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UCLA Football: Where does the defense go from here? Recap and outlook

By Mike Regalado

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 7: Defensive line/assistant head coach Jerry Azzinaro of the Philadelphia Eagles watches his team warm up prior to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 7, 2014 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 7: Defensive line/assistant head coach Jerry Azzinaro of the Philadelphia Eagles watches his team warm up prior to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 7, 2014 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Roster Changes

Like the offense, the defense went through a complete overhaul, but the roster did not change as much as it did on offense. Still, it was a new system that everyone, young and experienced, had to get on board with. Azzinaro brought in a 3-4 defensive scheme in an attempt to bring down those run defense numbers.

The philosophy behind all of it was to create pressure on the quarterback and disrupt their opponent’s offensive game plan. In previous years, UCLA had been known to have a tough secondary, so the Bruins should not have had a problem in this area. It was limiting rushing yards which plagued them in previous seasons. Things looked like they would fit into place, but Azzinaro had other things to worry about before unleashing the hounds of his hellish defense.

UCLA Defensive Roster Changes in 2018

  • DLs: 6 new, 7 returning
  • LBs: 4 new, 11 returning
  • DBs: 8 new, 10 returning

Many said that the cupboard was bare at UCLA, which was not exactly true, especially on defense. Though the Bruins lost several players because they did not mesh with the new coaching staff, Azzinaro still had a lot to work with. Guys like S Adarius Pickett, CB Nate Meadors, CB Darnay Holmes, DL Rick Wade, DE/OLB Keiseasn Lucier-South, LB Josh Woods, and LB Jaelan Phillips, just to name a few.

The only problem is that once the season started on September 1, the Bruins were already down several players due to injuries and then had to deal with a few suspensions. As the season progressed, it just kept getting worse.

Before the season started, Woods suffered a season-ending injury and suspensions were handed out for DL Osa Odighizuwa, DB Mo Osling, and DL Moses Robinson-Carr.

As the season went on, DL Marcus Moore would be suspended indefinitely while LB Bo Calvert, Phillips, Juarez, LB Je’Vari Anderson and Meadors would suffer injuries of varying degree through season’s end. So that is what Azzinaro was working within 2018, let us look at what it resulted in.