UCLA Football Spring Game Recap: Defense, Austin Burton shine

The UCLA football team finishes up spring practice with the White team beating the Blue team 16-10 in the Spring Game, but it was the defense and a backup QB that came out winners.

It was sloppy, it was short, it was simple and it was the perfect fix for UCLA football fans looking to see what direction new head coach Chip Kelly is taking this team.

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Though the White team won 16-10 in only one half (“halftime” ended up being the end of the game), Kelly kept things close to the chest with what he wanted to display and how much.

All spring we have been telling you about the uptempo style of football Kelly is bringing to the Bruins and we saw a little of that, but we also knew he was not going to show all of his cards. This was a quick fix for fans jonesing for Bruin football.

For the most part, the offenses were running simple plays and not going at the quick pace we have seen in practice (there were a lot of in-game huddles, which is something we might not see in the fall). There was some zone read and option plays, something that looks to be a fixture with the Bruins’ offense, but for the most part it was vanilla.

UCLA Football Spring Game Recap (cont.)

The two main storylines out of this game had to do with the defense and the quarterback play.

Let us start with the quarterbacks. The Bruins were split into “blue” and “white” teams that were about evenly split based on talent (and availability). The interesting part, when it came to the QBs, was that Devon Modster and Matt Lynch, who have mostly been running the first and second teams respectively, were on the same team. Austin Burton and Jackson Gibbs were on the White team, which turned out to be the winning team. Take that for what you will when analyzing the QB battle.

Austin Burton, who has generally been the 3rd-string QB, was the most impressive. He got things started early in the game with a two-yard touchdown pass to freshman WR Chase Cota on a drive that moved at a decent pace, though not break-neck speed. Later in the game, Burton ran the ball for one-yard touchdown on a very impressive drive.

Burton had connected with Demetric Felton for a 45 yard gain down the right sideline, putting the White team in the red zone. That was followed up by a 15-yard run from Soso Jamabo up the middle which put the ball at the 2-yard line. Shortly after that, Burton scored on the keeper in the zone read.

Burton was also the only quarterback to not throw an interception, though he was not the only one to throw a touchdown pass. In the second quarter, Matt Lynch finally got up to speed as he led the Blue team down the field that was capped off by a pass in the corner of the end zone to Theo Howard for a 22-yard strike. Though it was a little off, Howard left up to reel in the pass and get the score.

Modster had a tough day. He was able to make a few nice runs and passes, but his day could easily be summed up by the final play of the game. With 2 seconds left and the ball at the 20, Mpdster and the Blue team had a chance to score and take the lead. Modster dropped the snap and was tackled for a loss. Game over.

And before I switch over to the defense, I wanted to note that walk-on running back Josh Kelley looked like the most impressive ball carrier on the day. Jamabo and Bolu Olorunfunmi had decent outings, but Kelley really stood out with several solid runs.

UCLA Football Spring Game Recap (cont.)

As for the defense, it was refreshing to see players quickly react to what the offense was doing rather than wait for the ball to come to them, which simplistically describes the “bend but don’t break” style  former defensive coordinator Tom Bradley ran.last season.

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As noted above, the defense accounted for multiple interceptions as well as several sacks/tackles for a loss. Even if the offenses got some decent yardage, both defenses swarmed the ball carrier, rarely allowing yards after contact.

The defenses were quite aggressive, which is something I have seen in practice the last seven weeks and am very happy about. They were so aggressive that LB Shea Pitts was “ejected” on the second drive of the game for targeting. But because it was a spring game, he was allowed to stay.

The defensive line and linebackers showed a lot of that “violence” DL coach Vince Oghobaase preached during practice as they were able to shed blocks and hit the edges to get at the ball. Interestingly enough, they did allow several runs up the middle, something that should be shored up by fall.

The defenses were also good in coverage. LB Krys Barnes had the first INT of the game as he read Modster’s throw in the middle of the field early in the game. The secondary accounted for the other interceptions as Mo Osling III and Elijah Gates picked the ball out of the air.

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Though the offense still needs time to get things up to speed, the defense looks like they are ready for the 2018 season. They were aggressive, impressive and could be the saving grace of UCLA football this fall, something that we haven’t seen in Westwood for a few seasons.