The UCLA football team has some questions to answer about the offensive line and from what we saw at the Spring Game, things are improving, but there is still a long way to go.
One of the biggest concerns surrounding the UCLA football team this offseason has been the development of its offensive line. On Saturday at the 2018 spring game, those concerns weren’t exactly put at ease as it was made evident that there is still plenty of work to do on the offensive front before the Bruins kick off against the Cincinnati Bearcats on September 1 at the Rose Bowl.
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During the intrasquad scrimmage, athletes were divided between two teams: “Bruin Blue” and “Bruin White.” UCLA’s Blue team (presumably the offensive starters) included — from left to right — LT Andre James, LG Josh Wariboko-Alali, C Boss Tagaloa/Zach Sweeney, RG Michael Alves, and RT Jake Burton.
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The White team included LT Bryan Weitzman, LG Sean Seaward, C Sam Marrazzo, RG Alex Akingbulu and RT Zach Cochrun (Note: Jax Wacaser was listed on the spring practice roster but did not appear to be on either squad).
Before the Bruins’ offensive linemen’s efforts are broken down any further, it is important to remind ourselves that Saturday’s “game” was a glorified practice, and any criticism should be taken with a grain of salt. As Allen Iverson so eloquently put it, “…We’re talking about practice!”
However, neither offensive line stood out among the rest. During passing plays, pocket protection broke down way too quickly, forcing the designated signal caller to scramble and act on the fly. Run blocking was virtually non-existent as UCLA’s re-vamped, and self-billed “violent” defense broke through the offensive front with relative ease. It should be noted, that there were some bright spots as there were a few good snaps that opened holes for zone read runs.
The connection between center and quarterback was especially rough for both units as bad snaps and missed assignments were aplenty. As seen in the video below of the final play of the spring game, a botched snap from Boss Tagaloa to Devon Modster proved to be costly as the White team’s defense capitalized on the error almost instantaneously.
Final play of the UCLA spring game. pic.twitter.com/3GWRJmcTsy
— Mike Crawford (@Mi_Crawford) April 23, 2018
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But, to be fair, this was all to be expected. UCLA’s starting offensive line for all 13 games in 2017 was made up of LT Kolton Miller, LG Najee Toran, C Scott Quessenberry, RG Alves and RT James. Quessenberry and Miller are hopeful to hear their names called this weekend at the NFL Draft in Dallas and Toran plans to graduate in a few months, which leaves James and Alves as the Bruins’ only returning starters.
Based on observation from Saturday’s showcase and reports out of spring practice, the most likely starting lineup for UCLA’s Labor Day Weekend opener against the Bearcats looks to be Tagaloa at center, Wariboko-Alali at left guard, James at left tackle, Alves at right guard, and Burton at right tackle. According to UCLA’s 2017 roster, Tagaloa and Burton are both listed as sophomores, Wariboko-Ali and James are both redshirt-sophomores, and Alves is listed as a redshirt-freshman. In short, the Bruins’ offensive front is going to be young and inexperienced.
But, there is strength in numbers. The Bruins are also welcoming four quality OL recruits to Westwood in the fall of 2018: Chris Murray, Alec Anderson, Jon Gaines, and Baraka Beckett. Considering the sheer youth of UCLA’s line, it will be interesting to see how these recruits are woven into Kelly’s offense this fall.
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Looking ahead, Kelly and his staff have just over four months to develop an offensive line suitable to withstand the NCAA’s hardest schedule. But, considering that Kelly appears to be UCLA’s head coach for the long haul and has a knack for turning around collegiate offensive programs, the Bruins’ 2018 season may very well be a building block for a bright future.