DEFENSIVE BACKS
CB: Darnay Holmes (Jr), Jay Shaw (R-So), Rayshad Williams (R-Fr)
S: Mo Osling (Jr), Elisha Guidry (So), Carl Jones (Fr), William Nimmo (Fr)
S: Quentin Lake (Jr), Stephen Blaylock (So), Kenny Churchwell (R-Fr)
CB: Elijah Gates (R-So), Patrick Jolly (R-Fr), Sharmar Martin (Fr)
UCLA’s secondary was not as efficient as they were in previous years, though part of that had to do with injuries. This year, they have a lot of players that know the defensive system and will benefit from recoveries (across the entire defense) and the latest signees.
The big man on campus is Darnay Holmes who continues to be a beast in the backfield. We all knew he was talented, but now he has two years of college football under his belt and will be the de facto leader of the DBs. Elijah Gates will take over at the other CB spot, but he should be pushed by competition from Jay Shaw and Patrick Jolly.
At safety, Quentin Lake should be guaranteed a start after his progress last season, the only problem is picking his partner back in the deep.
Mo Osling and Stephen Blaylock are going to be in the rotation no matter what, so whether they start or backup, we are going to see a lot of these two quickly developing defenders. Elisha Guidry and Kenny Churchwell will also be in the mix for backup spots, and if I had to guess which freshman is most likely to step up, I would keep an eye on Sharmar Martin.