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UCLA Football: Top five storylines to watch during spring practice

By Mike Crawford

WESTWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 27: UCLA Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero (L) and Chip Kelly hold up a jersey during a press conference introducing Kelly as the new UCLA Football head coach on November 27, 2017 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images)
WESTWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 27: UCLA Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero (L) and Chip Kelly hold up a jersey during a press conference introducing Kelly as the new UCLA Football head coach on November 27, 2017 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images) /
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PROVO, UT – SEPTEMBER 17: Adarius Pickett
PROVO, UT – SEPTEMBER 17: Adarius Pickett /

4. New Defensive Scheme and a New Defensive Coordinator

These are technically two points, but for the sake of time, we’ll condense this into one.

Admittedly, the majority of this piece has been highlighting UCLA’s offense (and rightfully so considering the amount of turnover that has happened). However, plenty of changes have also transpired on the other side of the ball.

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By the end of the 2017 season, UCLA’s defense was near the bottom of the college football barrel (117th of 130) by allowing an average of 36.6 points per game. Needless to say, change was necessary.

In December, UCLA pegged Jerry Azzinaro as the team’s defensive coordinator, replacing former DC Tom Bradley.  Azzinaro has 36 years of experience under his belt on both the collegiate and professional levels. Azzinaro also has a history with coach Kelly as he served on his staff with the Oregon Ducks, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the San Francisco 49ers. Most recently, Azzinaro coached Cal’s defensive line in 2017.

Azzinaro will have a chance to make his mark on Westwood as he is expected to implement a 3-4 defense as him and Kelly are both major advocates of this scheme. While Mora and his staff implemented the 3-4 scheme early on, over the last few years UCLA has mainly operated with a 4-3 scheme due to its lack of depth on the defensive front. Fortunately, the Bruins do have the talent to successfully implement a 3-4 scheme by utilizing returning players such as Rick Wade (6-6, 280), Jaelan Philips (6-5, 260), Osa Odighizuwa (R-So. 6-2, 275), and Boss Tagaloa (6-2, 305lbs) (should he stay on defense, that is), to name a few.

All things considered, the Bruins’ defense will need some time to fully develop under Azzinaro and Kelly, but fans can be cautiously optimistic as the defense has really nowhere else to go but up at this point.