suit the spread attack employed by Noel Mazzone. In fact they didn’t even have one on the roster with Nate Iese functioning as a FB and Thomas Duarte an oversized WR. So in 2016 when Kennedy Polamalu was named the offensive coordinator, Mora sought to fix that by bringing in Rip Scherer as the TE coach. The first task he had to complete? Find some TEs. Iese was moved to what is his more natural position of TE and oversized receiver, Austin Roberts moved from WR to TE.
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The Bruins also began to heavily recruit complete TEs in an effort to replicate the success the Cardinal have had at the position and to allow them to deploy a variety of formations with the same personnel.
Fast forward two years and now the Bruins have a collection of one of the most talented tight end groups in maybe the entire country and not one of the aforementioned coaches is still under contract with UCLA.
So now we have Chip Kelly, a man who had legendary battles with Stanford and whose name doesn’t evoke memories of great TEs, blessed with a group that was brought in by his predecessor in order to beat those Stanford teams at their own game.
Still with us? Good because if you’re thinking Kelly doesn’t utilize the TE I’m here to tell you that’s not true.
First off, Kelly does utilize the TE. He might go four wide but only one of them might be a WR. How do you defend that? With linebackers? Perfect he’ll attack you with a deadly passing attack and the LBs will lose. Throw in some extra DBs to counter the TE passing attack and he will smash you with big bodies in the run game.
If you remember Chip’s time at Oregon you might remember names like David Paulson, Brian Teague and Colt Lyerla. Lyerla was the most athletic of the three but Paulson was a reliable pass catcher and found a way to get it done in the blocking department. A key to seeing the field.
All of the TEs under Kelly need to be able to block effectively as well as run crisp routes with the end goal being able to avoid substituting as much as possible. You can keep your opponent off guard if they can’t pinpoint certain personnel packages.
While most of the UCLA Football TEs on the roster have the ability to challenge the intermediate parts of the field in the passing game, Kelly will also use them vertically to strain defenses.
With all of that said, let’s take a look at the TE group as it shapes up for the Spring.
Here are all of the TE’s that should be receiving the majority of reps during Spring practices.
- Caleb Wilson, R-Jr. 6’4, 235 pounds.
- Jordan Wilson, R-So. 6’4, 250 pounds.
- Moses Robinson-Carr, So. 6’5, 260 pounds.
- Jimmy Jaggers, R-Fr. 6’4, 255 pounds.
- Devin Asiasi, R-So. 6’3, 275 pounds.
The UCLA Football team has quite the collection of TEs led by stud Caleb Wilson who missed the last eight games of the season recovering from a broken foot but before that he was showing why he’ll open 2018 as one of the best TEs in the country. He’s going to be an exciting fit for this offense with his ability to flex out wide or be used inline. Should that foot be fully healed, he’s a dangerous mismatch for defenses to contend with. He’s not an overwhelming blocker but is effective. Much like former Indianapolis Colts TE Dallas Clark, Wilson’s value on offense is in his ability to make a high volume of catches.
Jordan Wilson, no relation to Caleb, was forced to step up when the starting TE went down with his foot injury. He finished the year strong and is an ascending young player for the Bruins. He will drop the occasional pass but the formation flexibility he provides is invaluable. He has some solid build up speed and can attack the seam of a defense. As a blocker he improved over the season but still leaves a little to be desired. Keeping his hands inside of a defender will allow him greater control and a greater chance of success.
Robinson-Carr saw most of his action on special teams for the UCLA Football in 2017 but was pressed into action later in the season. He doesn’t have elite speed for the position but instead uses his big frame to box out smaller defenders for catches. As a blocker Robinson-Carr has the strength to create seals and move edge defenders but has to keep his pad level low consistently to avoid getting jacked back. The spot route that Kelly features for his TEs will suit Robinson-Carr very well. He might be challenged to run the vertical routes Kelly might dial up but with his size he’s able to high point the ball winning with size instead of speed.
Jimmy Jaggers did not see action as a freshman in 2017 but he’s another guy that blocks well enough to see time in heavy formations. He also doesn’t bring great speed to the position but the short to intermediate routes will be his bread and butter. A big target, Jaggers has very soft hands and is capable of going up and getting the ball in jump ball situations.
There’s a heft of excitement surrounding the final TE on our list. Asiasi was forced to redshirt last year after transferring from Michigan but the former De La Salle product hasn’t let that stop him from being a big name for the Bruins during last year’s practices. A massive tight end capable of blowing defensive linemen off the ball and showing off the soft mitts, Asiasi will be a new kind of toy for Kelly to play with. He hasn’t had a TE this large before and certainly not one so multifaceted.
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What will be interesting to monitor is that the UCLA Football program doesn’t have a ton of depth along their defensive line for the 3-4 defense right now and Asiasi could potentially be a candidate to change positions. It will be something we will monitor closely during Spring practices.