Go Joe Bruin takes a look at five UCLA football players that have the potential to breakout in 2019 and possibly declare for the 2020 NFL Draft.
I am going to harp on this until you all understand that what UCLA football head coach Chip Kelly is doing is a process. It will take time, but things will start to come together. That is especially true for the players.
RELATED: Joshua Kelley is Returning to UCLA for 2019
Just look at what the coach did for Joshua Kelley. The former walk-on could only muster up 27 total yards in the first three games. He then finished the season with 1,243. Because of that, Kelley was toying with the idea of declaring for the NFL Draft. Luckily he decided to stay for his senior season.
But that got me thinking… which Bruins have the potential to have a breakout season, prompting them to declare for the 2020 NFL Draft after next season? Let us take a look…
DL Osa Odighizuwa
During Chip Kelly’s first spring practice, it looked as if the defense would develop quicker than the offense. During the spring game, the defense was aggressive and dominated both offenses. Unfortunately, they were hit hard by injuries and had to reallocate players to new positions and schemes when they were down to the bare bones in their depth chart, especially by the end of the regular season.
That might actually be good news for a few players on the defense, especially when considering how several healthy Bruins played during that time. Osa Odighizuwa is one of those that was not only able to avoid serious injury but slowly progressed as the season went on.
The Bruins were trying to be more aggressive in DC Jerry Azzinaro’s defense and were mildly successful. With so many injuries, the Bruins could barely put together a solid pass rush, yet having a player like Odighizuwa to occasionally break through the line helped the Bruins in several games.
With all of that experience and the coaches continuing to develop his skills, the redshirt junior to be can improve off of his 29 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks. With his explosion off the line and ability to break through the gaps, Odighizuwa could be one of the better defensive linemen in the Pac-12 next season, which would give him a lot of attention.
TE Devin Asiasi
If there’s one thing we learned from Chip Kelly’s offense it is that he is not afraid to use tight ends, especially three at once. Each TE was used for various reasons, whether it is helping the offensive line with run/pass blocking or getting a big receiver out into the open, Kelly has made it apparent that tight ends are here to stay.
Last year, Caleb Wilson was the go-to TE, but with the breakout star jumping to the pros, next year all of that responsibility could be placed on the shoulders of Devin Asiasi.
2018 was Asiasi’s first season playing with the blue and gold after he had to sit out a year due to his undergraduate transfer from the blue and maize of Michigan. Though he was more of a role player behind Caleb Wilson, he should step up in 2019 and be that solid receiving tight end the Bruins have made a priority in the offense.
Asiasi is slightly bigger than Wilson, but he has the explosiveness to make big-time plays similar to Caleb. Last season, he only caught six passes for 130 yards, but that equates to 21.7 yards per catch, which is the most on the team.
With his experience working under two great college coaches and a great college tight end, Asiasi should have a breakout 2019 season, which could lead to an early declaration after the season.
OL Michael Alves
The UCLA run game has been horrible for the last few seasons and part of that has to do with the instability of the offensive line which has had three different offensive coordinators installing three different offensive schemes in the last three years. That is no bueno.
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In 2017, Jedd Fisch did a great job of improving the Bruins offense from the previous year but things were taken up a notch in 2018 when Justin Frye showed up to coach the OL. The former Boston College coach was hired by Chip Kelly because of his brilliance in recruiting and developing offensive linemen and from what we have seen so far, he has been working out for UCLA.
This past year, Frye not only help to improve the Bruin’s running game and turned them into a team with the 28th best rushing S&P+ and the 27th fastest offense (pace) in the nation, but he also had each Bruin playing at a high-level.
Mike Alves has slowly been improving the last two years but really benefitted under Frye’s tutelage. As a player that has a lot of experience starting at guard and working with this revolutionary offense, 2019 should be a good year for him.
Alves has done a solid job of holding the line on passing plays and has shown his ability to pop out when being pulled. Not only is he a strong individual, but his adaptability to Kelly’s complex offensive schemes shows he also has a brain on him. With another year in college under Frye and Kelly, Alves should definitely standout next season and garner attention from pro scouts.
S Quentin Lake
After Jaleel Wadood left after 2017 and with four other defensive backs leaving the program since Chip Kelly took over, the once might UCLA secondary took a hit with their depth chart. Before last season, it was expected that Darnay Holmes, Nate Meadors, and Adarius Pickett would be the returning starters, which is always a good thing, but who would replace Wadood?
That question was quickly answered during spring practice when Quentin Lake emerged as the best option at safety. Some might say that he was inserted into the starting line up because of depth, but it quickly became apparent that he earned the spot on his own merit.
Lake is a fiery defender that does not quit on plays. Not only was he busy defending the skies (2 interceptions, 5 pass breakups), but he was able to get after any and all opponents that made their way to his area of the field. Lake was third on the team in total tackles with 67 in 2018, behind only Pickett and Krys Barnes.
With Pickett gone, Lake will be expected to be the leader of the secondary with Holmes. Though the Bruins did not have a great year with their pass defense in 2018, they should take a step up in 2019 with players getting healthy and having more depth. That will help to set up Lake for a solid junior season.
CB Darnay Holmes
Every Bruin fan knew that Darnay Holmes was going to be something special. The aggressive DB was one of the top prospects to commit to the Bruins during the 2017 recruiting class and he did not disappoint when he finally put on that UCLA uniform.
During his freshman year, he earned a starting role early in the season and quickly forced quarterbacks to second-guess throwing the ball to his side of the field. Last season, his sophomore year, he continued his reign of terror in the passing game and is starting to solidify himself as one of the most ferocious cornerbacks in the Pac-12.
Holmes is a lockdown defender, a heavy hitter and is very aggressive, which fits UCLA’s defensive plan. He will bring consistency and experience to the secondary next year, which does need to make some improvements. That should not be a problem with players getting healthy and Holmes continuing to fight, fight, fight against his opposition.
There is no doubt that Holmes will be one of the best UCLA defenders next season and that alone will give him attention, but he could definitely be one of the best DBs in the conference. Because of that, Holmes should most likely declare early.